Underwater photography

WITH almost three quarters of a million Americans finding their favorite pastime in underwater diving and marine exploration, there has been a tremendous increase in underwater photography as a hobby. Several years ago underwater photography was limited to the rather tame technique of taking photographs through the glass-bottomed boats that were features of some resort areas. Today both skin and scuba divers have found that modern underwater camera equipment has added a new element to their sport.

Deep diving has a peculiar psychological effect the deeper a diver descends, the poorer his powers of observation become, and an image on photographic film is one definite way of recording what he has seen.

The problems of underwater photography were first approached on a large scale by professional motion-picture producers who found considerable public interest in scenes shot beneath the surface of the water. The use of cumbersome diving bells proved both expensive and inefficient and it became necessary to develop truly portable photographic equipment. The first attempts were along the lines of “breathing” equipment, which automatically maintained within the camera housing a pressure slightly higher than the surrounding pressure. In turn this called for pressure regulators and exhaust valves, in order to equalize the pressure at different depths. Later developments, however, made this type of equipment obsolete, and a more modern approach led to the manufacture of pressure-resistant housings with the controls working through self-sealing gaskets. Paralleling the Hollywood work on underwater photography, much research in this field has been done by the United States Navy, although much of the Navy’s research has been kept in the “classified” category and has not been made available to the public.

The basic problem of “housing” camera equipment has been approached in several ways. The most simple consists of a flexible plastic bag with about a 6-inch plastic window. For use with most 35mm or simple brownie-type cameras this has been found effective in shallow depths down to about 10 or 15 feet. Controls are manipulated through the sides of the bag.

There are a large number of special “underwater” cameras on the market, ranging in price upwards from $19.95. In addition, underwater housings are available for most popular types of still and motion-picture cameras, in metal-usually cast aluminum-or plastic, generally plexiglass.

Metal housing is usually suggested for divers planning deep work, or those whose equipment will take much abuse. The plastic housing is most often a custom-made job. It allows viewing of all settings on the camera, and more controls can be set in a plastic housing than in most metal ones. Generally plastic housings are tested for depths down to 60 feet, metal housings to about 150 feet. The housings can be built for negative, positive, or neutral buoyancy in water, although many underwater photographers have found that a slight negative buoyancy is more practical. It is somewhat easier to recover a dropped camera that is sinking than one that is drifting upward.

Even subminiature fans have been considered, and there are underwater housings available for Minox-type cameras. The recent development of electric-eye cameras has made the task of underwater photography easier, and both electric-eye still and motion-picture underwater equipment is available. Electric-eye cameras require a shutter-release control, and if they are not electrically driven, also a wind control. It has been found, in practice, that the automatic-aperture control works effectively under water, as a solution to the somewhat difficult exposure problem.

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