Bruce Yates

Forum username: bmyates
Location: Seattle, WA
Posts: 900 across 117 threads started
Active years: 2005–2023
Primary forums: Photography Gear and Technique (289), Photo/Video Showcase (167), General Chat (113), Trip Reports and Travel (108), Lights/Strobes/Lighting (57)
Comments: 1 article comment
Mentioned in: 1 article

Community Role

bmyates was a long-standing Wetpixel community member with an unusually high thread-starting ratio — 117 threads from 900 total posts means roughly 1 in 8 of their posts initiated a new discussion. This pattern, combined with substantial Photo/Video Showcase activity (167 posts), marks someone who actively shared their own work and posed questions rather than primarily responding to others.

Based in Seattle, bmyates was active during the golden age of DSLR underwater photography (2005–2010) with a remarkable long tail of engagement through 2023 — an 18-year span that made them one of the forum’s most enduring contributors even if their post count was moderate. Peak activity was 2006 (223 posts), with strong engagement through 2010 before a sharp decline.

Notable Contributions

Super-macro and diopter expertise

bmyates’s most impactful thread was “Getting more than 1:1 macro from 1:1 lenses” (101 replies), which became one of Wetpixel’s definitive macro photography references. The discussion drew expert contributors including James Wiseman, Chris Bangs with his Nikon 200mm AFS micro, and Matt Segal discussing Canon’s MP-E 1-5x lens. The thread covered teleconverters, stacking diopters, and achieving extreme magnification ratios underwater — essential knowledge for the muck diving and macro shooting community (^[1]).

bmyates also contributed to the “Woody’s diopter” thread (29 replies), covering wet lens accessories for close-up photography (^[2]).

Community dive trip participation

bmyates participated in Wetpixel-organized dive events, including:

• “Your chance to dive with Eric Cheng and Douglas Seifert” (10 posts) — community dive trip
• “Wetpixel Bahamas trip” (8 posts) — community dive trip

Gear and technique discussions

• Canon 5D Mark II upgrade discussions — “5D Mark II upgrade dilemma — 16-35mm II” (7 posts), lens selection for the new body
• DSLR video revolution — “Video from the Canon 5D Mark II” (7 posts), early DSLR video discussion
• Seacam 1D/1Ds Mark II housing (8 posts) — high-end housing evaluation
• Buoyancy arms review (10 posts) — practical accessory evaluation
• Disguising luggage (26 replies) — practical travel thread about protecting camera gear in transit (^[3])

Conservation

• Shark fin awareness in China (26 replies) — conservation discussion (^[4])
• “Caught in the Act…again” (25 replies) — environmental enforcement discussion (^[5])

Trip reporting and destinations

bmyates started threads on Lembeh Strait and Raja Ampat photography, reflecting Seattle’s Pacific Rim diving connections. They also discussed photo contests (Beneath the Sea competition), Nikon D200 speculation, and diopter usage.

Activity Profile

• Activity score: 1,258 (person_matrix.json)
• Longevity: 18 years of forum presence (2005–2023)
• Thread-starting ratio: 13% (117 of 900 posts started new threads)

References