scubysnaps (Woody / Paul)

Forum username: scubysnaps
Location: South Central UK
Posts: 1,018 across 116 threads started
Active years: 2008—2020 (peak 2009)
Primary forums: Photography Gear and Technique (308), Photo/Video Showcase (171), Shooting Technique/Workflow/Editing (123), Trip Reports and Travel (110), General Chat (105)
Camera: Nikon D90 (Aquatica AD90), Canon G9 (Ikelite), Sony NEX-6
Strobes: Inon Z-240, Ikelite DS-125
Specialization: Compact-to-DSLR transition, mirrorless pioneering, Maldives and Red Sea travel, shark photography

Community Role

scubysnaps, known as Woody (and sometimes Paul, based on how community members addressed him), was a UK-based underwater photographer whose Wetpixel journey documented a classic progression: from compact camera user to DSLR shooter to early mirrorless adopter. With 1,018 posts heavily concentrated in the 2009—2012 period, he was one of the Beginner Forum’s most active graduates, taking a Martin Edge one-on-one course before upgrading to a Nikon D90 in an Aquatica AD90 housing.

His peak year was 2009 (335 posts), when he made the leap to DSLR and shared every step with the community — from unboxing his Aquatica housing to pool testing to his first dive trip with the new system. His enthusiastic November 2009 post announcing his new rig thanked Jean at Aquatica, Dave at Backscatter, and Yuzo at UWdigitalcamera for their support, and credited Martin Edge for helping him choose Nikon (^[1]).

By 2012, scubysnaps was pioneering the Sony NEX mirrorless system for underwater use, conducting detailed comparisons between the NEX-6 with Samyang 8mm fisheye and his Nikon D90 with Tokina 10-17mm — a comparison that attracted significant community interest with 67 replies (^[2]).

Notable Contributions

Photography Ethics and Debate

• Turn your flash off please (96 replies) — Started this heavily debated 2009 thread about strobe use around marine life, particularly at sites like Malapascua where flash was restricted around thresher sharks. The thread drew responses from John Bantin and others, debating whether strobes harm marine subjects (^[3])

Mirrorless Transition

• Sony NEX-6 Samyang 8mm vs Nikon D90 Tokina 10-17mm (67 replies) — A landmark comparison thread from October 2012, with scubysnaps providing real-world test shots at multiple apertures and distances. His meticulous testing helped the community evaluate whether mirrorless could match DSLR wide-angle quality (^[4])
• Sony NEX with 8mm fisheye (19 replies) — Earlier exploration of the mirrorless platform (^[5])
• NEX-7 macro examples please — Seeking community experience with mirrorless macro (^[6])
• From DX to NEX — Documenting his transition from DSLR to mirrorless (^[7])
• No DX — surely it’s not just me struggling to move on — Reflecting on the challenges of leaving the Nikon DX ecosystem (^[8])

DSLR Learning Journey

• My new SLR set up: Nikon D90, Aquatica and Inon Z-240s (39 replies) — A celebratory thread documenting his upgrade from compact to DSLR, with community member sideways following the same path and asking detailed setup questions. Scubysnaps became an informal mentor for other beginners making the same transition (^[9])
• Just done a 1-to-1 Martin Edge course (22 replies) — Enthusiastic review of his private session with the renowned UW photography educator, recommending it for anyone new to SLR underwater photography (^[10])
• Dome port for the G9 and Ikelite housing (35 replies) — Port selection for his compact camera setup before the DSLR upgrade (^[11])
• Why move to DSLR? and Why do you not use DSLR? — Started both sides of this debate (^[12], ^[13])
• AV or manual? — Shooting mode discussion for beginners (^[14])

Travel and Shark Photography

• Shearwater vs Dolphin Dream (50 replies) — Detailed comparison of Bahamas shark liveaboard operations, contributing to a sometimes heated discussion about shark feeding practices and safety (^[15])
• Hanifaru manta rays (13 posts) — Maldives manta feeding station discussion (^[16])
• Mantas from Hanifaru — the big five — Maldives image sharing (^[17])
• Maldives Ari Atoll Ellaidhoo gallery — Complete trip gallery (^[18])
• Tigers and lemon shark images — Bahamas shark photography (^[19])
• Marsa Alam pics — Red Sea trip report (^[20])
• Oceanic white tip improvements sought — Shark photography technique (^[21])

Community Contributions

• scubysnaps new and improved site — Launched his portfolio website (^[22])
• Underwater photography flag — Community branding discussion (^[23])
• Fast flash sync speed and the importance of underwater — Technical discussion (^[24])
• Does this mean I’m officially not a beginner anymore? — Light-hearted community milestone (^[25])

Activity Profile

References