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Houston's Premier Scuba and Dive Shop Oceanic Ventures Inc.

(713) 523-3483 (dive)
5808 Newcastle Drive
Houston, TX 77401

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Social Activities

February 19, 2018 by Eric Keibler

Getting started with Underwater Photography

Photo by Zaide Scheib
Everyone like to have photographs of their experiences, and from their vacations and travels.  Divers are no different.  The only issue is that taking photographs and videos underwater requires a little bit of pre-planning and some different equipment — well sort of.
There are a number of ways to get started from jumping in with your GoPro to using your mobile phone in a case to take photographs.  But, what is the best way?  That is a difficult question to answer,  It all depends on where you are in your land photography and where you want to go with your underwater photography.  What so I mean by that?  Let’s look at this further further.

IPhone Camera User

If your primary camera is your iPhone or Android phone even on vacation, then you will probably be happy starting with a simple underwater camera.  These allow you to shoot video or still photographs and download them to your computer.  Most of these cameras save files in a JPG format.  However, some of the new models have a RAW file feature too.  Not sure what these terms mean, check-out part 2 of this article about digital files and processing.  Let’s just say that the JPG files are what you are used to seeing in your iPhone which means they have some processing done during the save function.  Some examples of these camera are the SeaLife Micro 2.0 and a GoPro.  You could also put your phone in a housing and take it with you.  Kraken makes a new housing for phones.

IPhone and Point and Shoot Camera User

If you use both an iphone and anther camera during your trips, you are probably trying to get better images or different images that what you can get with your phone.  For you, the SeaLife Micro 2.0 or the SeaLife DC 2000 might be good options.  Both have basic functions but also expand to let you “tweek” your photos and your experience.

Eric Keibler in Yap by Joe Thompson

DSLR & Mirrorless Camera Users

Now this is a wide-ranging area of underwater photography.  You could stick with the simpler camera from above or you can expand to take your land camera underwater in a housing.  A lot of it depends on what you want to accomplish underwater and how much you are willing to invest.  The housings for your underwater camera can cost more than your initial camera investment and then there are the strobes…  So you could look at the SeaLife DC2000 or a housing from Nauticam or Aquatica.

How to get started

Our Club Aquarius meeting this month will be focusing on “How to get Started in Underwater Photography.”  We will be discussing how to meet your various goals and what equipment you might consider.  We will also be discussing some things you can do to improve your photographs once you start with a system.

Club Aquatrius Meeting:

  • Speaker:  Zaide Scheib and Eric Keibler
  • When:     22 February 2018, 7:00 PM
  • Where:   The Black Labrador, 4100 Montrose Blvd.  Houston, TX

Filed Under: Club Aquarius, Photography, Social Activities, Underwater Tagged With: photography, underwater photography

January 24, 2018 by Eric Keibler

Diver's Trivia Night – Club Aquarius January

Dive Mom’s fabulous Trivia Game returns with all new challenges for divers.  Come test your diving and travel knowledge for some great prizes including a $50.00 Gift card and t-shirts.  So pull your team together and try your luck!
We have also posted the Club Dates for 2018…

  • January 25, 2018
  • February 22, 2018
  • March 22, 2018
  • April 19, 2018
  • May 17. 2018
  • June 21, 2018
  • July 19, 2018
  • August 16, 2018
  • September 20, 2018
  • October 18, 2018 – The year’s best videos
  • November 15, 2018
  • December 8, 2018 Store Open House
  • December 13 – Photo Contest Winners

Keep watching for all of the speakers, for this year’s meeting!

Join us at the Black Labrador!
Come join us on Thursday, 25 January 2018 at 7:00 PM at the Black Labrador.  We will be up in Cezanne’s for this meeting!

Filed Under: Club Aquarius, Social Activities Tagged With: Club Aquarius, Trivia

November 28, 2017 by Eric Keibler

No Jingling But Some Scuba Stocking "Stuffers"

Stocking Stuffing Ideas


It is the Christmas shopping season and if you are like me, you started noticing holiday decorations being put up in early October.  I have a hard time getting into the season before Halloween, Thanksgiving, and my Birthday.  But going into any store now, even HEB, you hear Christmas music and the trees are blinking.

One of our clients hurried over the day before Thanksgiving to do some shopping  and said “I wanted to come here to take a breath of quietness before all the rush begins.”  With that, Ann and I started thinking that maybe we all need a break from all of the constant holiday hype.  So this weekend we are offering you a break from all of this.  This is not to say that Oceanic Ventures has been taken over by Ebeneezer Scrooge but we want you to enjoy the holidays!

