Dive & Photo

Got my Open Water certification here and I’m so glad I chose Dive & Photo! The staff/​instructors are all very experienced and supportive. They definitely know what they’re doing and focus on developing divers versus just checking boxes to give out certs. I got to learn from both Sherry and Scot and they’re both very patient and knowledgeable. They’ll take the time to make sure you understand all concepts of diving and reinforce what you learned in the water. The classes are small (4 students max), which really help with scheduling flexibility and also allows for additional individual attention if needed. I’m definitely coming back with friends for their monthly boat dives and future certifications! Thanks guys!

Amazing instructors who are able and willing to help all levels of divers have a fun and safe experience! Great rental equipment to show you the luxuries of scuba diving and to make you feel the most comfortable during your introductory dives!

Jim is a knowledgeable and patient teacher and Shari (sp?) helped me pick out groovy yet reasonably-​priced gear.
If you have a little extra time and cash and don’t mind waking up early, it’s totes worth it to do one of your open water certification dives at Catalina! We saw a ninety-​foot giant sea bass!

This is the place to get certified. Sherry is awesome! Thoughtful, attentive, safe and a load of fun. There is no better place to learn to scuba dive and no better person to learn with. One of my experienced friends even took a refresher with Sherry and had the same great experience! Don’t waste your time at the big group places like Sport Chalet — go to Ludek and Sherry at OC Dive and Photo and have a great time learning!

Just got my PADI OW certificate. 5 star for a 5-​star dive shop. All of them (Ludek, Sherry and Mike) super knowledgable about every aspect of things and helped me out any way possible. They are friendly and Sherry is willing to take time and pay a lot of personal attention. She loves her job and does fantastic job all around. What a great experience overall!
这个PADI 潜水中心的课程真的很棒， 收费合理而且每个人都很热爱他们的工作，很用心很友善，我之前是到Beach Cities Scuba, 有很不好的经验。想学潜水的各位大大，来这边学习是一个很安心的选择！
Acaba de conseguir mi certificado PADI OW. 5 estrellas para una tienda de buceo de 5 estrellas. Todos ellos (Ludek, Sherry y Mike) súper bien informado sobre todos los aspectos de las cosas y me ayudó a cabo de cualquier manera posible. Son amables y Sherry está dispuesto a tomar el tiempo y prestar mucha atención personal. Ella ama su trabajo y lo hace un trabajo fantástico en todo. Lo que es una gran experiencia en general !
PADIコースダイブセンター私はビーチシティーズスキューバにあったように、非常に慎重に非常に友好的で、公正な価格、本当に素晴らしいですし、誰もが自分の仕事を愛し、非常に良い経験を持っています。私はここで学ぶために多くのダイビングを学びたいと思う非常に安全な選択です

I had deep dive certification here and I was really please with my instructor Jim. He is an honest guy. I’m considering getting my divemaster class here because of the quality and the kind of instructor they have.

Recommended by my girlfriend to check out Dive and Photo and cannot be more pleased. Just completed my open water certification with Scot Parker and cannot emphasize how amazing the total experience was. Scot was professional and knowledgeable both in and out of the water. He detailed the steps prior to going in and then reiterated the procedure in the water. I felt safe and secure while diving out at Shaw’s Cove and got to see some reallllllly reallly amazing underwater fauna that I probably would not have without Scot’s expertise and keen eye.
If you’re looking for a place to scuba, look no further. Dive and photo was professional, efficient but personable and attentive. They also care about the environment! If that isn’t a good reason, I don’t know what is.

My boyfriend and I just finished the open water dive course to become certified. It was amazing! Jim was our instructor and he was so supportive and helpful! This was the first time I have ever been diving and I’m in love. We feel as though the course has really prepared us for diving in the future. We are both planning on going back to take the advanced divers courses.
This is not a cheap sport, which is something to keep in mind, but the instruction and products are high quality. If diving is on your bucket list Dive and Photo is the place to go. The whole experience is worth the money.

My experience was great! Ludek was always helpful to me and my instructor Sherry was awesome! I have a crazy schedule and she was always willing to work with me and even spent extra time with me so that I could get my cert finished in time for my trip. I highly recommend this place and the instructors! Thank you for everything! I will be back by the shop to share my diving adventures with you!

The knowledgable staff and instructors with Dive & Photo focus on safety first while supporting comfortable fun adventures. After decades of searching several locations, Dive & Photo has become our dive shop. I highly recommend them, visit and see for yourself.

