Todd Mintz

Forum username: yahsemtough
Real name: Todd Mintz (from profile website/email)
Location: Canada
Posts: 2,288 across 1,430 threads (133 threads started)
Active years: 2002–2012
Primary forums: Photo/Video Showcase (37%), General Chat (20%), Photography Gear and Technique (19%), Trip Reports (11%)
Specialization: Pacific Northwest cold-water diving, early DSLR camera systems, trip organizing, photo competitions

Community Role

Todd Mintz, posting as yahsemtough, was one of Wetpixel’s earliest community members, joining in April 2002 — just months after the site’s founding. His most prolific year was 2003 (657 posts), making him one of the forum’s most active contributors during the formative period when digital underwater photography was overtaking film. He authored 1 article for Wetpixel and left 26 comments on Wetpixel articles, demonstrating engagement across both the editorial and community sides of the site.

With nearly 40% of his posts in Photo/Video Showcase, yahsemtough was first and foremost someone who shared images and participated in the community’s visual culture. His substantial Trip Reports activity (255 posts, 11%) made him one of the forum’s most prolific travel contributors, frequently organizing and documenting group dive trips to British Columbia and Southeast Asia.

Notable Contributions

Trip organizing and cold-water diving advocacy

yahsemtough was the Wetpixel community’s foremost advocate for Pacific Northwest cold-water diving, particularly British Columbia’s Port Hardy region. He organized multiple Wetpixel community dive trips to Port Hardy aboard the Seaventurer, actively recruiting participants through the forums. His December 2002 Port Hardy trip organizing thread recruited participants for a group dive aboard the Seaventurer, describing the destination as “world famous” diving (^[1]). He followed up with a photo showcase post sharing images from Port Hardy, building the community’s awareness of this cold-water macro and wide-angle destination (^[2]).

Early DSLR debates

yahsemtough started the influential “What would you choose D100 or 300D” thread in December 2003, one of the foundational discussions about the Nikon D100 vs. Canon 300D choice that faced early digital underwater photographers. The thread drew responses from prominent community members including James Wiseman and craig, covering lens ecosystems, housing availability from Aquatica, and the relative merits of Nikon’s DX lens lineup vs. Canon’s sensor technology (^[3]).

Photo competition engagement

yahsemtough was closely connected to the Beneath the Sea photo competition community. He started the “BTS Contest results” thread in March 2006, congratulating fellow Wetpixel members on their placements, including his friend Rand who won Best of Show. The thread revealed the depth of Wetpixel’s competitive photography community, with multiple members placing across categories (^[4]).

Other contributions

• Active in topside Canon wildlife lens discussions, reflecting crossover between underwater and terrestrial photography interests (^[5])
• Contributed to Lembeh Strait and Raja Ampat trip discussions, helping build early awareness of these now-iconic destinations
• Participated in the Smithsonian Ocean Views competition discussion

Activity Profile

• Forum focus: 37% Photo/Video Showcase, 20% General Chat, 19% Photography Gear and Technique, 11% Trip Reports
• Activity score: 2,749 (person_matrix.json)
• Thread participation style: Broad — 2,288 posts across 1,430 threads (1.6 posts/thread average), indicating wide engagement rather than deep single-thread focus

References