Many female free-divers share a common dream – to capture breathtaking, mermaid-like photos of themselves underwater. Today, we’re speaking with Theresa from ezzdiveco, IG@ezzentrictwee, to learn about the challenges and accomplishments on her free-diving journey. Let’s strap on our long fins, take a deep breath, and dive into Theresa’s undersea world!
Unlike scuba diving that requires a air tank, free-diving is the sport of diving underwater relying solely on one’s own breath. It is a true challenge both physically and mentally.
Theresa shares that she initially just wanted to accompany her boyfriend to get a free-diving certification. But as she gradually learned and practiced, she unexpectedly fell in love with this wonderful sport. She mentions, “Because you can only rely on one breath to dive down, this extreme sport has a competitive element while also requiring the diver to be completely relaxed physically and mentally.” Theresa believes this tension between the two is what makes free-diving so captivating.
Learning Free-Diving is Like Learning How to Live
Theresa believes that learning free-diving is akin to learning how to live life – the various training stages pose continuous psychological challenges, much like how personal growth requires constantly pushing one’s boundaries. Free-diving has taught her to have faith in herself. As long as you combine technical training with unwavering determination, this sport can help you break through your self-imposed limits. The human body is an astounding thing, so we must approach free-diving’s challenges with humility.
In the early stages of training, just like most beginners, Theresa repeatedly faced discouraging setbacks, whether psychological hurdles or technical deficiencies. During her free-diving journey, she would often feel dejected when she couldn’t successfully equalize the pressure in her ears. This stagnation in progress led to a six-month plateau, but she persevered, believing that “as long as you find the right methods and practice diligently, without fear of failure, and keep trying until you succeed, the problems will eventually be resolved!”
She never gave up, and in her spare time, she dedicated herself wholeheartedly to dry-land training. Eventually, she overcame this bottleneck and successfully reached a certain depth.
The Innate Advantages Women Have in Free-Diving
Due to innate differences in skeletal structure and muscle mass, Theresa believes that women generally find it easier to relax and have greater flexibility and agility, which gives us an inherent advantage in learning free-diving. From her personal experience, she firmly believes that women possess a natural edge when it comes to free-diving and underwater photography.
Starting from scratch, Theresa’s journey in free-diving has profoundly expanded her perspectives on herself and the world around her.
The Hidden Artistry Behind Breathtaking Underwater Photography
Underwater, there are so many uncertainties, and behind those beautiful photos lies a great deal of effort. First, you need to master your free-diving skills before you can focus on striking various poses.
Theresa shares that when acting as an underwater photography model, in addition to being mindful of her breathing and posture, she also has to coordinate closely with the photographer. Before each dive, she communicates with the photographer to understand the desired angles, positions, and poses, so they can work in sync to capture the most breathtaking moments.
Embracing the Playful, Free-Spirited Nature of Free-Diving
To become an effective underwater photography model, showcasing graceful poses in the weightless, aquatic realm requires more than just basic free-diving skills. To ensure the necessary techniques and endurance, Theresa has to practice holding her breath and maintaining stability in the water.
