The Scuba GOAT Podcast

Jayne Jenkins - Surface Interval

Matt Waters / Don Silcock / Jayne Jenkins Season 3 Episode 6

Comedy alert!
We managed to coax Don Silcock back into the studio by waving a beer under his nose and as a bonus for the show his dive buddy of 20 years came along too...

The sensible text and a REAL intro to Jayne Jenkins

Jayne learnt to dive in the chilly waters along the rugged Welsh coastline before moving to Australia in 1973. She is actively involved in many facets of the diving industry and has been for over four decades. She was previously a volunteer diver with the Westpac Rescue Helicopter Service in Sydney.  This led to Jayne working as a safety diver and researcher for various underwater film, television and photographic expeditions focusing on diving in the Pacific. 

Having been an active underwater photography instructor for many years, Jayne went on to establish the first digital shoot-out competition at Lord Howe Island, has won many awards for her photography and remains a regular editorial contributor to Dive Log and Ocean Geographic. 

For the past 18 years, Jayne has devoted time as Vice President of Australasia for the Our World-Underwater Scholarship Society (OWUSS) - a scholarship sponsored by Rolex for young underwater enthusiasts. Jayne has been an invaluable mentor to a lucky 13 scholars and has played a significant part in their lives but has now passed it on to one of the younger generation and one of the past scholars. 

Jayne is currently the resident photographer /consultant with The Ocean Agency formally the Catlin Seaview Survey a fast game-changing creative scientific project. Using specially designed technology, the Catlin Seaview Survey recorded and revealed the world's oceans and reefs like never before, in high-resolution, 360-degree panoramic vision. This led to being part of the brilliant documentary Chasing Coral. 

Jayne was also a safety diver/camera assistant for a documentary filmed in what she calls “her back yard” Chowder Bay, for the BBC National History unit about seahorses called Fierce Queens.

Over her years working in travel and being a keen traveller, Jayne has visited places such as - South Africa, Socorro, Cuba, Indonesia, Philippines, New Zealand, Maldives, Tahiti, Solomon Islands, Papua New Guinea, Vanuatu, Tonga, Antarctica, Arctic and many more including Australia.

Jayne is also a member of the prestigious Woman Divers Hall of Fame and a Fellow International of The Explorers Club. 

 Jayne on Facebook

Don on Facebook

Matt on Insta

Do you have feedback or an opinion to share with us? SMS us now.

Support the show



REVIEWS are fabulous and tell us that you are listening, thank you in advance for your support and for taking the time to leave a review.

PROSPECTIVE GUESTS - "Guest Registration"

Nomadic Scuba is your ultimate dive travel partner! Founded by Matt, it’s an online travel booking agency tailored specifically for scuba divers. Whether you're ready to explore, need expert advice, or want assistance with bookings, visit Nomadic Scuba today.

MUSIC (legend!): Forever Young by AudioCoffee | https://www.audiocoffee.net/

Matt Waters:

Don, you're back in the studio at long last, how the devil are you old diamond?

Don Silcock:

Pretty damn good actually pretty damn good.

Matt Waters:

Give us a little bit of what you've been doing the last couple of weeks

Don Silcock:

well I got my life back excuse me I yeah I'm I've really felt like I've got my mojo back after two years of induced coma. The trips that I booked for 2020 is starting to happen. So the first one was to Tahoe in the Philippines which was quite an adventure trying to get all the tests and everything you have to get done to go there and to get back into Australia. But it's all worth it because it's a great sight beautiful reefs absolutely superb reefs very very well managed. The Conservation that's gone on there is extremely impressive. Really when you consider it was all done in the 1980s in the Philippines where you know good governance wasn't the place wasn't known for it but they don't have an absolutely superb job and I was very impressed so that was it was just fantastic to to get there and added to back to back trips and then back down to Australia and only here for a couple of days and went back up to Bali to get our house sorted out there and I've made a you know all that's But call me back to life and I'm off on a four week adventure to India on Saturday that's something else that's adventure motorcycling but

Matt Waters:

yeah, this is why I dragged you into the studio because trying to nail you down along with Lisa at the same time is practically impossible right now now that we've got freedom of movement everyone's back to doing stuff it's brilliant. However it's a pain in the ass trying to get in the studio.

Don Silcock:

Well you know we want sympathy get a dog is the best thing I could say after two years of you know what we will what we all went through you know I mean it was awful all round but you know I've just I'm just over the moon to be doing this stuff again. You know stuff I love doing and getting your life back.

Matt Waters:

Well, we've got to add in right at the start here before you go on about to patata Tata some more. We've got a lovely lady in the studio with us today, which is Jane, and she is Don's dive buddy for what? 20 years.

Don Silcock:

Yeah, we I met Jane in Sydney Airport. 20 something years ago, I think 20 years ago are like those. It was it was filmed days. It was you know, we had film cameras back then. But yeah, it was on a great white strip Wasn't it too, with Ralphie roll Fergie about ski. And since then we've we've dived a lot together and Jane's look at well, I always look rough. So but the thing is, Jayne was great. So when I, you know, came back to Sydney here, during the pandemic, Jane invited me out to a secret place, which is child obey and look to maybe you can introduce yourself, Jayne and talk a little bit about Chowder bay I know it's something that you're really passionate about as...

Jayne Jenkins:

Well I'm not as exotic as Don, I don't sort of travel as much as he does, I get away when I can, but my go to is child obey, which is in Mosman in Sydney. And no matter you know, I might go there three or four times a week and no matter how often you go there, how craps the visitors, how bad the water is, whatever, there's always something there's always something there to be seen, you know, I could show Dawn things in Sydney, that if you if you put some photos together and you you know I'm not blasting Lambay but if you put some photos of Joe Dube together and then put some photos of Lambay together you got the same preachers and I was diving there this morning and I was diving with Professor Bill Gladstone who's a Professor of Marine Biology and I saw an octopus who it was like he split himself into he was like a black and white minstrel where they used to have one face side of their face black one side of their face and white. I mean, this whole body just went black one side and white the other side.

Matt Waters:

Is this the octopus that you visit on a regular basis? Yeah,

Jayne Jenkins:

this is you know, my Octopus friend.

Don Silcock:

I need to explain that whenever I whenever we've done trips together, media I always introduce her as the Lord Mayor. God because it's true

Matt Waters:

Yeah, you do seem to dive literally daily,

Jayne Jenkins:

three or four days a week? Not quite daily. And yeah, well, it's just a special place. It's years ago what my husband's are shipping pilots. He was a shipping pilot in Sydney. And he'd given me a blast when he was taking a cruise ship out through the harbour. And there'd be people on there Yeah, who in you know, they all did the YMCA is going up the harbour. Not one of them knew what was underneath the harbour. And what we've got in Sydney Harbour is amazing. It

Matt Waters:

is absolutely fantastic. And chowder Bay. It's one of the places where I really, it makes me laugh at times, because the amount of people fishing on the pier on the jetty are like, dudes, if you could see what's down here, you wouldn't even get out of bed. Exactly.

Jayne Jenkins:

But I do sometimes, you know, the fish aren't here. They're over there. And the last few days we've had a very, very friendly Seal come in

Matt Waters:

I saw that, didn't someone, put a name to it on Sydney Viz?

Jayne Jenkins:

for Clifton gardens, but Cliffy has been swimming along pinching all the fisherman's bait (Laughter) is a poser. And he did have a trace hanging out of his mouth the other day, but it's gone now. So he's still there. And he's still fine. And this morning, there was three huge sting rays that are constant, visitors say they're massive, and they just Hoover along the bottom, picking up all the fish and baits.

Matt Waters:

Those convenient little chaps that just disturb all the silt when you're trying to take macro shots

Jayne Jenkins:

cause the biggest load of crap you could ever see.

Matt Waters:

Yeah, yeah. How long have you been diving there then?

