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1. How underwater photography/filming has developed over the years
Introduction
Underwater photography was started and developed in 1899 which is a very
long time ago when it comes to technology. Emil Racovizta was a Romanian
biologist and oceanographer who wentdown to a depth of 164 feet
underwater which was pushing the limit of technology back then. Louis Boutan
accompanied Emil to take the firstever underwater portraitwhich took place
in the South of France. Back then light was the biggest problem in underwater
photography becausethey didn’t haveeasy to usewaterproof torches like we
do nowadays, so Boutan began to design and create something that spreads
light easily down at such an extreme depth. They used a rubber bulb that blew
a cloud of magnesium dust over a flame which created a very bright light which
meant that they could take the photo and see everything within the
photograph. Boutan then went on to make the light using electricity rather
than a reaction.
“Each dive we make promises to be a unique experience” (Robertson-Brown,
2014)
For my question I am going to be explaining how underwater photography has
been developed and turned into something anyoneand everyonecan enjoy
doing even if you are an amateur or professional. I am going to be including
equipment changes and developments when it comes to what people use to
see and take pictures/videos with. Light and filters will also be a big part of the
discussion as well in this essay as they have let divers and photographers are
able to take fully colourised images underwater and show how beautiful it is in
the ocean. Without these pieces of equipment, we would still be taking uneven
coloured pictures.
Underwater photography 1900’s-2000
1899 was a big year for underwater photography becausethat year was the
beginning of a new type of photography for the world, which has now turned
into something really amazing. Only 27 years after the firstunderwater picture

2. was taken, Charles Martin and Dr. William Longley who were photographers
for national geographic at the time took the firstcoloured underwater photo in
1926. Thefirst coloured picture was of a hogfish, which was off the Florida
Keys. Justlike the first underwater picture, Charles and William used a
chemical reaction to create the light they needed to successfully geta fully
coloured picture. They used pounds of highly explosive and reactive
magnesium justlike Emil did but on a greater scale, which they set off on a raft
above them on the water’s surfaceand that gave them a big illuminating flash
underwater. They also created special water housing for the camera, which
would protect it frombeing damaged by the water or even the explosion. They
triggered the battery on the raftby using a trigger so when they press the
camera shutter it detonates the powerfulexplosion, which will illuminate the
deep surroundings fromup to 15 feet underwater. In 1950 theFrench
company Beuchat produced the Tarzan, which was the first commercialized
underwater camera housing. Henry Broussard designed the housing and it was
designed to fit the French camera “Foca”. 1957 was a big time for the
underwater community as the first amphibious camera was made and
commercialized. Jean de Wouters a Belgian engineer designed the camera and
it was named “Calypso”.
Underwater photography 2000’s-Present
Modern day underwater photography has developed to such a high standard
now that you can buy a camera anywherefor a good price to use underwater,
even if you justwantto take holiday videos or you are doing it professionally
there is a wide range of high quality cameras to video underwater. The first
one that comes to everyone’s mind is most likely Go Pros as they are the
biggest company for underwater cameras. Prices for a Go Pro can go from
£170-£500 which is very cheap and convenient whereas other choices will
most likely be around £1000-£2000+for each set (camera + housing). Water
housings arestill an expensive partof the process butgo pros makeit
affordableand easy to get if you wantto get out there quickly. For bigger and
more expensive cameras, you may need to find a custom housing or find a
housing that suits the dimensions of your camera. This is essentially a
waterproof casethat goes over your camera and lets it record without any
water getting inside. You should never go for a cheap option when it comes to
a housing because then you will be putting your camera at risk because the

3. dimensions may not work or the depth it says it can go could be a lie and you
would lose lots of money becauseyour camera will get damaged/broken. You
can also get different types of housings which if you are a photographer could
come in handy if you are wanting to create different shots rather than a
straightshot every time. You can get a normal housing which lets the camera
take the normalshots it would and you can create interesting shots using light,
animals or different things to make your own type of photography. Or you can
get a fish eye housing which has a big lens on the frontwhich you can create a
wide variety of pictures becauseyou can use the water to create really nice
images or use the waves like Ben Thouard. Lenses, filters and lights have
become something that is needed for a professionalunderwater photographer
because there are many elements in the ocean that can affect and change how
pictures look. Editing softwarehas always been apart of the photography
industry but underwater photos can be edited instead of using filters which
may be easier for some people as you can control whathappens a lot more but
you can’t guarantee that it will turn out as good as a filter would.
“Photoshop CS4 havea graduated filter tool which allows you to recreate the
look of a traditional neutral density filter” (Edge, 2012)
Filters are used to correct the colour loss while you are underwater as different
depths block a lot of colour coming in. This is becauseyou losedifferent
colours the further you go down and also the light you havewill go away as
well. So, you would use a white light to make it brighter and how everything
but you would also put a filter on top of the torch depending on the depth you
go to because it then gives you the ambient light and colour instead of an
intrusivecolour changewhich would make the sceneworse. The same goes for
the camera, when you go underwater you will see that everything has a tint of
blue on it because the ocean is blocking the red in the water. So, what you
would do is put a red filter on top of the lens to even out the colour difference
which lets all the missing colours be shown in the video/photo. But before you
do this you will need to white balance your camera using something that is
fully white so that you can use that as the template. Or as I said earlier you can
do this after recording everything becauseyou can put a filter using an editing
softwarewhich acts as if you did it with your light or camera, this is a cheaper
option for people who don’t havethe money for filters or white lights.

4. Conclusion
Underwater photography started as a massiveprojectto take a single photo to
develop into what it is today and see the real colours and wildlife effortlessly
with mosttechnology. This essay shows how much has changed and developed
such as light being used in underwater photography and how they had to use
such an extreme method to have a couple seconds of light for the picture and
if anything went wrong it would cost a lot of money and also a lot of time
which nowadays, you would never need to worry aboutnot having light
because of how cheap and easy it is to have sparebatteries, torches or other
people will be with you. Underwater photography will keep being updated and
developed even more, as the technology in the modern world is becoming
crazier every time someone creates something. Underwater photography also
can show awareness to the wildlife being affected by wasteand climate
change which is a big movement at the movement. Being able to capture what
is happening is a massivehelp and shows proof of eco systems dying which
people could have brushed away but having proof will help make people listen
and hopefully help. Even though technology has developed into something
that anyone can use, most principles have stayed the samewhich will help new
users get clearer pictures and also avoid mistakes such as not white balancing
or using a filter.
Bibliography
Edge, M (2012). The Underwater Photographer. Staffordshire: n/a. p9.37.
Robertson-Brown, N(2014). Underwater Photography: Artand Techniques.
Marlborough: Crowood. I.