Equipment

Pool Diving Adventure

Olga Torrey
Larry Cohen testing a new Aquatica housing in a swimming pool. Photo by Olga Torrey.

The Northeast US dive season usually starts with divers dusting off the cobwebs at Dutch Springs in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. This year, the season started in the middle of a pandemic. Dutch Springs did not open in April, as it does most years. If you are a technical diver that is drying out, what is one to do? In our case, we took our drysuits, rebreathers, camera housings and sidemount rigs to our friend Gregory Borodiansky’s pool.

Isotta dive mask

The Isotta transparent dive mask has been specifically designed for photo shoots with underwater models. It features a large, retro-style, single-lens design, which makes it easier for underwater photographers to get enhanced or highlighted eyes and facial features of underwater models.

Betrayed Again — Ode to Olympus

The author's Olympus OMD E-M1 Mark II camera. For underwater photography, Cohen uses this camera with an Olympus M.Zuiko Digital ED 12-200mm f/3.5-6.3 lens, housed in an Aquatica housing.

On 24 June 2020, I woke up to the news that after 84 years, Olympus was selling off its camera division. As an underwater photographer and long-time user of Olympus camera gear, my feelings were that of betrayal, again. Here is some history on my experience with Olympus, and my thoughts about the future.