Looking for unique gifts? We can help!

From the diver who needs everything to the diver who has everything. You tell us who you’re shopping for and we will give you some great ideas.

Classes

From a one night Try Scuba or Beginning Scuba Class to Advanced Training and Specialty Classes. What a wonderful way to share our underwater world. 

Equipment

No matter what your budget is we can show you equipment that any snorkeler or diver would love to have in their gear bag. 

Travel

“Best Gift Ever”, that’s what they’ll say (and maybe you’ll get to enjoy it too?). We can help you plan an amazing dive adventure above and below the water. 

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The lakes are frozen over, its time to dive!!!!!

During the winter months here in Michigan many divers think of warm diving destinations as their only option to get wet. For those who are ready to dress for the occasion there is another option, Ice Diving!!!!!  A special certification is required to engage in Ice Diving as the overhead environment demands additional safe measures. If you’re already a certified Ice Diver or looking to take the class and join in this unique experience, contact Rec Diving today and get your name added to the list. We’ll be finalizing our plans shortly and contacting those who are interested with all the details.

For students who will just be learning about ice diving you’ll learn everything you need to know how to plan, setup and execute ice diving safely.  The course will cover all of the follow aspects of ice diving:

  • Dive Gear Considerations
  • Ice Diving Specific Safety Equipment
  • Surface Safety
  • Amanda IceSite Selection
  • Required Ice Conditions
  • Surface to Diver Communications
  • Emergency Procedures
  • Securing the Site After the Dive
  • And more….

We look forward to seeing all of you excited enough to brave the cold and surf along the side of the ice few ever see.

Sincerely,
Rec Diving Staff

Advance your Diver Rating with a Scuba Specialty Course

For many, part of the experience of diving is capturing images of some of the incredible marine life and vistas we see while exploring the underwater world. Getting pictures that capture these moments however can prove to be difficult and quickly lead to frustration. To help we’ve pulled together a list of ten tips that start to give you the framework for success.

#1 Buoyancy Control
The first and most important tip to getting great shots is to get your buoyancy under control. With proper buoyancy you’ll be able to slowly approach your subject without excessive movement helping to avoid spooking them off. Another way good buoyancy will help is moving into tighter spaces without damaging marine life or impacting visibility. With proper buoyancy control you can move in slowly and using the volume of air in your lungs allow yourself to descend or ascend as needed to get in final position and to back out. Finally proper buoyancy control can help ensure your shots are in focus as remaining stationary will help eliminate changes in the distance between you and your subject during the shot.

#2 Know your tools
Learn where all of your camera controls are on land outside of the housing before you take it on a dive. As with every piece of equipment you carry into the water cameras add an additional level of task loading to the dive. The better your understanding of where the controls are on your camera the easier it will be to use the system underwater. Remember you have enough to keep track of managing critical aspects of the dive such as depth, time and gas supply, regular adjustments to settings like aperture, shutter speed and ISO should be second nature to help ensure you get your shot.

#3 Make a target list
Most dive destinations are known for a particular type of diving. By that I mean they’re known for large animal encounters, micro life, or particular species that are found in that area. Take the time to research the destination your going to in order to understand what type of life you’re likely to encounter. This will help you ensure you bring the right gear with you on the trip and into the water. As always be sure to make sure your list matches up with the region you’re diving as well or your diving ability.

#4 Make sure all your gear works before your leave
I can’t stress this one enough! Ensure you double check ALL of your gear far enough in advance that you can get repairs made prior to a trip. Given all of the different types and configurations of photo gear out there don’t count on everything being stocked in the store. We can get you anything you need but make sure you’re able to order it a few weeks in advance to avoid shipping issues.

#5 Talk to the locals
When you arrive and get settled in, take your target list down to the docks and to talk to your dive guides. Taking time at the beginning of the trip will allow you find out if the subjects you’re interested in have been seen and where as well insuring the dive guides know what it is you want to see. As in most cases they work largely based on tips they’ll do their best to ensure they choose sites that are going to maximize your chances. They may also provide you with some ideas for other interesting and unique subjects you might have not thought about before coming.

#6 Slow down
For many the feeling that we need to swim down the reef to see critters blinds us to the life around us. The slower you move across the reef the more life you’re going to see. The animal life that lives on the reef is involved in a constant circle of life with predators throughout the food chain. Only the animals at the top of the food chain will be moving around without fear of becoming dinner themselves. As the majority of the life on the reef isn’t at the top of the chain they rely on camouflage and stealth to survive. Move slowly staying close to the reef taking time to look into the cracks and crevasses for life that will use the natural structure of the reef for protection. Also look for shapes that don’t seem quite right and take a closer look when something doesn’t look right. Once you learn how to spot your first scorpion fish it will blow your mind how many you’ll start to see. They were always around you just didn’t realize the type of area they hide in and/or how to spot their shape.

