News
Book Review: “Under Pressure – Diving Deeper with Human Factors” by Gareth Lock
We generally have one common goal in all our dive plans – getting back out of the water healthy and happy. But other goals can be important too! On a recent photogrammetry exercise, my scuba kit was checked and in good order, but I got into the water with a vacuum-sealed housing containing no camera – that dive could have been a disappointing waste of time, however safely conducted.
When things go wrong in diving it’s normal to identify a critical error and seek to identify – and blame – the individual responsible. This tendency can lead to a group’s collective actions and biases, in the lead-up to a particular failure, being ignored in the analysis. This hinders us in learning useful lessons and developing safer behaviours. In my case I have now written a “Stills Camera” checklist as well as one for “OC Scuba”; this should help prevent that ever happening again.
I make this embarrassing confession in the spirit of openness which Gareth Lock advocates in his important new book “Under Pressure – Diving Deeper with Human Factors”. This brings together years of work to examine the numerous non-technical skills which are required for successful activities in high-risk environments (specifically, underwater).
A “Just Culture” which promotes, rather than punishes, the sharing of experience is to all our benefit. Gareth has solicited a number of accounts of accidents, near-misses and bad situations from respected and experienced divers. These illustrate clearly the different ways in which human behaviours can lead to things going wrong, or to minor problems being compounded when they should have been handled. More importantly he introduces a number of tools and proposes an approach to the organisation of diving activities which enables all the participants to contribute to the safe execution of the dives and to perform as safely as possible.
This is a thought-provoking, absorbing and educational read which is relevant to any diver. I will certainly refer back to it and expect to read it again!
For more information about the book and Gareth himself visit www.thehumandiver.com.
BOOT 2025, the world’s largest water sports trade fair, provided the perfect stage for the launch of the new UWACAM app which meanwhile is rated at an excellent 4.8 out of 5 in the Apple App Store.
Optimized for DIVEVOLK (divevolkdiving.com) Seatouch housings and developed in collaboration with award-winning underwater filmmaker Matthias Lebo (matthiaslebo.com), this app is user-friendly and features large, clear controls, enabling effortless and stunning shots.
It offers professional functions typically found in high-end cameras, supports the LOG format for advanced color corrections, includes built-in LUTs (Color Lookup Tables) to restore underwater colors, and provides a manual mode, user presets, histogram, focus peaking, zebra function, and much more.
As an official product of Bumbayaya GmbH (bumbayaya.ch / uwacam.com), the UWACAM app has been specifically designed for use in DIVEVOLK Seatouch underwater housings. Visitors were able to experience the app live at the DIVEVOLK booth.
UWACAM simplifies underwater photography with an intuitive user interface that is perfectly adapted for underwater operation. The app offers precise control and delivers impressive results for both hobby divers and professionals.
Why UWACAM?
- Specifically developed for DIVEVOLK: Perfect integration into Seatouch housings for effortless underwater operation.
- Simple yet professional: Switch between an Easy Automatic Mode for beginners and a comprehensive Pro Mode.
- All-in-one app: Supports all photo and video formats, including LOG for professional color corrections.
- Pro Features:
- Focus Peaking: Precise focus control.
- Zebra Function: Prevents over- or underexposure.
- Built-in LUTs: Color corrections for realistic underwater shots.
- Manual Controls: Fine-tune exposure, focus, white balance, and more.
- Diver-Specific Features: Automatic color correction based on environment and dive depth, plus an optional magnetic compass overlay.
“We are excited to present UWACAM at BOOT 2025,” says Matthias Lebo, who played a key role in its development. “With UWACAM, we bring the beauty of the underwater world directly into the hands of divers and snorkelers—intuitive, powerful, and adaptable.”
Customer Reviews
Available in the App Store
UWACAM is now available for download in the App Store.
https://apps.apple.com/de/app/uwacam/id6714463099
In a video produced exclusively for Scubaverse.com, Jeff Goodman reviews the Blade Fins from Atomic Aquatics.
For more information about products from Atomic Aquatics, visit www.atomicaquatics.com.
Sea & Sea is the home of Atomic Aquatics and other leading diving brands in the UK.
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