The invention of underwater photography and waterproof cameras brought images of a whole new world to land. Innovations in photographic technologies were inspired by marine explorers, artists, and inventors. The greatest obstacles faced were waterproofing cameras, inventing equipment that could withstand the pressure of great depths, and underwater lighting.
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| Photograph by William Longley and Charles Martin |
The
first underwater photographs were taken from above the water around the time
photography was invented in the 1850s. Nearly 40 years later in 1893, Louis
Boutan, a French Zoologist, took a 10 minute exposure of himself standing in a
diving suit with a wax sealed camera mounted on a 400 pound frame lowered into
the Mediterranean Sea (Masten, p. 44). At this time Boutan began taking many
underwater photographs and experimenting with magnesium powder flash. Other
pioneering underwater photographers began by taking pictures from underwater
bunkers, submarines, and other underwater contraptions that allowed for views
of the sea without damaging their cameras with water. In 1908 a Sea Captain
named Williamson invented a waterproof tube that could withstand pressure down
to 60 feet, which was used for inspecting ships without sending a diver. This invention
coupled with newly developed moving picture camera, inspired Williamson’s two
sons George and Ernie to become obsessed with creating underwater films. In
1914, they created the first underwater motion picture, Terrors of the Deep and went on to make the famous film 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea (Masten, p.
45). In a review of the film released in 1916, a critic comments on the newness
of this kind of image saying “These ocean meadows and forests look very
different from the pictures we have seen in books and the specimens we have
seen in museums, for we realize that it is life we are looking at (The
Independent, p.171). The footage for these films were taken in and around the
Bahamas where the water is clear and the sunlight is bright enough to take
pictures as one would be able to out of the water.
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| Photograph by Charles Martin |
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| Photograph by Rebecca Douglass |
An
important pioneer of underwater exploration and the environmental movement is
the famous oceanographer, Jacques Cousteau. Early in his career in 1942, he
purchased a 35 mm Kinamo Camera from a junk shop in Marseille. Cousteau and his
friends built a waterproof metal housing for the camera with rubber seals
around the winder, focusing lever, trigger and ground a new lens for it. “The
camera and housing was an ingenious contraption, the only one of its kind in
the world.” (Matsen, p.46). Among his many inventions, Cousteau is credited
with conceiving the Calypso 35mm film camera, soon renamed the Nikonos, a
long-lived series of underwater cameras. The original name of the camera comes
from a World War II minesweeper that Coustau bought in 1950 and converted it
into a research vessel (Scheessele). During the summer of 1953, the ship called
Calypso was used to test new underwater cameras and electronic flashes invented
by Dr. Harold Edgerton that made it possible to photograph deep water animals.
The boat served as a laboratory, a film studio and home to a crew of 28.
(Calypso-History) Later in 1956, National Geographic’s writer and photographer
Luis Marden accompanied Cousteau on a exploration mission from Toulon, France,
to the Suez Canal aboard Calypso. By the
end of the voyage, Luis Marden had 1,200 photographs, the largest collection of
underwater color photographs ever taken. (National Geographic)
In
addition to the Cousteau Society created in 1943, other societies began to form
in the 1960s to provide forums to exchange information and ideas regarding
underwater photography as well as to publicize the practice. The British
Society of Underwater Photographers (BSoUP) and the San Diego Underwater Photo
Society are still active to this day, disseminating information and bringing
photographers together. Today technology for underwater photography has
advanced into the digital age thanks to the innovative techniques developed by
so many photographers with the passion of catching this part of the world on
film. Underwater photography is a unique art form that has changed the world by
enabling scientists to study ecosystems in new ways and capture never before
seen images.
References
Masten,
Brad. Jaque Cousteau: The Sea King.
Patheon Books: New York, NY. 2009.
Scheessele,
Marie. "Jacques Cousteau." Water: Science and Issues. Ed. E.
Julius Dasch. New York:
Macmillan
Reference USA, 2003. Biography In Context. Retrieved April 12, 2013.
“Cousteau: Costodians of the Sea since 1943”. Retrieved on April
12, 2013 http://www.cousteau.org/about-us/calypso-history
National
Geographic.“Milestones in Underwater Photography”. Retrieved on April 10, 2013 http://photography.nationalgeographic.com/photography/photos/milestones-underwater-photography/
"Thirty
leagues under the sea". The Independent.
Nov 2, 1914. Retrieved April 11, 2012 http://archive.org/stream/independen79v80newy#page/171/mode/1up
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