We went through Dive & Photo to get our open water dive certifications, and the experience we had was fantastic. The dive shop itself was a pleasure to visit, as they helped us comfortably pick out gear and what would work best given our financial constraints without compromising quality. They didn’t rush us at all, and they were always pleasant and helpful when we had questions (there’s a lot of gear involved in scuba diving!!)
The dive lessons given by the instructor Mike Faust were awesome! I cannot emphasize how patient and thorough he was. He was so, so helpful, experienced, and clearly loved diving — he gave us fantastic training and equipped us to be the safest divers we could be at this level.
Like others have said, he is all about safety while having a good time. I had trouble with the regulator recovery and clearing in open water dive 1, and it initially made me quite weary of going back in to the ocean. I can’t express how thankful I am that Mike was so patient and good at teaching; he even took it upon himself to give me a great pep talk and get me back in the ocean! He was more patient than any other teacher /​coach I’ve had — and he worked through my fear of not being able to find or clear my regulator if I lost it under water, until I finally felt comfortable and confident doing the skill! :P This was really key — and I feel if I had gone through another dive school or group-​on, they may have rushed students through the skill and I would not be as prepared to handle an easily avoidable, yet potentially life threatening situation.
This brings me to my favorite thing about learning from Mike — he taught me a HUGE lesson in safety (mind you it took me thinking I was going to drown to learn this.) The lesson was that the best way to be safe and, therefore actually enjoy your dive, is to be prepared well beyond the needs of your dive, so that you will be calm and truly prepared if an unexpected challenge presents itself.
Last thing — he also worked with my very short time frame, and even scheduled a back up dive day, so I could go through all the dives at my own pace and still get certified within about a week!!! Mike also enjoys getting to know all of his students, and takes a personal interest in their lives — so while you’re getting trained very well to be a safe diver, you’re also making a great friend :). an experience you can’t really beat!

Amazing place.
Mike is an INCREDIBLE instructor. He’s all about safety. He’ll make sure that you know exactly what you’re doing underwater and that you’re comfortable down there (something that’s super important, since, ya know, you could die down there). He’ll spend extra time outside of the allotted slot if you’re slow (which we all were: x). He genuinely has a passion for what he does and you can see it and feel it when you get trained by him.
It’s unbelievably refreshing to see such amazing customer service and attention to detail.
He’s also super particular about who he hires and who works at/​with him at Dive and Photo, so I’m sure that no matter who you get as an instructor, they’ll be fantastic.
I really can’t say enough about how much we appreciated Dive and Photo and Mike. They made the process super fun and rewarding.
Thank you guys so much!
One more thing! They never tried to hard sell us on the high-​end items and were completely understanding that most people starting scuba diving don’t have an insanely high budget.

I was referred to Dive & Photo by my boyfriend and was super excited yet nervous. I took the online e-​learning class and took all of pool and open water dives with Mike Faust. Mike is not only a cool guy to spend 3+ hours with but is also extremely patient, caring and understanding. He worked with my crazy schedule (thank you!!!) and we got my certification done prior to my trip. I was having issues with one of the skills and he showed a LOT of patience and kindness while working on it with me. Also, his chill demeanor in the water helped to calm any nerves I felt. Such a great experience and I would recommend the whole Dive & Photo shop/​team/​certification process to anyone.
Thank you!

Sometimes when I see a place with such positive reviews, I wonder if its really true. Is that place that great??? I have to tell you first hand that this place is that
girlfriend and I took the open water coarse and had great experience with everyone involved. Ludek was really great about explaining our classes and what we would need. He also took the time to answer all the question we had about the gear. He explained what we needed but also what what we might want in order to make diving more enjoyable. The two biggest and most important things that stood out to me about Ludek were you didn’t feel like things were being forced on you (No Hard Sale) and if there was a problem with any of the gear he immediately switched it out before your next class. I had some small weight issues but he kept working with me until we got it right. This also allowed me to see what I need when I go out on my own without having to spend a bunch of money through trial and error. I will be going back for any of my scuba purchases.
Now about the classes… this was the best part!!! Mike was our instructor and I can’t say enough good things about him. He makes everything easy. You have a question? Feel uncomfortable about a certain task? Mike makes sure he works with you until you feel good doing it. He’s with you every step of the way. He makes it a lot of fun as well. I don’t think we could have asked for a better instructor. We will be signing up for more classes with him as soon as we get back. Cant wait to get back in the water.
You will not be disappointed in the shop or the classes. They are worthy of all the positive reviews.

