What event made you head toward/away from DIR?

[schultz]

Is it me or are we loosing sight of the original topic at hand? And don't you people work?

Not certain what you meant about "peeking over the fence" Paul... I've known about DIR for about the same time I've known you as a diver. I think I tried my first Backplate (all within DIR specs) in 2001, but having bought equipment a few years prior, I just couldn't afford nor justify upgrading all the stuff for DIR. That's one factor that kept me away from DIR.

And just to clarify things, DIR is not necessarily synonymous with technical diving. One can dive DIR with a single tank and well within the tables of the big three, without having doubles, sidemounts, or other such items. Maybe some of us are not being as macho as others by not doing mixed gas, or going down 300 feet all the time, but then again, some of us have little to prove, and we're certainly not trying to compensate for lack of something else. 

Lately, I have been diving with a friend from Portugal. Nice guy, who is as serious about windsurfing as much as he is about diving - and loves how the shipwrecks here are not all wasting away like they do in the open ocean. He's adopted much of the DIR method, but he agrees that it can be a little too dogmatic at times. He's got all the necessary equipment (at least what he could bring from Portugal) and his dive technique is pretty damn good for someone with under 100 dives under his belt. But he hasn't done any technical diving yet.

Currently, he's trying to develop his interactions with others in the scuba world by becoming a DM. So far his major criticism regarding the big three is that they do not focus on even simple things like trim and buoyancy skills. But because of that he always tries to communicate this simple issue to OW students. I think he'll be one of the nice DIR guys that Paul spoke about - being respectful to all that dive, even if they lack tech certs, and not necessarily spewing some SCUBA acronymns and tecno-babble that are off topic to the subject at hand to impress everyone of his knowledge.

As far as I'm concerned, having been diving for a while, and like I stated earlier, my wife and I were/are in need of equipment to replace some of our current stuff. This is where DIR is coming back into light for the both of us, since even she admits she's outgrown a lot of her own equipment. We're both experienced divers, with hundreds of dives under our belts,  and have travelled all over the world on some of our exploits, we're simply continuing our education as our experiences warrant.

As far as the photography is concern, I have to agree with Chris and Matt - How do they take all those photos of these DIR guys underwater if it's not DIR to be with a photographer?

CCR?!!! They've got great music!  ;D
Personally, I have yet to try any rebreather, but that something I might actually get a chance to do sometime next year. I'm not opposed to using them, anf look forward to when the technology becomes a little more affordable. If I can incorporate one into my underwater photography and diving style, perhaps I would get fewer fish butts!