Jayne Jenkins:

I learned to dive originally in 19. Hot do I really want to say 1972? It was back in Wales. And I didn't really finish the course. Because back then, yeah, I was a lot younger. And you carried the tanks for people basically to show that you could be fit enough to do it. And for six months, I think I carried tanks. I did about three dives. And when I came to Australia, I actually came surfing. I was weird, a lot surfing in Wales, where I lived, and I used to go surfing. But Australia, they hated female surfers back in 73. If you're a female surfer in the water, you'd get abused and screamed at. But I saw these signs come diving and go wow, you know, well, I've done that. I can go along and I got talked into upgrading my BTech to a paddy and swap from surfing to diving.

Don Silcock:

Yeah. So when did you discover child obey? When did you first sort of late 70s? Really? Have you seen that change over the years? Yes. Have you got better I'll get worse. No,

Jayne Jenkins:

it's it's it's interesting because at one stage we used to dive more on the plunge side. There used to be a dive shop there called plunge so it's where Sims is and we used to always dive that side. But now that side is such a mess. There's nothing there. Which is that where the Navy peers on that side?

Don Silcock:

Go up on the top there. That's where it would plunge wasn't it? Yeah. And it was a that was a talk about carrying tanks. That was an exercise to get down with it with the restaurants and the cuff. Yeah, that's right. Yeah,

Jayne Jenkins:

we actually did a walkathon there. Six of us I was conned into it. I come back from the UK and I can't remember who it was it rang me with those day veracity or Oh, what was his name? Somebody else rang me anyway. And they said, Oh, we're doing a walkathon down chowder bay we walk in 100 ks underwater we need lots of people to do it. Oh yeah. I'm happy to go down there and walk okay. So signed up for it and yeah, so far where are you need to come and practice. Oh, right. Okay, came down. Then I found out six of us. So we did this underwater we got in the Guinness Book of Records and water 100k Walk for charity. And we did our debate. We started on the weeks we started about four o'clock on the Friday afternoon or you know maybe a little bit earlier and we finish on the Sunday afternoon and we did it in teams of two and we had a rope measuring it so we had to ring a bell we had a pulley in which it ring a bell every time we got to the end and there was somebody there logging it all and

Don Silcock:

I'd like to point out that you still friends with diversity as well

Jayne Jenkins:

I think it was a big number a halfway up the line and we had to keep jumping. He didn't move we had to keep jumping over him. So yeah, Chaturbate pocket quite intimate.

Matt Waters:

Yeah, yeah. Well, it's got a it's got his own dedicated group and page and stuff on social media.

Jayne Jenkins:

There's a lot more people going there now than it used to be, you'd never get lots of people. And luckily, there's quite a few groups that are doing cleanups. A lot of the dive shops have been quite good. You just got to explain to them don't take everything because creatures do live in rubbish. But yeah, it's, it was my saving grace through COVID. Yeah, I just snuck in on the 5k. Rim. And it was my saving grace. I could go down there. There just be two or three of us diving.

Matt Waters:

Yeah, we were fortunate enough as well. We're in the same boat. Literally. Just just inside the five county region. So we were down there quite a lot. Yeah, I like it.

Jayne Jenkins:

I like it. It's I love nighttime.

Matt Waters:

I don't know about that. past four o'clock in the afternoon. It's bedtime for me.

Jayne Jenkins:

But you got to do it on occasion. And yeah, if half the people knew what was down there, like the kids in the pool, if they knew those blue ringed octopus and things like that, they wouldn't be in there. But now, I think Don got it like it do didn't Yeah, it

Don Silcock:

was it was a bit of a sea change for me after I mean, I did it years ago, before we moved to Bali, and I was I was impressed by the you know, all the white sea horses that you could see the and there was some there's some great images taken down there of those seahorses and the acid so photogenic you know, the credible creatures. So yeah, you know, when I came back down to Sydney, and you know, contact your journal, first thing, she said, Come to childhood. And off we went, you know, so it was a regular thing for for quite some time there. Until, you know, we went into all the lockers on the other side of the city where I couldn't, you know, go there during the lockdown and what have you, but you did push

Matt Waters:

you 5k limit somewhat, I didn't because I saw the landscape photography you were doing and you'd pop up like one and a half k from my house

Don Silcock:

because you can't go out your borough that was the city of Sydney. And from Redfern that we just checked before a wedding. And I got stopped a couple of mornings but you did placement would come up to me but my for those who don't know, I'm into landscape geography. So you know, Sunrise is spectacular in Sydney. And that was another way of retaining my sanity during the Julian COVID was to you know, go and go and do some sunrises and what have you. And so no, I I'm a great believer in following the rules. And I didn't I didn't break any you can check you know. It seems like you were

Matt Waters:

Yeah, I'd look at the photos come up as like, a moment. I know that I know that view. It's like the kilometre, maybe a kilometre from from where we're living

Jayne Jenkins:

at pictures or tried to bake them up. I know where they live. They know.

Matt Waters:

Anyway, I like it. I've just in fact that box that's on the table is I've upgraded the macro lens for my Canon M six. So I've gone from 60 mil to 100 mil. Alright, so this here is the port extension just sent down from Chris and the boys underwater Australia. Some you'll probably see me and chowder Bay next week, Jane just playing around with it getting very scratchy, heavy.

Don Silcock:

You're now in the presence of best guide. She knows the area on the back of her hand will show you stuff that you you just don't know is that yeah,

Matt Waters:

well, I must admit, I've lost count of how many times I've dived there. And you know, I used to diver with Simon a lot. And we found one frog fish every now and then. Brock keeps saying all these different coloured frog fish off. And I'm like, Holy shit, where are these little motherfuckers? You know?

Jayne Jenkins:

What it's? Yeah, somebody said to me the other day, how can you find all this stuff? And well, number one, I'm probably in the water a lot more than you. But it's it's luck. I could be swimming across the sand, you know, sort of here and Don could be over there. He'll see something I won't because I'm that far away. So it's just like, it really is like but the frog fish. There's three down there that I know of at the moment and they have moved for two months at least because I haven't told anybody where they are.

Matt Waters:

Yeah. That really big fat dude, just he still left. He was fishing this morning. Oh my God. He lifted him to put anything.

Jayne Jenkins:

No. He was unbelievable. I just swam past that Like what the hell is that? I thought he had another I thought he was having a little bit of a gampang net from fish. And I saw shit he's been eating. That's, you know, he's just huge.

Matt Waters:

Yeah, I would just think it was it was it bill? I don't know. Was it bill he got the videographer, the video shots of frog fish eat in. I think it was a soul or a flat fish or something like no,

Jayne Jenkins:

I don't think it was Bill. I can't remember it. But I saw that. Yeah, that was I think that was a night dive. Yeah,

Matt Waters:

it's amazing how much food they can get in one mouth in one bite.

Jayne Jenkins:

I think they can put something in their mouth that is 10 times bigger than their body size. I actually did a

Don Silcock:

there's a party speciality for frogfish and Jane's got it.

Jayne Jenkins:

Okay, it was a bit of a bank, but I didn't want a badge. I didn't want the card. I was going to the Philippines and somebody told me about this frog fish course you could do and the guy called himself Dr. Frog fish. His name's Daniel. And he said I do

Don Silcock:

t shirts. Yeah. Oh, there was on the boat on trips. There were some people who lived in delegates around around demagogy. Yeah, and he had all these T shirts with Dr. frogfish, you know, to

Jayne Jenkins:

do the course you know it was any I think it was two afternoons a theory and you still got to dive and it was one of the best courses I've ever done. He went back to the history frogfish and he had pallets of I think they would call that in those days. Or it shows a black and white drawing from old semen that had seen frog fish in the water. And that went back to 1647 or something. And then there was a coloured one, which was the 1800s and then he taught us all the different types of frog fish that behaviour how to find them why they on their breeding habits. How different ones have different ways of giving birth Lane eggs. You

Matt Waters:

remember all this then? Yeah, okay. What little bits of it? Let's let's go with a yawning bit because I mean, I've got I've got some exceptionally sexy photos of an Ambien. frogfish yawning, I've been told so many things about the yawn. There's some that I believe there's some that I think is horseshit. What do you know about the Yalova frogfish.