#7 Night dives are different so be ready
Diver_w_lightsTo understand how photography on a night dive is different, we need to understand how cameras perform a very important task; focusing. The primary thing the camera searches for while attempting to auto focus are differences in contrast. On a night dive it’s critical that your subject be illuminated so that the cameras focusing system is able to see it as it contrasts against the dark water. Without this your cameras focus will “hunt” back and forth searching for the right level of detail in the image. Choosing a wide angle modeling light that can be mounted to the strobe arms or housing is the perfect choice.

If possible try to select a light that allows you to set variable intensities in terms of light output. This will allow you to dim the light helping to avoid scaring off subjects that seek to avoid a lot of light. Another option offered by some vendors such as Light and Motion are lights that contain both white and red LEDs. Red light is invisible to the marine life so you can hunt and focus without scaring away the more timid creatures. Try to select a mounting system that allows you to control where the light is aimed. This will give you more freedom to ensure the light is on the subject regardless of how near or far they are from the camera. Finally backscatter is much more of a problem at night because of the contrast (dark water/light particals). Turn your strobe(s) out away from the subject with just the outside of the light hitting the subject it will lessen the problem.

#8 Turn on the lights
One of the biggest criticisms I hear from people about their pictures is about how cyan everything looks. To understand this we need to step back to our open water book and review how colors are lost as they pass through water. Specifically we lose reds in the first 15 feet, then orange, yellow, green, blue and finally indigo at 150’+. This color loss can only be corrected by using a source to add additional light at the time the image is captured through the use of a strobe (flash). Many cameras have onboard strobes that can be used but often they’re very limited. Often the part of the housing the surrounds the lens will act as a shade preventing light from getting to the corner of the housing opposite the strobe. A better choice is to add an external strobe unit on a flexible arm system. This will give you more power over the camera’s onboard strobe and allow you to position the light to work around obstacles while avoiding aiming the strobes along the same path as the lens.

#9 Get closer
Diver3Even in the clear waters of the Caribbean there is a lot of particulate floating around in the water that causes two problems for us as divers, a loss of sharpness and backscatter. While your camera may not focus on this floating debris it will at some level see it. This can cause a general loss in sharpness taking an image from great to average quickly. This is unfortunately also not a condition that can be corrected in post processing. Backscatter is caused when light sent out from your strobe bounces back directly into the camera lens causing bright white spots. While these can in many cases be corrected by post processing its better to of course avoid it. To resolve both of these issues it’s imperative that you get as close as possible to your subject. By decreasing the distance you decrease the amount of particulate thus decreasing the amount of backscatter and loss of sharpness. Another reason to get close takes us back to tip #8. Even the largest strobe units are capable of throwing light through 6 to 8 feet of water before color begins to fade. You should strive to be within 6 feet of your subject if possible to help insure the best results.

#10 Focus on the eyes
When taking pictures of anything that can look back at you always choose the eyes as your focus point as it’s the first feature viewers are drawn to. Many cameras will allow you to control what point(s) in the viewfinder your camera will use to focus. If your camera allows it, I recommend you lock the focusing system to use a single point in the center of the viewfinder as your focus point. This will allow you to quickly lock that point onto the subject’s eye, focus and frame the shot.

Make Scuba Diving your New Workout

Rec Diving participated in a health fair this week by invitation of the Pharmacists Associations of Oakland and Wayne Counties. We were happy to be there among the stations set up for flu shots and health screenings because we’ve always believed that diving can play a key part in a healthy lifestyle.

We were there with other promoters of various fitness activities to highlight different approaches to get you and your family moving. It turns out the pharmacists who invited us were on to something.

Scuba magazines as well as health and fitness magazines cite many fitness benefits of scuba diving. Before and after we hit the water, our arm and leg muscles get a workout carrying gear. Underwater we work our glutes, legs, core and back as well as enjoy a good dose of cardio-respiratory exercise, without feeling the strain of a typical workout.

For many of us, though, it is the mental workout (or stress-reducer) that scuba gives us that is the very best health benefit. Floating effortlessly in a beautiful, multi-colored underwater environment allows us to disengage from our hectic lives and chill out a bit. And who doesn’t need more relaxation in life, right?

