NW DIVE GIRL |
Photo Courtesy of Fel Santos www.felsantos.com |
Pamela Treischel
A Little Background - My Diving Journey
Photo Courtesy of Fel Santos www.felsantos.com
In the summer of 2014, I took a "Discover SCUBA" class at a pool while in San Diego, CA and it became a pivotal moment in my life. When I returned home, my soon-to-be dive buddy sponsored me so I could take my open water certification through Fort Lewis Scuba on JBLM. As it turned out bungee jumping was a much easier feat for me that summer! I grew up a swimmer and considered myself a fish out of water, how could scuba diving be hard? The in-water tasks were more difficult than I imagined and everything I was learning was so I wouldn't die!! What the heck did I get myself into? I worked hard trying to figure out how to clear that darn mask without drinking and snorting a ton of water and then worked my mind even harder to prevent 14 mm of neoprene from choking me into a panic! With great instruction, a major pep-talk, and a super patient buddy, I pulled through successfully!
At first, I just wanted to learn more to increase my confidence, so I took some additional training and achieved my Master Diver status. Then I decided I wanted to encourage others to get into this amazing sport and became a Dive Master. I'm now an assistant instructor... and while I always thought I would eventually become an instructor, a mild traumatic brain injury has halted that path.
I started this website to share photos with my family and friends. I also wanted to try blogging a bit about my dive travels and photography. Now I write mostly about NOT diving and the impacts of mild traumatic brain injury (and there is nothing mild about it). I'm still holding out hope and striving to improve enough to dive again in the not-too-distant future. Follow along as I navigate this unknown path and conquer the effects of mild traumatic brain injury so I can successfully return to diving.
At first, I just wanted to learn more to increase my confidence, so I took some additional training and achieved my Master Diver status. Then I decided I wanted to encourage others to get into this amazing sport and became a Dive Master. I'm now an assistant instructor... and while I always thought I would eventually become an instructor, a mild traumatic brain injury has halted that path.
I started this website to share photos with my family and friends. I also wanted to try blogging a bit about my dive travels and photography. Now I write mostly about NOT diving and the impacts of mild traumatic brain injury (and there is nothing mild about it). I'm still holding out hope and striving to improve enough to dive again in the not-too-distant future. Follow along as I navigate this unknown path and conquer the effects of mild traumatic brain injury so I can successfully return to diving.
A Little Background - My Photography Journey
Having always been a swimmer I struggled with the constant urge to use my hands while diving. I decided I needed to do something productive to keep them busy so I bought a waterproof case for my iPhone and started taking photos of what I was seeing and sharing them with family and friends. Everyone seemed to really enjoy the photos and always commented on how surprised they were to see so much color under our dark Pacific Northwest waters. My creative juices started flowing and after flooding a couple of phones (yes, user error) it was time to make a real camera purchase! My first purchase was an Olympus TG-4 with an underwater housing (and I could accidently flood it without ruining it). I began sharing more photos and with some encouragement from a co-worker I ventured into Instagram. While the TG-4 was great for macro, I wanted to get more artistic and grow as a photographer. I started to feel like the point and shoot was limiting me. In June of 2018, after about a year of looking and researching my options, I broke the bank and purchased an Olympus mirrorless system; the OM-D E-M1 Markii, a Nauticam housing and Sea & Sea YS-D2 strobes. The name of the camera alone should have scared me but now I had to figure out what the hell an F-stop was and for all I knew ISO was a mattress or political organization! I've had one heck of a steep learning curve (which you will see) as I refused to use the auto-mode and worked my way from aperture priority to manual (after some strobe sync issues and help from my trusted mentors). If that wasn't enough, let's try Lightroom, and why not snooting while everything is still a cluster!?!? I have no regrets taking it all on at once!
Since I can't dive right now, I'm keeping my camera busy learning to shoot the Milky Way, along with birds, insects, waterfalls and anything else that inspires me in the moment. Life's a journey of learning and discovery.
Since I can't dive right now, I'm keeping my camera busy learning to shoot the Milky Way, along with birds, insects, waterfalls and anything else that inspires me in the moment. Life's a journey of learning and discovery.
MY PASSION PROJECT
Ambassador for Inland Ocean Coalition
NOTE: Sadly, this project has been put on hold until I recover further from a mild traumatic brain injury and can travel and dive again.
As an ambassador for the Inland Ocean Coalition, one of my goals is to dive all 50 states and coordinating cleanup events along the way. Whether diving in a lake, reservoir or quarry, I want to bring awareness to the trash that clutters our environment upstream in addition to the coastal shorelines. About 60% of the US population doesn't live near the coast where cleanup efforts are more prominent. The trash challenge begins upstream, and so can the catalyst for making change! This really goes beyond just cleanup efforts as we can all help educate our inland communities and increase awareness of a sustainable and zero-waste conscious lifestyle. I'll be reaching out to the local communities and divers to join me in these cleanup efforts, so stay tuned! I'll be diving, photographing and writing about these efforts across all 50 states once I'm further along in my mTBI recovery and can dive again. I hope you'll join me then and become part of the solution with me.
As an ambassador for the Inland Ocean Coalition, one of my goals is to dive all 50 states and coordinating cleanup events along the way. Whether diving in a lake, reservoir or quarry, I want to bring awareness to the trash that clutters our environment upstream in addition to the coastal shorelines. About 60% of the US population doesn't live near the coast where cleanup efforts are more prominent. The trash challenge begins upstream, and so can the catalyst for making change! This really goes beyond just cleanup efforts as we can all help educate our inland communities and increase awareness of a sustainable and zero-waste conscious lifestyle. I'll be reaching out to the local communities and divers to join me in these cleanup efforts, so stay tuned! I'll be diving, photographing and writing about these efforts across all 50 states once I'm further along in my mTBI recovery and can dive again. I hope you'll join me then and become part of the solution with me.
Follow Me....
First, as I navigate my brain injuries!
