Deep Blue

While some of the scuba diving abilities we acquire are only meant to be used in times of emergency, others are practically always useful. When we initially enter the diving world, we’re trained on employing safety stops while scuba diving. They’re a preventative and proactive approach that ensures our bodies are appropriately acclimatized when we return to the surface after spending time in the depths of the sea. Safety Stops  Whether you’re on an exploratory scuba diving excursion in the Red Sea or are just leisurely diving in Aqaba; it’s customary to make a safety stop at dives below 10 feet. After spending time at depth, divers often take a short break of 3 to 5 minutes at around 5 to 6 meters. People often confuse this with a deep stop, which is done around 50% of the dive’s max depth. Importance Nitrogen builds up in our blood and tissues when we breathe compressed air for too long. The pressure drops when we come up out of the water, and the same nitrogen starts to flow back out. This is known as off-gassing.   Ascending too fast can cause nitrogen bubbles to form in the blood vessels. As a result, these nitrogen bubbles may become trapped inside us and cause decompression sickness. A diver’s return to the surface is greatly slowed by safety stops, giving their bodies enough time to eliminate the extra nitrogen collected in their blood and tissues.  Safety stops are important for all kinds of dives, whether deep or shallower ones. Along with stopping at… Read More »Safety Stops and Why you Should Make One While Diving

Wreck Sites in Aqaba Jordan is typically not the first place many people think about when considering the next stop for a scuba diving vacation. But, it might be time to reconsider. For lovers of wreck diving, Aqaba, Jordan, has a few prime dive spots that you’ll instantly fall in love with.    This is all thanks to the royal family of Jordan and their long-standing interest in diving. The majority of the wrecks near Aqaba were deliberately sunk as artificial reefs. In 1985, the late King Abdullah personally gave the order to sink the Cedar Pride ship. It’s a beloved and popular destination for tourists who come to Aqaba to dive. Most of the wrecks in Aqaba are are highly accessible. Let’s check out a few of them! Cedar Pride This wreck is the most-visited spot in the area for wreck divers. It had its humble beginnings as a Spanish cargo ship. It went through many owners who renamed her multiple times until a Lebanese company named her San Bruno. This label is still readable when you go scuba diving in Aqaba.  Due to an explosion that tore a hole in the ship, it was destroyed and remained partially submerged and partially afloat in the harbor. Then the King, who loved diving, became interested in the ship and decided to sink it and turn it into the well-known dive destination it is currently. It was cleared of oil and other substances that might harm marine life. It lies on its port side with plenty of… Read More »Diving in Aqaba and The Iconic Wrecks of Jordan

Underwater photography isn’t everyone’s cup of tea. Even if you’re good at natural photography, you’ll find it challenging to adapt to taking pictures underwater. The odd lighting conditions, the weird perspectives, and the inability to move around freely make taking pictures anything but easy. We interviewed Red Sea diving experts in Aqaba for their professional advice on how best to take pictures underwater. This article shares three of the most important tips we noted.So, without further ado, let’s dive into it! 1.Don’t Take Images From The Top Many people make the mistake of taking pictures as they’re diving downwards. This results in very cluttered and flat images. When you’re above your subject, the background is the sea floor—which isn’t much farther from your subject. This minimizes your lens focus and makes it harder to distinguish between your subject and the background. The seafloor is also probably getting as much light as your subject, limiting your photographs’ ambiance.Instead, get to the same level as your subject or below your subject to capture the picture. Your subject will stand out far better against a plain background. 2.Get Closer to Your Subject Not a lot of light reaches the seafloor. Most professional underwater photographs you see use strobes to illuminate the subject. As a beginner, you might not have the budget to purchase these. You can also try using an underwater torch. However, there’s a way you can tackle this. Instead of taking pictures of entire sceneries, choose a subject and don’t shoot deep. Instead, use ambient light.… Read More »How to Take Pictures Underwater: 3 Tips for Beginners