Fun Fact: a one hour scuba dive can easily burn up 350 calories!

Try Diving Dry with Rec Diving September 7 & 8

Imagine staying warm and toasty on a dive. You don’t shiver and you don’t have to come up early because you are just too darn cold! Diving in a drysuit seals you off from the cold water and that keeps you warm. It really is amazing! Each year, Rec Diving teams up with the DUI Drysuit team to gear up our divers for a dry suit test dive. If you’ve never tried it, now is your ideal chance.

Join us September 7 & 8 at Gilboa Quarry for the annual DUI Demo Tour.  Enjoy some fun diving and try something new!   Stop by Rec Diving to get your tickets for the event and be sure to let us know you’re coming!  It’s a great chance to meet other divers from Rec Diving and we look forward to seeing you at the Rec Diving staging area.  We’ll have plenty of dive buddies and we are all looking to log some fun dives and share our knowledge of diving dry.  So what are you waiting for?  Join the fun!

Click here to request more information.  Check out the Demo Tour event site here.DUIdays1

Why Do We Dive?

There are as many reasons for learning to dive as there are divers. Maybe you’re already a certified diver. If so, you understand that every diver, regardless of experience, has a subtly unique reason for journeying under water.

Some activities seem to be perfect precursors for scuba diving.  Avid swimmers, for example, are “naturals” at diving. Their comfort in the water makes using scuba gear a snap. People who enjoy snorkeling have an advantage. They have already seen some of the dazzling life beneath the sea.

But prospective divers don’t need to spend their days swimming laps, or be competitive swimmers. People who enjoy walking, running, tennis, bicycling, golf, hunting, hiking, snow and water skiing, fishing, and even bridge seem to gravitate to diving. As the folks at Dive Training Magazine point out, with its increasing popularity, scuba has become “chic.”
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“Chic?” you ask. Of course. Take a look at an issue of Vogue, GQ, Elle, or any other fashion magazine. Witness the “bodies beautiful” clad in neoprene and wearing scuba equipment. Scuba diving is reaching a pinnacle in media pop culture.

Diving has evolved from an activity for a select few adventurous souls into a universal recreational activity, a neon-clad way to meet interesting people. If the fashion magazines are to be believed, diving is a sexy adventure, an activity to “help put excitement back into your marriage.” At the same time, it’s a sport that conservative church groups tout as “something entire families can enjoy together.” Nearly half of all new divers are women. Diving is used as non-discriminatory therapy for physically challenged individuals. Scuba diving has become “universalized.”

And then there’s the environment. Since the first episode of Capt. Cousteau’s underwater series, scuba diving and preserving the sea have gone hand in hand. In this age of recycling, composting, car-pooling, and receding ozone, saving the planet is a sentiment that is being touted in political speeches, battery commercials, soap ads, and boardrooms.

Age seems to be a non-issue with divers. Reports indicate that record numbers of teenagers are learning to dive. The same reports claim more mature individuals are taking up the sport. And sandwiched in the middle are the ever-present “baby boomers,” who continue to account for a majority of entrants into the sport.
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So why do we dive? Scuba Diving is cool.  It is a lifetime activity that we can enjoy with our friends and family, and it never ceases to amaze.

This is a condensed, edited version of an article from Dive Training Magazine. http://dtmag.com/whydive.html
Pick up your free issue of the education-based magazine at Rec Diving, complements of our award-winning Rec Diving instructional team.

The lakes are frozen over, its time to dive!!!!!

During the winter months here in Michigan many divers think of warm diving destinations as their only option to get wet. For those who are ready to dress for the occasion there is another option, Ice Diving!!!!! Last year we were denied the opportunity to engage in this very different yet cool (literally) for of diving. A special certification is required to engage in Ice Diving as the overhead environment demands additional safe measures. If you’re already a certified Ice Diver or looking to take the class and join on in this great experience call the store at 248-549-0303 today and get your name added to the list. We’ll be finalizing our plans shortly and contacting those who are interested with all the details.

For students who will just be learning about ice diving you’ll learn everything you need to know how to plan, setup and execute ice diving safely.  The course will cover all of the follow aspects of ice diving:

  • Dive Gear Considerations
  • Ice Diving Specific Safety Equipment
  • Surface Safety
  • Amanda IceSite Selection
  • Required Ice Conditions
  • Surface to Diver Communications
  • Emergency Procedures
  • Securing the Site After the Dive
  • And more….

We look forward to seeing all of you excited enough to brave the cold and surf along the side of the ice few ever see.

Sincerely,
Rec Diving Staff