Jayne Jenkins:

They're either digesting food they've eaten, and they're gulping air to digest food. They're angry. That was another reason. And they just sort of given off a warning, then they're not happy. And the other one was just when they swim Gulpin in there. Yeah,

Matt Waters:

that's what I thought because I kind of thought it all the people I've talked to dive in recent years when it's when it's frogfish kind of regions. I've said lo as soon as the dude starts to yawn, if it gets to a second yawn back off and leave him alone, because he's getting a bit pissed off with you with the camera.

Jayne Jenkins:

Yeah, it's that's a hard one because they'll yawn once. And if you see them yawn once you know that one yawn is quite long. They're generally you on two or three times after. Okay, but that is a yawn when they digesting food apparently. Okay, so but this guy, the smart, you know, the big fat guy down there. He's just got his mouth permanently. He was amazing. And then he went, you know, he jumped off his perch and went fishing. Really? Greedy bugger.

Matt Waters:

So how did you get from Wales to here because I'm in ship. We've all we've all moved here in one way or the old way that the ship?

Jayne Jenkins:

Yeah, it was a 10 pompom loss of the 10 pound bombs, really pretty well. bullshitted by way into the passage, the girlfriend and I went to where I come from the closest city is Swansea, and they were doing a documentary on, you know, showing on Australia and immigration. And we had some friends out here that was surfing. So we went along to see and we both laughed, and we're leaving because that's crazy. You know, it's not like that. And somebody by the door said, Do you know you live in you're not interested in that. Because those men you know, long white socks and shorts to go to work. They look stupid. And he said, Oh, no, it isn't like that. It's no video, you know, you interested in going and we both said, Oh yeah, we didn't have enough money to get back to Europe. Sure. And it was 10 quid, 10 quid. And they we had to fill in forms and we sent forms off to London. Then we had to do an interview. And then I got a telegram to say, I was saying, Say delivered on horseback I was sailing on March the first which was in David stay on the Ellen nets. So

Matt Waters:

what year was that? 73 Bloody hell. I was still in the womb

Jayne Jenkins:

I did I bloody hate it. I bet you do. You fill in forms and dive shops and instructors looking at you. Oh, I wasn't born

Matt Waters:

like I get it now even you know I'm vastly younger than you two clearly with my stunning good looks. But yeah, you got the sideways look and it's like, oh God, we got another old bugger on board.

Jayne Jenkins:

And you know, I go on dive boats and I wanted to help the poor old lady. Yes. And

Matt Waters:

then you get in the water. And I humbled very quickly.

Jayne Jenkins:

Oh, are you sure you want to do this dive? You know, you did one this morning.

Matt Waters:

So do you as you said that you don't travel that much, but I get to get away.

Jayne Jenkins:

I used to travel a lot. I worked in travel for a long time and I used to travel a lot but during COVID While we went down to South Australia, didn't we we did a lot of

Matt Waters:

fun on the Rodney Fox

Don Silcock:

did like Eddie Berg and we did well. And we'll see what was the other one we can be to meet and yeah, so we both like Keynes South Australian gardens you know we'd like to be one is a jetty jetty.

Matt Waters:

Is that one for the leafy seadragons? Yeah, you can get

Don Silcock:

you get them? No, yeah. I wasn't that impressed with three

Jayne Jenkins:

quarters of an hour drive from Romney foxes boat. So if you've got a day, you know, and you're not going to eat at Burger anywhere else. Yeah, there's a possibility. You'll see them. They're not sure. Yeah, I have seen them there on numerous occasions. But it's not the prettiest of the jetties down there. Yeah, it's just quite convenient.

Matt Waters:

I think I'm, it's on my radar for next year.

Jayne Jenkins:

I'm going down there. Eight, no, 12th of June. No, I'm gonna do the come fish and then going across three.

Matt Waters:

Well, I'd love to come with you. But I'm going to Indonesia while I'm visiting your homeland in Bali, and then across to Nusa Penida. Yeah, I'm gonna go and have a look at a dive shop over there with the view to possibly purchasing it. And then there's a secondary option which is up in Ahmed. So I'm gonna go and have a look at that one as well. To Greg Nice. Yeah. So it's the first proper holiday that me and the missus have had for Well, obviously, two, two and a half years so kind of looking forward to getting some warmer weather and some nice flowing currents and a bit of activity.

Jayne Jenkins:

I've just come back from Fiji from the ballparks. Oh, really? Yeah.

Matt Waters:

How does that go? In fact, we're about to Fiji Pacific harbour

Jayne Jenkins:

Bangor adventure divers?

Matt Waters:

Do you see Tiger Sharks as well.

Jayne Jenkins:

They don't sort of they run quite differently. They set up shark Reef Marine Reserve. And microns are very different operation to the others. They concentrate mostly on the bull sharks. The bait is taken out there before the boat goes out in the morning. And it's you get other sharks there. But occasionally, you'll get a tiger where if you go across the island, that's where you get the tiger sharks. Okay. So it's, you know, two different experiences basically,

Matt Waters:

all the way there for two weeks. Nice and just just shut diving or do

Jayne Jenkins:

you know I went on a boat.

Matt Waters:

Okay, which one? It was the chairman about or should we just know the you're on a little tin cup.

Jayne Jenkins:

It was a cruise boat more than anything. It was the reef encounter. I think it was called Captain Cook cruises. So it's not a dedicated dive vessel. It was for people that have got families and maybe dad wants to dive on mum wants to live like a floating hotel. Yeah, but we did go up brown to have uni and the northern areas which was lovely. It just wasn't not a dedicated dive boat. Yeah,

Matt Waters:

well, let's dive in and it's way it's a little bit of a vacation.

Jayne Jenkins:

It was it was pleasant to be away pleasant to have warm water.

Matt Waters:

So yeah, I'd like to say we're gonna get warm water in no bad how to it's it's gonna be slightly warmer. In fact, it's gonna be a lot warmer than here. Was it this morning?

Jayne Jenkins:

It was 1818 dropped a bit.

Matt Waters:

throbbed dropped.

Jayne Jenkins:

But yeah, Rob does Rob did warm water.

Matt Waters:

And you're, well go do any cycle trip on Saturday. Alex, that one?

Don Silcock:

That's so it's it's four weeks in India in total three weeks of Riding motorcycles Wait stop in go till the dark and then into the sweaty Valley and then we go into this remote Valley College Zanskar you can only get in there like two months of the year and riding into the summer be warned don't expect any luxuries. You know, it's it's very basic but it's spectacular.

Matt Waters:

You tuck in your butler with

Don Silcock:

then and then the fourth week is we're going to swing again as we've got a houseboat to go on the lake. Which should be should be interesting. Yeah. And then I'm back down here then I'm going down to South Australia. We're going to do the end of the cuttlefish season and then we're going to do put us put up one shots on the on the Spencer golf, about halfway down and dive there. Last year, it's a really nice Yeti. It's, it's not as good. He's not as good as 80s but you don't get the leafy sir. No, but it does have some really nice stuff on the pillows and all the rest of it.

Jayne Jenkins:

Lovely macro there. Yeah, Ed Bankson.

Don Silcock:

So we're gonna do like about four days that way I'll and then three days support us. And then I'm going back up to Bel Air and I'm going over to Penida for a friend of mine who's coming in from from France. And we've, we, you know, I've known him for years and we've diver at his place in Indonesia together and daughter team is that and she's coming in. And we're going to have four days and Penita

Matt Waters:

Have you organised Are you diving with it?