So, get a break from the ring-a-ling-ing, jingling, blinking, winking, and holiday singing.   There will be no bay-berry, cinnamon spice, evergreen,  nutmeg, or cookies;  ok, maybe we will have cookies or brownies.  Everyone needs a snack.   So we won’t have lights, greenery, blinking or endless Glenn Miller and Bing Crosby singing.  But we will have treats to eat and drink starting this week.  We will wrap your presents and even can arrange for delivery.  We will try our very best to have friendly and warm faces.  But the only decoration will be a very large red stocking, and maybe a wreath!

Why the stocking?

Why!  Because everyone needs a few little things to add to their diving system!  Even if your diving friend who  “has everything” there are still some little things they need.  Come by and let us help you fill up your stocking and have an adult beverage and a cookie too!

Filed Under: Sales and Fun, Social Activities Tagged With: Christmas, Holiday, Stocking Stuffers

February 14, 2017 by Eric Keibler

Club Aquarius Social Club – What is All of the Hype about Sidemount diving for Recreational Divers?

Photo by Pete Nawrocky

Fresh from a week of diving in Fiji, Eric will be staying awake with tall tales and fun stories while helping you to understand why…

So What is All of the Hype About Sidemount Diving for Recreational Divers?

When he is not diving his rebreather, you will find Eric diving using a sidemount configuration, especially on recreational dives.  Come learn more about why he likes it and why you might like it too…
  • WHAT:         Club Aquarius Social Club
  • WHERE:       Black Labrador Pub, 4100 Montrose
  • WHEN:          7:00 PM
  • HOW:             By car, plane, boat, or on foot

Dinner Special:       Yes, there will be a dinner and an drink special too!

Filed Under: Club Aquarius, Scuba Diving Equipment, Social Activities Tagged With: Equipment, Sidemount

January 16, 2017 by Eric Keibler

Club Aquarius Social Club – A Cuban Adventure, Diving in Castro's Garden

It is time for a new season for the Club Aquarius Social Club and to start things off with an explosion on Thursday 19 January 2017, we have the Geibel Clan presenting…

A Cuban Adventure, diving in Castro’s Garden

Eric & Holland Geibel were in Cuba last year and Holland captured some stunning images of the people, places and animals they met on their journey.  Come listen as they introduce you to diving in Cuba as they experienced it.
This will be a fun presentation for a group of committed divers who went to Cuba and came back with some fun and “typically Geibel” experiences.  The meeting specifics are:
Where:      The Black Labrador
When:        January 19, 2017, 7:00 PM
Specials:    Yes there will be some, just ask Cynthia when you arrive
Wide Angle Category Winner

Holland Geibel is a Houston based professional photographer and artist.  She grew up in Galveston and Oregon and as a Fine Arts major (with an emphasis on photography), she has always been an artist.  Her husband Eric, a Radiologist in Houston was a diver from a young age but it wasn’t until Holland arranged for her two children to dive that she became a diver.  It was inevitable that she introduced underwater photography into her diving. Since she began shooting, she has won the Oceanic Ventures Photography Contest with her images and took the best in show for two consecutive years.  Last year, she also opened a studio at the Silos on Sawyer in Houston so she had more room to paint and to sell her artwork.

Filed Under: Art, Club Aquarius, Social Activities

December 22, 2016 by Eric Keibler

Special Smells for the Holidays

Diving is a social activity and for many of our divers, the holidays are full of social events.If you are like me, you love to cook but sometimes the smells contradict one another in your house.  This is especially true around the holidays.  To get that fresh holiday smell back into your home you can simmer some spices on the stove to make your home smell sweet for your guests.  In an article that appeared on Food 52‘s blog, Amanda Sims posted a few ideas to help you create an inviting home for the holidays.  She writes, “It’s hard to think about potpourri without sneezing; the very idea of dried husks and petals in a decorative bowl screams dust and must. Which is why many take to the stovetop method, especially during the holiday seasons…”  You can read more here.
Enjoy the holiday season and let’s go diving in the new year!

Filed Under: Food, Social Activities Tagged With: Cooking, social

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People choose their friends carefully just as they should choose their adventure partners and Scuba Diving Instructors.  Oceanic Ventures is the premier scuba dive shop in Houston, Texas, and the Southwest because of our exceptional service and our sense of adventure.  In talking with our clients and friends, people choose us for a number of reasons such as: Passion – We love what we do and we want to share the beauty and excitement of the underwater world with everyone we meet. Caring- Our clients tell us they love us because we truly care about people and strive to make their scuba diving experiences safe, fun and enjoyable. Professional – Our staff members are the … [Read more …]

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