The First Ever Underwater Photo Of A Diver
Back in the 1800s, taking a picture was a bit of a pain — and that assumes you were on solid ground in good lighting. Taking a picture underwater? That was a whole different level.
But daring and inventive photographers like Louis Boutan refused to let the difficulties of taking underwater photos discourage them. This shot below. taken by Boutan, is the first ever underwater photo of a diver:
Pretty cool, right? Well it took Boutan a bit of invention to make it work:
Seeing that his exposures—ironically enough, taken on "dry" plates—had to run as long as 30 minutes to capture the proper amount of light, Boutan began to develop a flash photography rig that could easily double as a bomb.
The creation involved an alcohol lamp on an oxygen-filled barrel. A rubber bulb would then blow a puff of magnesium powder over the flame, creating a flash. From there, Boutan kept iterating his cameras and bombs flash rigs, improving on his initial creation.
This portrait was likely taken in this way given how sharp the text on the placard (which reads "Photographie Sous Marine" or "Underwater Photography") and the grass at the diver's feet is.
[Via Scienmag]