Don Silcock:

Not Yeah, we booked accommodation but the probably mumble where is the is who we're looking at. But you know, you really need to establish you need to be known to be able to get on the best sites, but it's my man who's

Matt Waters:

looking right across the table. My one of my best mates owns a dive shop. Really? Yeah. I'll hook you up. Okay, brilliant. It's big shout out to JC was on the on the first season and he he owns and runs blue corn and there's a

Don Silcock:

polygon. Yeah, so well I'm just down the road. I'm just literally just like across the beach from him and

Matt Waters:

what you said oh my not ask a Santi

Don Silcock:

No, I can't remember now I just booked it last year. I can't remember.

Matt Waters:

Now but yeah, I'll hook you up with Jace.

Don Silcock:

Do we do we do we premiere?

Matt Waters:

Oh, yeah. Yeah. But so yeah, we did. Ivan is exceptionally good fun. And Nick and sooner the dive pros that work for him. We used to work together in Thailand. You'll have a great time. The lovely Iran. You'll fit in like you

Unknown:

fit like a glove. A white glove.

Don Silcock:

I got back from dead and then I'm going to Mexico for the crocodiles did it about four, three years ago. But I want to go back and get some specific images. And then I'm going down to Argentina for the Southern Right whales.

Matt Waters:

Oh, you bet. Yeah. That one's the one that's been delayed for so long. Yeah.

Don Silcock:

But both those trips were from 2020. So this is on the Valdez Peninsula in Patagonia. And

Jayne Jenkins:

that would the, the orcas come up on the beach. Nice. Further,

Don Silcock:

further south. This is this is like, it's kinda like it's a bit like Harvey Bay is for the humpbacks, or whatever. You know, it's like a sheltered area where the southern rights come in with many females and with the Cavs and apparently they're really easy to approach you know, they're coming to you and so yeah, we'll see but it's obviously a bit bit chilly and

Jayne Jenkins:

phallus has been there and done it. Yeah.

Matt Waters:

Who Died diving within Mexico who's doing the crocodiles,

Don Silcock:

that's shellac dive centre is who it's run through. So they organise the logistics to get you out there and you stay at the bottom the fisherman's hearts the profit details is the call which is like, basic.

Matt Waters:

Yeah, basically like for little fishing hurts.

Don Silcock:

The lights are hot on the stills. And you know that the only water is what they get, you know, rainwater, and you're basically sleeping hammocks. So you two nights out there. By the time you come back, you feel like, you know, you feel like a paperclip. Like your pretzels or something, you know, because you you don't sleep very well. And, but it's pretty exciting stuff. Getting in first time in the water with the crocodiles is like, you know, nerve wracking and it's scarier than sharks, isn't it? Yeah, very much. So.

Matt Waters:

Really? I must admit, I would love to do it just for the photography element. Yeah, but I do Laughter anticipation and like, when you die with sharks, you can kind of read what they're gonna do with a crocodile.

Don Silcock:

Now there's no word

Matt Waters:

in big teeth. When it's gonna move,

Don Silcock:

it's this intense kinetic energy on a coiled spring, you don't know when the springs are gonna go. So you know, you just don't know. And the rep I didn't know at this time is only after winter. After my first trip then I did some articles on it and I've read up about the American crocodile. That's why the American crocodiles which are saltwater crocodile, but they, they, they will attack on the land, but the pound you know, there's no the almost non recorded incidents of attacking in the water. Really? Yeah. But you know, you wonder if, you know, you've met the one who didn't get the memo. You know. There's just no sign there look at you know, the comment and the US completely immobile, but they, they move fast to what Yeah, but there's this intense kinetic energy there that just waiting to explode and

Matt Waters:

and designed to do? Yeah, yeah, it's

Don Silcock:

scary. First time I was I got underwater, I was really scared, you know, not knowing what to expect. And anyway, so that's, that's, that's actually gone and gone from there, straight down to Buenos Aires and out to Peru to sort of remember the name on the Valdez? Yeah. For the southern rights.

Matt Waters:

Okay, what, when? When's that one month in August, August, next year,

Don Silcock:

this year, this year? So that's the, you know, I do Binita and and come back down. And we can Australia. And then and then go to the US.

Matt Waters:

And what's what's Mrs. Dunn doing? Is she staying there? Or are you going to

Don Silcock:

rally at the moment? We're trying to get, you know, her key tasks kicked up a residence visa, she had one and because of COVID all expired, so we have to go through all the rigmarole of reapplying and it's it's just painful, what you have to do and but anyway, is progressing. And you know, so hopefully in the next month or so she'll get the residence visa, which is makes it all easy going in and out, you know, otherwise you get on the 30 day visa thing. Visa on arrival, and you can extend that once. But you got to go out. Yeah. Which is a pain.

Matt Waters:

They're not do in endota They're not do the retirement phase are the same as Thailand.

Don Silcock:

Yeah. But I just didn't want to say it.

Matt Waters:

I'm only a couple of years.

Don Silcock:

You're eligible for 55? So yeah, yeah. But the wife here, you know, so pleased.

Matt Waters:

She doesn't listen, it's alright.

Don Silcock:

You don't know. Don't take anyway. So yeah, that's the it's a retirement visa. And it gives you what's called a key tap, I think it's called as opposed to a key TAs. And that allows you to come and go out and do what you want, you know, we'll probably have to try and get mine next year because I used to travel in that I'm a pet cat, which is brilliant. And in a bad car for a long time. But that you know, expired you on the pandemic as well. So, so yeah,

Matt Waters:

you're not there, right? Yeah. All this travelling you're doing Yeah, well, yeah. Vacation. So what's the point fella?

Don Silcock:

It's not it's not a big deal for me, you know, you can get visa on arrival and you can extend that by 30 days. I don't think I've spent I've ever been in a situation which meant more than 60 days in Bali because I'm in an hour all the time. But I tell you it was great to get back there. Yeah. You know, you two years away you forget why you went there sort of thing you know, it was like you settled back into Sydney and all the rest of it. But I really enjoyed being back in Bali and I've got some reestablish some connections with my favourite liveaboard and I'm doing some stuff with them. Dean Yeah, so all the liveaboard trips and have done in Indonesia been on on on the Yandina

Jayne Jenkins:

Ditas going out of valley now isn't it? Yeah all its trips out of Valley.

Don Silcock:

Yeah. I know Eddie quite well. I did a interviewed him actually for an article about his life and everything is really interesting gaiety from where he is. Did you know we talked about it? No, no. So the if you look at the explorers of the archipelago it's really quite interesting. If you just concentrate on Roger ampere, the two people who really started all Where's Eddie Eddie from? Well, he built the first ball dippin detail and and then he went meno sailed into Raji rampart, and he was the him and lever Larry Smashmouth. Yeah. On his boat. So they were the first people who who explored by ball and then the maxima was the first person who to set up a a, you know, some on the on the islands it great. So I interviewed him actually a couple of months ago really interesting character a, you get him talking and he's like he's just a natural, you know, just this stuff comes out and he talks about things he's done and a big, I'm a big fan of Jared Diamond. You know who Jared Diamond is he wrote, he's a professor of UC Berkeley, and he's written the guns, germs and steel collapse. Anyways, he's a very well travelled and very well published, very well respected person who are writer and professor who's talks about kind of evolution and you know, any, any any factors in, you know, Roger ampere upon New Guinea into all this really interesting when you read his books, so I've talked to max. Oh, yeah. Jared, we've, we've done several trips together. And we, you know, we got the helicopter, then we went here, and we got, oh, my God, you know, you don't have jealousy here. When you hear him talk about the stuff that he's done. It's amazing. So yeah, so those are the pioneers and Ricard, the guy who runs on Dena, he was probably the third in the queue. He told me the story when they built their boat 2022 years ago, it was at a URL Tim, he said, wildlife try here and try that. I mean, it's a big place. Yeah. You know where to go. Where do you die? Yeah. And so Edie had done a lot of the pioneering and worked out, you know, where the best sites were. And Max had worked out how to diagnose sites in the Dumpy Australia. And both share information with were recalled when he when he had he was like the third bought that. I mean, he's like, it's like 100. Now.

