Hi all,

Just wanted to say 'hi', and introduce myself a bit. I'm a civilian firefighter out here at the U.S. Army base at Kwajalein Atoll, and I've been here just over 2 1/2 years. I started diving two years ago, which was a dream of many, many years come true.

I do a lot of wreck diving, and I'm also into underwater photography. But I like diving period- whether I'm diving a wreck, the reef, a coralhead, or whatever. I've been a firefighter for 21 1/2 years, and I'm contemplating a change of career. Guess what I want to do next! :-)

My current u/w camera is a SeaLife Reefmaster DC600, with the SL960D digital strobe and wide-angle lens. However, just a week ago, I ordered a new underwater photography system that consists of the following-

Nikon D300 camera
Sea & Sea housing
Tokina 10-17 wide angle lens
fish eye dome port
two Sea & Sea YS-250 strobes
Ikelite arm system

Those are the major components, and of course there's the cables and other misc. items. I've written a few articles on some of the wrecks out here, and I'm being asked to shoot u/w wreck photos for a couple of different aviation magazines, plus write accompanying articles. So, I decided it was time to get a pro system.

Other dive certs I want to get are Divemaster, Dive Instructor, Nitrox, Tech Diver, Master Diver, and anything else I can get. I'm starting my Divemaster course soon. Here at Kwajalein, we are only allowed to dive with single tanks with regular compressed air.

I'm looking forward to talking with others here about diving, u/w photography, and maybe getting some tips on being a better diver, and where I can go to pick up new certs. I love to travel, so I can easlily see myself going places like Thailand to take another dive course. And I love talking about diving in general. When I'm not actually in the water, I'm thinking about being in the water. :-)

Looking forward to having fun here. See you on the boards, and maybe in the water too.

Cheers all,

Dan