I took my open water certification thru dive and photo. Ludek is great always helpful and up front, no b’s.
Sherry was my instructor, she was awesome. Fun to be around and a professional in the water.
I could not have had a better experience.
Thank you Sherry and Ludek.

Had the most amazing experience with Dive & Photo. After two years of rentals, I have finally decided to purchase my own gears. Ludek and Sherry were beyond helpful! They were so patient with me and took the time to explain and walk me through all the options and went above and beyond to find the most suitable gears for my needs. Cannot recommend them enough!

Dive and Photo is the best dive shop in OC, period.
The owners and staff are all friendly and knowledgeable, and care about customer service far more than simply trying to make sales. The instructors (Mike Faust, Todd Marsh, Joe Tustison, Jim White) are all fantastic as well, all with many years experience and hundreds of certifications under their belts. They are patient with students and always make safety their top priority. Ludek Subrt is a great resource for any photography or equipment related questions as well.
The shop stocks high quality gear at reasonable prices, and often run great deals on equipment, over $ 200 off list price for the Sola 2100 light for instance. Some highlights of their stocked equipment include Henderson and Bare wetsuits, Atomic and Oceanic regs, Dive Rite and Zeagle BCDs, Shearwater, Oceanic, and Atomic computers, Atomic masks and fins, and a huge array of photography and videography equipment. They are also more than happy to order any equipment they don’t have stocked, and will take all the time you want to discuss your needs with you and help you to figure out exactly what gear you need to suit your diving goals.
Their classes are extremely reasonably priced as well. $ 350 for your open water cert is a great price, and they never have more than 4 students in a class! This means you get more one-​on-​one time with your instructor, and will probably get to go on reef tours during your open water dives, rather than spend the whole dive sitting on the bottom while all the members of a huge class go through their skills. They also offer a deal where if you sign up for four specialty courses, the fifth specialty course is free!
They also organize trips through the shop. They regularly do local boat trips, usually aboard the Humbolt out of San Diego (for Wreck Alley typically) or the Magician out of San Pedro, and plan bigger trips annually. They planned a Cozumel trip in May 2015, and there is some talk about Fiji as a possibility for 2016!
Finally, their air fills are the cheapest I’ve found — $ 40 for a 10-​fill air card!

Mike Faust was such a pleasure to work with. My husband and I just finished our open water certification with him and his incredible attention to safety and detail are incomparable. We truly feel better prepared for anything that could happen after working with him. I can’t imagine a better scuba instructor. He’s knowledgeable, kind, fun, and passionate. His enthusiasm for diving is infectious, he’s just a really great guy all around! We feel incredibly fortunate to have had him as our instructor. Ludek is also wonderful and very knowledgeable/​helpful with all of the equipment and gear.
I would recommend Dive and Photo for all of your diving needs!

Amazing, fantastic, magnificient.
Dive & Photo is awesome. They are making my dreams come true.
I have always wanted to take my kids diving in Belize. We had only one month to get certified — I called the shop and spoke to Matt — he said (if we were motivated) he could certify us in 3 – 4 days.
Well it took us a bit longer — but Matt really worked with us — he was amazing with my sons — they were so comfortable with him and felt safe (btw they are 12 and 10).
This shop is amazing — I highly recommend them for all ages!

I found Dive & Photo from Unilocal and wanted to get certified here with the boyfriend. We did our Open Water certification with Chris and our Nitrox and Advanced Open Water with Mike. We were able to have private classes each time which was convenient for us and allowed us to move at our own pace which was especially nice as we tried to get certified before a trip. Mike and Chris were both great instructors.
Ludek is the owner of the shop, he’s really nice and knowledgeable. He helped us pick out our gear and gave us good prices. All of the gear is pretty top of the line with a lot of locally made products so they’re made in the USA and customer support is great. Because many of the products are made so close, when we had an issue with something it could be driven there and fixed within a week or so. The prices at Dive and Photo can’t be beat, almost all the gear we got was cheaper here than amazon, and you support local business. Classes were also a little cheaper than Sport Chalet but it’s so much better here because Sport Chalet has large classes with a high student to teacher ratio.
Overall Dive and Photo is great for your scuba needs or if you’re interested in starting out and getting certified! If you ever go to the Scuba show in Long Beach they also had a booth there this past year.