Jayne Jenkins:

Yeah. Yeah. And Larry Smith had such a good reputation, especially with Americans. He brought a lot of the American market and I remember being up there we were on Valerie Taylor's nephew's boat, and Valerie likes a gin and tonic. And we had about six bottles of gin, but we had no tonic water. So we were drinking gin and lemons. And Larry came past in his boat, and we did a deal. We gave him two bowls of gin. 12 cans of tonic water.

Don Silcock:

Mark Hayes, Valerie's he's another pioneer. He's been there for years.

Matt Waters:

All these names are dropping in you need to hook me up man. I'm nomadic Scuba has opened up again. My travel agency. Yeah. And these are names that I've not got on the books I'm more than

Jayne Jenkins:

about called 70s. He started off with Eveningstar was the first one up there. And he's been up there for a long time. And

Don Silcock:

you know, there's a lot of people come in and they they offer all these trips, but and they don't know it as well.

Jayne Jenkins:

And damn it the Quran dama are better. That is a beautiful Damn, it is the beautiful boat and

Matt Waters:

well, you you've got to find the right people, haven't you? Yeah, I'm just picking up on what you said that I've done. And I've been on boats where it's it's very clear that all they're doing is following the cattle. Yeah, they have no bloody clue what they're doing. You know, they know how to dive and all that kind of stuff. But they've

Jayne Jenkins:

been with them for long and the crew don't know what's at the dive sites. And yeah, you know, it's lovely to have I love looking for stuff myself. But it's lovely to have a guide that knows his way around the reef, it's the first time then show you different little things that they know

Matt Waters:

that's a thing. And if you're on a massive crossing or something like that you're there for seven to 10 days, you expect to see certain elements. And it's so disheartening when you hit the dive site, and then you get a message from a mate from another boat. Oh, well, the same. How did you see the hammerhead shark? No. Did you see that? No. Yeah, come on.

Don Silcock:

And you also need to you really need to know how to dive Roger ampere on Yes, hold on, you know, where the currents are, you need to know how to do that. And the guides need to know and block you know, it's it's not just dropping into doors. You know, will save environment is it basically and I don't

Jayne Jenkins:

like the guides that are like Edward Scissorhands with their you know, they're pointers. They've got so many bloody pointers 10 or 20. And you know, they're move things and put things on like the put a new bank on something new the bank doesn't live on, just for you to get a good photo and well, no, I don't want that. Just leave it where it is.

Matt Waters:

I'm adamant about that as well. I refuse. Um, you know, I'd go dive in to take photographs. Yes. But if someone if a guide and I've had a couple of times, if they move Yeah, subjects. I refuse to say that Photo when they got back on the boat, why did you take it? Because you interfered, there was

Jayne Jenkins:

one trip I did. And the guy was coming back. And he had these black backgrounds and every photo that he had. And I was looking where the different subjects were and things like that. His guide had a black slate, yes. And was putting everything on the black site for him instead into learning how to take a photograph of the black background, just putting everything on this slate for him and doing poor, really.

Matt Waters:

I've seen people use black sites, and I've used them myself as well. But I don't, I don't put subjects on the slate. If you if you can imagine some soft corals with some really bright light behind it, I will generally put a slight in the background just to assist with getting a cleaner background. But as for moving subjects, it's for me, it's a hard fast, no simple as

Jayne Jenkins:

just don't do it. And you know, I've been upside down inside out down at chowder to try to get a photo of something because I hate moving them and we won't name a certain person but you know, you see photos and you think well, I didn't live there. I've

Matt Waters:

got to be careful about name now. Yes. He just said yeah.

Jayne Jenkins:

And I've done photo competitions. And you know, if people get into finals you asked for the raw image. And when you see the image and you look at what they sent in you think what

Matt Waters:

what happened was there's so much post editing There you go post shot editing you can do it's insane. I can make a really shoot looking photo. Fantastic. Oh, I

Jayne Jenkins:

can't get a photo. I'm stuffed. And tried to teach me how to get rid of back scatter. I've got a folder at home you know, Don's helpful hints. But it still doesn't work.

Matt Waters:

Couple of things for you. There you go. Oh, actually nice little cheeky little Scuba got my strap. That's great. I've got some stickers in there as well. So remind me before we go and you can have some fear for your cars. Yeah, or your tanks, whatever you want to do. Thanks. Anyone who wants a mass strike with a Scuba go on it? It's it's available on the online store coming soon. Good to go. Thanks for the

Jayne Jenkins:

I Am I going in the chairman's lounge? Oh, yeah, I'm fine. I'm fine with Haley down to South Australia. And she's remembered the chairman's lounge.

Matt Waters:

Oh my goodness, the chairman's lounge.

Don Silcock:

Like the rarely say you can have were conscious. So there's only one there's only one level higher. That's a blowjob from the pilot. secondhand knowledge

Matt Waters:

so it's Chairman's loud Chairman's lounge do so yeah, I

Jayne Jenkins:

don't know. It's above platinum and platinum anywhere, but it's a hidden door. It's Sam,

Matt Waters:

hold on a moment. Your uh, your platinum already. So you do do a shit tonne of travelling?

Jayne Jenkins:

Oh, I do. Yeah. I haven't.

Don Silcock:

So if you put on platinum as well, so I'm

Matt Waters:

gonna get the plus in.

Jayne Jenkins:

Don't have plus life.

Don Silcock:

That was my goal. But you know, I'm not there. But the thing is, when you go, you know, there's like the there's the checklist. First Class lounge, and then there's the business class way, but you could find them you can go into first class Lounge, which is really nice. You know, really well done. But there's a secret don't have no idea what it is. And but I read a really interesting article about the chairman's lounge, so it doesn't matter who the fuck you are. It's like, it's the, you know, that might what you're doing or whatever. It's, it's a very specific invitation. Yeah. So you know, you can kind of just earn it. It's not like, you know, three gazillion points. It's like if you do, so it's almost like a knighthood or something, you know, where you've done something. And you've earned the entree into that lounge, but it's the entry

Jayne Jenkins:

of the entree.

Matt Waters:

He's trying to be posh

Don Silcock:

media. So you know, that's exactly how you get in. God knows who's in there. I don't know what Yeah, it's very, very, very rare.

Matt Waters:

Just pull that microphone a little bit more. Yeah, well, I'm starting to lean back. Recording. Oh, yeah. I'm putting all of this in especially the bit about a pilot and a blow job.

Don Silcock:

Jane told me that

Matt Waters:

he thinks I'm joking so I feel I feel like a you know a pauper now I'm I'm gold and very comfortable going in the business lounge and you know for travel with a message that she's planning on so we go into the first lounge and that's quite nice. I do like that. But Germans I didn't even know it even existed. Do you have to shake hands with your left hand and show your left nipple or something like that is not

Jayne Jenkins:

Bolton addicts? I don't know.

Don Silcock:

Could you be a bit more specific? I did well on your map.

Matt Waters:

Brilliant. That's all right. Well, we put it out all I've got to do is put a little e episode.

Don Silcock:

Well, it's I don't think I'll ever get

Jayne Jenkins:

into the chairman. Oh, Collins so pissed off.

