Proficiency and the art of keeping it

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Proficiency and Diving

The Art of keeping it up. A couple of months back I was at a party and a friend asked about what type of camera I would suggest because this friend wasn’t getting good results with the one they had. I gave some suggestions but after a while, I had this thought and it isn’t too belittle this friend or make them feel bad but it does bring home how to be proficient at something and I am sure this friend will fully agree after they read this. It is something I think that is not thought about very often and individuals forget that “practice makes perfect” or “use it or lose it” and for individuals like myself it is more like, LOTS of practice hopefully will get me closer to proficiency.

What is the definition of Proficient-well advanced in an art, occupation, or branch of knowledge

Here are some examples of being proficient

  1. He has become very proficient at computer programming.
  2. She is proficient in two foreign languages.
  3. He is a very proficient photographer
  4. She is an extremely proficient underwater hunter

There is a pattern here and I think it is that you have to immerse yourself in what it is you would like to be proficient at. Having the best equipment for any sport just will not make you good at that sport if you don’t get out and use the equipment often and to its fullest. One other thing to think about is with diving you first need to master the skills of diving by diving as much as you can only then should you add something like a spear gun or camera otherwise you are trying to become proficient with more than one thing at a time and this can cause problems.

Just a thought

I am getting much better at underwater photography but then I live to dive and am out diving using my camera setup regularly nowadays. Truth be told I am a slow learner and when I used to only get out diving every couple of months with my camera it seemed that I was always having to relearn what I knew and it was hard to really get any good images.

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By Ken Kollwitz