diverdoug1

Forum username: diverdoug1
Real name: Doug
Posts: 404
Active years: 2008–2023
Primary forums: Photography Gear and Technique, Trip Reports and Travel, Lights/Strobes/Lighting Technique
Specialization: Housing flood prevention, mirrorless camera advocacy, Ikelite systems, macro photography

Community Role

Diverdoug1 (Doug) was a dedicated Wetpixel contributor whose posts spanned fifteen years of underwater photography evolution. With 404 posts, he was among the more active community members, and his threads often centered on practical, experience-driven topics that resonated broadly — including the iconic “How did you flood?” thread that became one of the most-referenced cautionary resources on the forum.

Doug was an experienced diver and photographer who progressed through multiple camera systems over his career, from Nikonos film through Ikelite-housed Nikon DSLRs. He was also an early advocate for creating a dedicated mirrorless camera forum on Wetpixel, recognizing the format’s growing importance to underwater photographers.

Notable Contributions

• “How did you flood?” thread: Doug’s most famous contribution (57 replies, November 2013) invited the community to share their housing flood stories and lessons learned. Doug went first, sharing his three floods spanning 30 years: a Nikonos 3 with an unreplaced o-ring, an Ikelite D70 bumped in a rinse tank, and an Ikelite D300 whose macro port was knocked partially off by a divemaster. His practical lessons — about the superiority of vacuum testing over bubble checks, Ikelite’s port retention limitations with long macro ports, and the need to constantly monitor gear — set the tone for dozens of candid confessions and hard-won wisdom from fellow members (^[1]).

• Mirrorless forum proposal: In December 2013, Doug started a 57-reply thread proposing that Wetpixel create a dedicated forum for mirrorless camera discussions, arguing that mirrorless threads were becoming prevalent in the DSLR forum. The thread sparked a lively debate about forum organization, with some members preferring a unified “Digital Interchangeable Lens Camera” forum and others supporting separation. The thread reflected the industry’s transition from DSLR to mirrorless systems (^[2]).

• TTL troubleshooting: Doug contributed to technical lighting discussions, including a thread about underexposed bottom-of-image issues when using TTL flash (15 replies), helping diagnose strobe positioning and sync problems (^[3]).

• Travel and health discussions: Doug started practical travel threads including advice on antimalarial drugs for Lembeh (19 replies), where community consensus was that antimalarials were unnecessary for the resort area (^[4]).

• Megadome diopter discussion: His thread on +2 diopters for the Megadome (10 replies) contributed to ongoing wide-angle optical discussions.

Equipment History

• Nikonos 3 (film era)
• Nikon D70 in Ikelite housing
• Nikon D300 in Ikelite housing with long macro port

Activity Profile

• First post: August 2008
• Peak years: 2013–2016
• Threads started: 44
• Last appearance: September 2023
• Forum focus: Practical gear maintenance and flood prevention, mirrorless camera discussions, travel planning, lighting technique