Don Silcock:

This used to be a source of much joviality in between because I used to be at PBS with Singapore Airlines when he was travelling in Asia privileged pools, right. So anyway, it's the highest level ocean service. Yeah, I did I but it's, it's very nice. You get into the first class lounge in Singapore and whatever, you know, and they really make a big fuss of you. To the point where it's my wife's favourite thing in the world to go in business classes are realised lecture. We get in there, we're all like is just happiness, you know, happiness radiating out from the seat next to me. I don't have to say a word. I mean, everything just like you know, she's, she's there in a happy place. Like, but the the steward will come back and it happened to me. First time it happened to me. I fell for it. You know, the steward. Come back, he says, Mr. Silcock? Yes. Were you on the Shanghai flight two weeks ago? Well, it was actually Yeah, I thought it was you, you know. He wasn't. They've got they've got. Yeah, right. But they do it. Particularly if you're travelling with your wife, or your girlfriend. I don't know, you know, but you know, if you're travelling with you, with your partner sort of thing to come back and make this big footage of you based on your last flight, because you can't remember who it was pre works to try it. You know, you're you're sort of like, levitating. Oh, yeah, that was me. No, no, it's bullshit. Really, you know, it's just, it's just a way of apple polishing. But it's very nice. The first time happens second time you think? No, I know. And I'm gonna fall into this one.

Matt Waters:

There's a few years ago, I met before COVID. Clearly, I dragged the missus into cattle class where I'm more than happy. As long as I've got a bit of legroom, and the same thing happened there. The head Stuart came across and welcomed her on board and thank you for flying with Qantas, all that kind of stuff. We'd like a bit of champagne, etc, etc. Because she's platinum. So

Jayne Jenkins:

it's nice. It works. Yeah, I upgraded Colin I as a surprise back from off to South Africa and back from South Africa. So I had pile of points and from business to first it's not that any points. But I do a nice surprise and upgraded us to first and when we got them. Oh, welcome back to Jenkins. Sure,

Matt Waters:

well, I've got my points from prior to COVID. And I've got to go back to the UK in July because my old man is having a major, major knee surgery in the lives on his own. So I'm gonna go back and play nurse and beam up a bit. Okay, well, I was born just north of Liverpool. Okay.

Jayne Jenkins:

Not far from

Matt Waters:

Yeah. And then but my dad is originally from Canada. So he lives in Kent now. So I need to go back for a few weeks and look after him and help him out. And then it's a long flight to the UK from here. So I kind of looked at the points and kind of grow greater business on the points here. But then we've got the Galapagos trip next year. And it's an even longer flight. So I think I'm gonna torture myself to the UK and and just put it with rigour Mortis and the asshole in front that doubles their seatback kind of thing and save up for the Galapagos trip. Because that's, that's how long

Jayne Jenkins:

which way you're going

Matt Waters:

will probably go via Dallas, Florida and Florida, Dallas, something. I know you can go through South America and it's cheaper and that kind of thing. But I tend to I like to stick with the mainstream airlines

Jayne Jenkins:

flying to San Diego. Yeah. Are they? No,

Don Silcock:

no. Just booked for to go to Mac. I'm going through Dallas Fort Worth. Yeah, that's 1717 out. I think it is

Jayne Jenkins:

a great fight.

Don Silcock:

Yeah, you know, it's a long flight when you can get drunk three times. Yeah.

Jayne Jenkins:

I was told with Qantas the Dallas fight because it's such a long flight. They don't fill the aircraft with passengers because they've got to take a checkup Upload a fuel. Yes. So you're always going to get empty seats, you're not going to have a full flight,

Matt Waters:

then this is why I was saying the thing that you know, save the points open and upgrade. I mean, the missus will automatically be business offer something like that because you know, platinum, probably plus as well. And then we moved on but for me cattle class, I'm quite happy to go into business we did it. Last time we did Galapagus we came back via business, because jazz. Bless her, we left, Dallas flew back here landed at 10 past six in the morning. And she went straight to the office. She couldn't have done that if we'd have stayed in. Yeah, in economy. For business class, she could, you know, could stretch out and spark out for a good 1012 hours.

Jayne Jenkins:

I've come to an age in life where I've done it tough all those years. And you know if I can afford it now I'm going to be a little bit more comfortable. And by the time you pay your excess luggage with Scuba diving gear and everything you have for each business.

Matt Waters:

Exactly. So I'm kind of relying on the the points and the gold status, but it seems like I'm way down the list. Now if there's a Chairman's club as well.

Don Silcock:

I don't think you know, that's really rare. It's not the fact that there's like a secret door and password. Yeah.

Matt Waters:

Well, you go for that trip in

Jayne Jenkins:

South Australia. Okay. And then I'm going to Ken's I'm doing the minkeys indiennes. Content. Thank you,

Matt Waters:

Martin on last week who was talking about the monkey Wales? Okay, first Cooper iKey.

Jayne Jenkins:

They're beautiful. I love monkey Wales. Only Whale that will come and find you.

Matt Waters:

That's what he was saying. Yeah, just laying on the line and just saying, Wait, yeah,

Jayne Jenkins:

they'll come to the boat, the boat. You know, you'll cruise around up at reefs, when the monkey whales will come to the boat and they'll just play and it's amazing.

Matt Waters:

So do you just thinking about photography? Because I know we're close to a cane on it. Do you obviously take camera underwater with you? What were you shooting with?

Jayne Jenkins:

I've just changed to mirrorless gun the Zed six two. And I sorta housings.

Matt Waters:

What is that? Stick to? Nick on? You're in that part?

Jayne Jenkins:

I'm in that party? Sorry. Yeah. I'm loving it. Yeah,

Matt Waters:

I find it I've what was the previous one they were using?

Jayne Jenkins:

D 800. And the C cam housing. Yeah. So it was I was happy with the D 800. I knew it inside out but it was the weight factor. You know when you get to my age and you go camera, you've got to carry in. It's heavy. I wanted to go lighter and slightly smaller if I could. Yeah. So it took me a long time didn't it to fiddle around and think because I was changing housings as well. I had the opportunity to go Canon to go Sony whatever. But I stuck with the Nikon and I went the Zed six, two. And yeah, I've been really happy with it and the Isotta housing small it's light. Yeah,

Matt Waters:

I saw those kind of kind of viewers like the Ferrari of it's read. Just look sexy. Don't they didn't

Jayne Jenkins:

see what's on the back. Yeah, it was. No, I can't complain about it at all. I'm loving it. It's still I'm still learning it. You know, your brain is when you've used a camera for 10 years, your brain just automatically knows which buttons depressant to change. And I find I still have to look occasionally. But frogfish the other day I've never used the video on the camera and people saying to me yeah, that cameras really good for video. You should try that. I thought well, how would you do that? I'm just looking at this frog fish up. Push the switch the video.

Matt Waters:

That was it. That was it. You didn't call a balance or anything like that. It looks really good.

Jayne Jenkins:

So you know it was? Yeah, I'm really impressed with it. So it's a much lighter set up. When I travelled to Fiji with my Pelican case, I'm normally struggling to get it under 32 kilos. I think it was 24 kilos.

Matt Waters:

Okay, so well you do know that. If you're travelling on a flight and you take a camera bag and tell them it's camera equipment, they completely ignore it and disregard it even though you can take it on as as carry on. They effectively treat it as a lady's purse. A big one. I've taken 11 kilos of camera equipment.

Jayne Jenkins:

I did have somebody in kilos pan luggage as well. We go to the airport.

