PADI Open Water Course: 

This is the first dive course I took in 1998 at Scubaworld, Makati, Philippines.  The course entails classroom sessions and pool sessions where you learn to use scuba equipment,  learn proper breathing techniques and various skills underwater.  It is a very fun and enjoyable class because you gain much knowledge from the classroom sessions and you practice diving skills in a 15 feet deep swimming pool. The course took approximately two weeks.   The finale to the course is the “check-out” dive where you incorporate everything you’ve learned from the classroom and pool sessions out in the ocean . 

PADI Advanced Open Water Course:

Since  I enjoyed diving so much after my certification as Open Water diver and having dove for 2 years already,  I sought to learn more and  increase my knowledge in the different fields of scuba diving.  Therefore, I took up the Advanced Open Water course.

Here, I learned deep diving, drift diving, multi-level diving, night dive, peak performance buoyancy, search and recovery, underwater naturalist, underwater photography (which I really love), underwater video, fish identification, etc.  The advanced course offered so much more, therefore my interest and fondness for diving increased tenfold.  I learned to examine relationships of different organisms underwater, be more aware of different types of fishes, take photos and videos of the underwater environment, and improve and learn more skills.  Night diving is also something which fascinated me – to be underwater surrounded by aquatic life in the dark, peaceful stillness, with only the few lights of your fellow divers to guide your path.

National Geographic Diver

I took the National Geographic Diver course at Divezone, Ortigas 2 years ago, because I wanted to delve and explore the underwater world as a scientist would.  This course further encourages you to really look at, study and investigate the dive site you are exploring. You look at the terrain of a site, the kinds of living organisms or structures that you find in that site, certain habits of organisms or what they contribute to the site, etc.  This course enhances your knowledge and skills of investigation , as well as enhancing one’s awareness and sensitivity  to the preservation of the aquatic world.

Underwater Photography

The underwater photography course is a specialty course which I took in Divezone 2 years ago because of the interest Ive had in it for the longest time.   Every picture on this site (even the background of the main page) were pictures taken by myself on different dives.   The underwater photography course gave me an introduction to using an underwater camera and how many settings you must use in order to take a single shot.  It can be a bit technical, and it would be better to have a camera that can take really clear and detailed pictures, however, certain settings on your camera can sometimes help obtain that effect.   My purpose for taking photography is to be able to capture what I see while Im diving and to also be able share with others all the marvelous wonders of the underwater realm.

PADI Rescue Diver

I took the PADi Rescue Diver Class in February 2007 because I felt the need to expand my knowledge and experience level some more. The rescue class was both rewarding and fun for me because different emergency scenarios were placed before the class, enabling each one to consider the safety and well being of other divers. It is in itself a serious course, but acting out the different emergency scenarios made it both challenging and fun at the same time. During our five open water sessions, we learned several skills including emergency first response (first-aid and cpr) – delivering oxygen in emergency situations. We also learned swimming and non-swimming rescue techniques, exits, what to do when other divers panic, are missing, are unconscious or stressed. Managing emergencies and first aid procedures for dive accidents are all part of the rescue dive course and is a pre-requisite to the Divemaster course.