Tom and Ginnie Reynolds

Underwater Photography

     

About Tom & Ginnie

Tom and Ginnie Reynolds started out as backpackers in the California mountains. The self-styled "Backpacking Wimps" were experts in hiking early in the day before it became hot, hiking only a few short miles, usually quitting for the day soon after lunch, and setting up a very comfortable campsite. Over the years, the determined pair hiked most of the trails of the California along with their son Alan who ranged from 3 1/2 to 14 years during the Reynolds' backpacking escapades.

One year, the Reynolds' went away to a winter camp at Mono Hot Springs...and hated it. Ginnie, a snorkeler, wanted warm locations. Tom, who hated snorkeling, decided to get scuba certified. Soon the couple transitioned from backpacking to scuba diving.

The first camera was a Sealife DC-200, a fixed focus, 1 mb point and shoot. After about a year, they purchased a used Olympus C5050 and an Inon D-180 strobe at the first DigitalDiver.net digital dive in Florida. Soon a second Olympus C5050 was purchased and the pair both became avid underwater shutterbugs.

Those C5050's could take very cool pictures, some of which grace the Reynolds' living room wall, but after a couple of years Tom was tired of the point-and-shoot's shutter lag and wanted a dSLR.

The result was an Nikon D-200 in an Ikelite case. Why a Nikon you ask? The reason was that most of Tom's friends at DigitalDiver.net used a Nikon, and Tom felt the learning curve would be shorter. This proved true, as multiple DigitalDiver members tutored Tom in the art of taking photographs.

Ginnie, on the other hand, wanted no part of the boxy, heavy, cumbersome D-200/Ikelite setup. She upgraded to and purposed to stay with the C5060 point-and-shoot...until an Olympus rep demonstrated the Olympus E330 and its housing. Our friend Ryan Canon, of Reef Photo and Video , developed the solution. The entire setup, an Olympus E330 in an Olympus housing, using an Athena TTL converter, is only slightly larger or heavier than the old C5060. It has live view (which the Nikon does not) but, eureka, it has no shutter lag. Now that Tom has purchased another camera, a Nikon D-300, a more modern (D-200) camera is always available for Ginnie. However, it appears that Ginnie will give up her E330 only when someone pries it from her cold, dead hands.

In addition to underwater photography what are we into?

Tom and Ginnie Pastor a home church. They have been active in providing Christian services at Convalescent Homes for 25 years, and currently offer weekly Sunday services at two locations, South Pasadena Convalescent Hospital and Golden Cross Health Care facility.

As a backpacker, Tom led the fight to persuade various government agencies to adopt using a bear canister to protect hikers' food from bears. He authored the document "Packing a Bear Canister" , which was the precursor to the government's instructional pamphlets. In addition, Tom was the instigator and co-founder of ADZPCTKO, a yearly meeting in California's southern-most campground, where a group of supporters join aspirants who prepare to hike the Pacific Crest Trail.

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