Don Silcock:

Yeah, I could tell you some stories about carry on over the years but the you know, it's it's one of those things it's it's

Jayne Jenkins:

checking you in as well, isn't it? Yeah, from hell or you get

Don Silcock:

and I swear by just being polite and humble and don't you know and you can usually get away with stuff and one of the reasons I work out a lot is so I can stand out which me backpacks weightless fell over couldn't get over my key with my carry on sometimes it's 25 keel Yeah, with everything I've got. And so I was keeping a backpack on your on my back and stand there as if it's weightless, you know, and visible. Yeah. And then I've got like another small roll on with me housing and reports. And

Jayne Jenkins:

when you go to have to lift it

Matt Waters:

Don's gonna take a step ladder to get up to

Don Silcock:

25 to two kilos a step. It's, it's just part of the thing, you know, my older stuff I took with me, but if you go into these places, and you know, you're taking photographs, it's just the way it is, you know,

Matt Waters:

I'm so looking forward to endo and let's say can pop down to Mosman and do the macro bet, but I've not excuse me. Apart from the quick trip to Thailand, I've not had much chance to play around with my camera underwater. And I've got mirrorless the same as the canon and same reasons. I had a canon. Compact beforehand, the g7 X mark two and fantasyland housings. And I've moved on to I stuck with Canon because that second nature feel that knowing how it all works, and I'm sure throughout Don's many, many, many, many, many years with Nick on he's done the same. And it's the the M six is it's so small and compact, and it can just do so much more. I know gonna fuck up a lot of photos, but I know there's going to be one or two that are just going to make it all worthwhile. And I can't wait to see it really can't.

Don Silcock:

Well, I've just got to jump in and tell you about I'm gonna tell you about the because it all came together for me in the Philippines I prior to just prior to COVID, I was forced to how was My da 50. Because my was previously that I would have been using a D 500 reward without and I just abused his phone to be able to go into a full service with no one account which you know, takes about three months. It goes back like a new housing. But you know, it has to go all the way back to Shen's anything is where the factory is. And to be effectively completely refurbished. Fantastic job got brand new when it comes back. But you went out for three months. So I already had to do 50. And so he was like, Well, I've got these trips booked. So I bought a housing for the DFT. And I've got the wide angle conversion pole, which you probably don't know what it is, but it's like a special, it's your huge thing. He weighed about three kilos which optical glass support that. And I got that just before the pandemic and I use it on one trip, but I was still getting my head around it. I've used it a bit here in Australia, but not on an intensive thing like you do where you don't know liveaboard you dive in, you know, four times a day and all the rest of it. So, and then I've got these Italian stalls one on one underwater stalls, which I bought a few years ago, but I sent back to Italy in November last year to get the firmware upgraded. So they do high speed sync, which is absolutely phenomenal. It's I'm so excited about the results of it because it means you can see, you wouldn't use it underwater, but you can sink up to 1/8000 of a second that that the normal limitation is to one 250 Yeah, I think there's that 60 is one 200. So I found the combination of the the wide angle conversion port with the da 50. The image quality, the pixel quality was astounding and the ability to you know, dial in high shutter speeds and get dramatic, dark blue backgrounds and the stoves will still punch through and light the foreground was some of the best images I've ever taken with this. I would just

Matt Waters:

was the bad boy that you're using down in an essay when you're on the road. defox

Don Silcock:

No, no, no, you wouldn't do that. The wide angle the convertible is about $5,000 Who are you? Yeah. So the thing is you're going to get dinged again Ah, yeah, so you just wouldn't take it in, you know, I wouldn't take it in the cage, you're gonna you're gonna get dinged the glass and to know so i, this was the first full full on liveaboard trip where I was dialled in for four dives a day for like, you know, to trips and really got into this, this combination is a killer combination. I'm just like, astounded with the quality of the best I've ever done. Really? Yeah. It's it's, it's, I was just astounded with the, with the results.

Jayne Jenkins:

You use like like you? I do?

Matt Waters:

Yes. Yeah, it's the thing with the M six, the Canon M six, mark two is that it's very limited on what is available to take it underwater. And Ikelite was the one that stood out. And, you know, a child fought back and forth with Chris up in digital hands. Yeah, he's great. Fantastic. Yeah, so clued up with what you need. It was just a no brainer. So

Jayne Jenkins:

and the housing doesn't take the image. It's exactly they they say to me, oh, what I was into I've got a limited budget. Well, you're hurting doesn't take your image to spend more in the camera in your lenses. And, you know, I client have been around for years and years, years and years ago, I was the ambassador for Olympus cameras. And it was when they first brought out remember the dog camera and things like that when they first brought out and they gave me it was their SLR an E three. And they gave me an Olympus housing that went with it, but never had all the bits that you could go underwater and take a decent photo is always something missing. And I actually bought an Ikelite housing for it. Yeah, until I got caught down Shelly Beach one day with them. I was coming out of the water and the head of Olympus in Australia. Oh, Jane. Oh, hello. I glide have just made a housing for your cameras. I'm just trying to but I needed the images to give them but I couldn't use the housing. Remember, but Olympus have come ahead and leaps and bounds

Matt Waters:

are amazing. You look at some of the photos that are coming through now especially on the macro front.

Jayne Jenkins:

Still swear their lenses are the best glass lenses I have. It's amazing. Looking at how many years ago was it? The Olympus Ambassador 15 years? Yeah, at least 15 years. And I look back at macro photos now. And my gosh, they are so shut up and yeah, it's just amazing. Yeah. And I think then you're lucky if you got 12 megapixels from the camera. Yeah, it was. Yeah, that was huge. If you got 12 megapixels

Matt Waters:

I was chatting with you might send him on video a few times salvo chatting with him last week way before and he's just moved on. He's now going to to DSLR for the TG six, right, dude, you're going to have a big shock is going from a TG six to a DSLR it's it's going to be like a huge step down for at least the first six months because that that TG six is brilliant. And he's won photographic competitions all over the world with that thing. It's just phenomenal piece of cake. I've

Jayne Jenkins:

so got my original Nick on to the Canossa to really I've got the Calypso I've got a two three a four. I hated the four we've got a five

Matt Waters:

so if you got if you got variations as well so you got macro lenses and then wide angle. Yeah, and

Jayne Jenkins:

with the Zed camera when that came out they brought a range of said lenses, which are beautiful lenses, but the lenses are lighter too. Okay, so you've got it said camera for topside. Well, when you're not using your multimillion dollar ones but

Matt Waters:

the 100 and 1000 million megapixel camera yeah

Jayne Jenkins:

they're just great little cameras, aren't they?

Don Silcock:

They did terrific i for very I've got to set up the landscape. I've got the Fujifilm GFX medium format, which is a lot of pixels. And yeah, they're 100 S's on it, you know but but the thing is, if you like if you do image stacking, you know we you end up with that files that are like 10 gigabytes. Yeah, by the time you go through Photoshop, put layers and all these like unbelievable, unbelievable, but the IoT is I've got Zed six and seven which is what I'm taking to India. And there's, you know that there's the top of the range zooms which are two pi a which are really good, I've got them but they're they're too big to travel with on a motorbike. So there's the f4 zooms, which is one you're talking about. And those ones I'm taking to India because they're smaller and lighter and about 85 to 90% of the capability of the really top line lenses. But you know, it's good enough. Especially when you're restricted on way. So the cameras, the big thing these days is the issue which, yes, is the user. Yeah, you can't blame the

Jayne Jenkins:

pisses me off more than somebody says, Oh, your camera takes good photos, doesn't it? Well, actually, there is somebody behind it.

Don Silcock:

Yeah,

Jayne Jenkins:

yeah. Oh, what settings have you got your camera on? And well, what camera are you using, it's not the same as mine, you're using something totally different. If I tell you my settings, you're gonna get pissed off, because it's not

Matt Waters:

nice and Hoover or something, you know, there's a big difference. But so on the wide angle from what have you got a favourite kind of lens that you go to for your wide angle.

Jayne Jenkins:

I've got the 14 to 30, which is quite nice. But I'm starting to really love I've got the 816. And with the Zed cameras, you can buy an adapter. So you can use the older Nick on lenses. And the little baby macro port, and you can focus so close with that.

Matt Waters:

So what do you say,

Jayne Jenkins:

eight to 16. Okay, and so you get a nice, you know, you might have a frogfish, but you'll have all the nets behind it. And I'm starting to like that lens quite a bit. By the

Don Silcock:

way, wide angle, macro is terminology. And it's like, if you have the right combination of stuff, especially with Jane's small housing. It's not as intimidating for the creatures if you're trying to get in close with you know, with a big port and all the rest of it, then, you know, you'd like me to who's this guy, you know, but it's a view with that wide angle. I love wider. Yeah. So you know, but it's not easy to do. And you need the right combination. And at age 16 is a fantastic lens. Yeah. And adapted on the Zeds. It works very, very well. Yeah. Nice. Pretty nice.

Matt Waters:

And where are you on wideangle underwear.

Don Silcock:

With my a 50. I was using this wide angle conversion for I've got the equivalent of 13 rectilinear with really sharp corners. Yeah. Which is huge advantage. And using the zoom I've gotten, it gives me the roughly from 13 millimetre on full frame to about 50 Oh, yeah. And it focuses really close. So and it's really really sharp. You know, it's a pain in the butt. That the rig that I take in the water weighs 15 kilos. Really? Yeah, the camera, the housing the board the strobes? Yeah. But underwater is neutral. So it's not just not an issue. The way I've got it set up with the buoyancy arms and honestly, yeah. And it's worth all the, you know, the hernia that you get carrying it around? Does the the results you get back especially, I can't tell you how over the moon I am with this high speed sync, it's, it's a phenomenal thing. To be able to, I mean, underwater, you've got three, what with photography, generally you've got three variables, you know, you got your shutter speed, you got your F stop, and you got your ISO, well, with underwater photography, you're limited, depending on the camera to 12121 250 of a second that you limit, right? This removes that limit. So you know, I was right, what,

Matt Waters:

hold on just just for people who are listening, why limited to one 200 and 50th

Don Silcock:

because that's the synchronisation speed. If you use you can set it to say 1/500 of a second and it'll fire but what you get as a black bandel on the bottom or the top or the top because the the the the shutter speed is too fast for the light from the straw to cover it. Gotcha. So what you get this this black band so the effective limit is depending on the camera, so between one 200 to one 3/20 Right now our high speed singers is rather than sending out one flash of light, it sends out multiples does it you can't you can't see

Matt Waters:

you're not gonna throw an epileptic fit under words. No

Don Silcock:

not well. Old stoves I just have no no there's only a couple of stoves that will do it. And which one today so the retro will do it but you need a special adapter. And then that my one on the water ones will see campstove One six is a lot of device beating. So my one on the water wells which Metallian they got it and but you have to show I sent the stories back to Italy got them service got the Firmware Upgrade they sent me the photographs Show me to prove to me that we'll do the high speed sync when I came back, I connected it with my, my da 50 housing. And I've got the TTL circuit board in, right, right. And that's got like a switch that you can set for different stalls. So I set it right to zero, which is just like send the full single, but it won't work. So cut a long story short, I had to get a special circuit board made, that just passes through the signal. And it allowed, so it sends the signal from the Nick on camera, unfiltered, to the strobes and the strobes. No, it's an unfiltered signal. And therefore, that's what comes through on that single if you set it to FB focal plane shutter, it's got a special setting in Flash, that tells the stove to switch to this. You know, so what he does is like, if you set it for one 800 per second, it will send out you can it's not it's not visible to the naked eye, but it will send out multiple small flashes in milliseconds, microseconds, right? That fill in as the right you don't get the black band. Yeah. What this allows you to do then, so my settings for that I learned to use in tuba was, you know, you need about F 11. To get the sharp corners, right on this with this wide angle conversion port, right? This is minimum you need to go you can go a bit low, but you start to lose, that really gets a bit soft, it gets a bit soft in the corners, whereas Dev 11 It's long, it's unbelievably sharp all the way across. Right. So That's kindness that with the da 50, you can go up to easily ISO 1000 without getting any major noise. Really. Yeah. Because of the not because of the quality of the sensor. Yeah, right. And you can dial in a shutter speed to you know, show the shutter speed is what controls the background, the F stop and the power of the strobes is like going to what controls the foreground. So there's enough power in the strobes of the drains the batteries quite quickly. So you can ask it that? Well, normally, I can do four dives on one charge. What I found was using high speed sync, it really started. So I had to charge has stalled after the second die. Yeah. Right. But it gives you this incredible capability to get this superb background. Yeah. Which is a function of the shutter speed. Do you can't do it any other way. Yeah, you can't do in any other way.

Matt Waters:

To the to the strobes get super hot, above the surface.

Don Silcock:

I didn't I didn't notice anything they and they were you know, they were completely reliable. Okay. I can, you know, to use that well known Australian technical term, I was like a dog with two decks with what when I realised what this would do. Yeah. And I know the owner of one on the what I said in this, you know, Emacs, and I've just use this, this is what I've been on, I can't believe the results, you know, this combination of the DA 50 Which is the best DSI you can get from Nick on combined with the wide angle conversion board, which gives you this incredible optical quality underwater, and this high speed sync which allows you to use those fast shutter speeds. So once you once you get comfortable, I mean initially I was like, how does this work? I can work it out. My brain doesn't work very well. doesn't work that well generally as well. But on the wards then you start to Oh, wow. You know, and then you can get you know the beams of light and

Jayne Jenkins:

the images you put up with stunning they were beautiful.

Matt Waters:

They weren't that bad. Whether

Don Silcock:

that's a compliment from we're able to recognise

Matt Waters:

it as an undertone of

Don Silcock:

jealousy. That was a compliment.

Matt Waters:

Good on you. Good on you. Well, gang, I think we'll wrap it up there. Yeah. My only does one compliment for sure. Yeah. I haven't got one. Go fishing. Jane, welcome to the show has been an absolute pleasure talking to you this evening. And it's been having a beer and I'm sure we'll do it many many, many, many more.

Don Silcock:

Bring Valerie in.

Jayne Jenkins:

Yeah. Oh, interesting.

Matt Waters:

Would she come in? If I bring it? Yeah. Go to Arif. She's can't be asked on what's a cup of tea instead?

Jayne Jenkins:

GB Gin Tonic.

Don Silcock:

That'd be that'd be a fantastic show because she's a really good friend. Yeah. James Nona. yours and I met Valerie through Jane and yeah, we you know, I'll never forget that trip we did. One was that that was about 15 years ago. That was when when Ron was alive and his birthday, wasn't it? Yeah. Four days down and matching islands, you know that these were the people who invented the whole thing. Yeah. And yeah, so that was a that was a great experience to be with. But yeah, Jane's change. Malevich. messmate.

Matt Waters:

Valerie wants to come on the show. I have love. I had Sylvia Earle on last year. Oh, Sophie. It's lovely. Yeah. And, you know, she's kind of my hero from being a kid and Valerie's in the same ilk, you know? Yeah. So I can comply with JNT not a problem. I'll bring the whiskey bottle for me. No, she's sweet up. No, that would be fantastic. Just to talk through her history. And I know it's been done time and time and time again, but not by

Don Silcock:

hearing it from the from Valerie is different is different from hearing it from you know real well, you know, she's real character is never in doubt. Doubt.

Matt Waters:

Think it was the first time Tom was on the show. I think it might have been Yeah, I think it was episode one. Episode One season one. And we were talking just chit chat, chit chat. And he's like, Yeah, did Chatterbait today and popped up and Valerie singleton just had a chat with Valerie, tell us what you did. What how well

Don Silcock:

she was James passenger. Rashid came down in

Jayne Jenkins:

came down the car with me. She just wanted to be the car out for the day. So she comes down. She comes to the divesite with me and just

Matt Waters:

hangs out.

Jayne Jenkins:

Yeah.

Matt Waters:

Good. Happy days. Cool. Thanks. Again. Thank you very much. It's been an absolute pleasure. Again, everyone who's listening. Thanks for tuning in. See you next time. Bye for now.

People on this episode