1. Jessica Scannella
Compare and contrast a form of photography being produced
during two different periods of time
This essay will explore the development of underwater photography
from 1893 to present day. It shall explore relevant photographers and
information sourced from a range of different media types. The aim of the
essay to compare, contrast and understand underwater photography
from its early creation to what it has become to this present day.
Underwater photographers are faced with a range of difficulties, for
example water is six hundred times denser than air and is primarily blue in
colour. As well as producing a proficient image, it is important to keep the
camera dry and the photographer must take their safety into
consideration in an unfamiliar environment.
It was the Bay of Banylus where the beginning of underwater
photography evolved. Louis Boutan was a doctor of Science whose
research tasks gradually led his interests in the marine environment.
Boutan became very familiar with using helmet-diving equipment and
after numerous dives his initial wonder of the underwater world soon led
him to realise the potential of photography for this scientific work. Boutan
began to act on this idea by designing and producing a camera that was
capable of taking pictures whilst diving. However after frequent attempts
Boutan decided to create a housing for an existing camera as opposed
to making a waterproof camera.Boutan used a small 9x12 camera
named ‘Detective’, which was commonly used at the time for general
photography, into a housing. This camera had some great advantages
and adaptations that suited its use for underwater photography, for
example, it did not needed to be focused as long as the subjects were
not more than three metres away, it also had the capability of changing
plates whilst underwater, this meant a lot of time and effort was saved by
avoiding the return to the water’s surface to change plates. Welded
copper plates with two portholes and two watertight controls for
operating the camera constructed the housing for the camera. However
the problems caused by pressure on the housing at depth were soon
picked up by Boutan, to overcome these promblems he had the idea of
fitting his housing with a compensation ball that automatically balanced
the pressure within the housing with ambient water pressure. The outfit was
not easy to handle, yet it worked. This allowed Boutan to capture images
that were deemed a revelation at the time, as they were the first images
taken underwater.
Once Boutan had created his housing for the camera he soon
discovered that the lighting conditions underwater were an issue, this was
because the light was too weak at a certain depth which required very

2. Jessica Scannella
long exposures which is not ideal when working underwater. Boutan
figured he needed some sort of artificial lighting to brighten his subjects.
At the time it was a complex and technical issue, however Boutan was
not disheartened, after abandoning an electrical solution, due to
financial reasoning, he designed a method based on the oxidation of
magnesium. His first attempt of a magnesium system was not effective, as
he had to return to the surface after every shot to replace the
magnesium. His second lamp involved a barrel filled with oxygen, which
supported a flame fulled by alcohol, a charge of magnesium powder was
then sent onto the flame, triggering the flash. It was Boutan’s hard work
and curiosity that allowed him to experiment with plenty of ideas and
eventually take extraordinary underwater photos of the time.
Boutan’s images and methods are a great deal different to a
present day underwater photographer such as Zena Holloway for
example. It is essential that most present day underwater photographers
are expert scuba divers this is because they may be able to cope with
cold temperatures, aggressive wildlife, strong currents and bad visibility.
Zena Holloway is in fact a commercial diver and self taught underwater
photographer who has a long list of clients such as Dazed & Confused,
GQ, Nike, Sony, Herbal Essences and many more. The equipment
Holloway uses is much more sophisticated and advanced compared to
Boutan’s equipment, for example the use of dome ports on the housing of
her camera. The optical issue of refraction in a watertight housing means
the image coming through the glass port will be distorted, especially
when using wide-angle lenses. To correct this distortion, a dome-shaped
port is often the solution, many manufacturers produce dome ports for
their housings; they commonly design the dome ports to be used with
particular lenses to increase their efficiency. When lighting situations
Holloway would use flash or strobe, it is often said that the use of strobe is
the most problematic element of underwater photography;
photographers would normally try to generate a balance between the
available sunlight and the strobe. Understandably the deeper and darker
environments can make this balance challenging due to the lack of
sunlight available, however modern cameras have overcome this process
through numerous automatic exposure modes and the use of ‘through
the lens’ (TTL) metering.Colour is absorbed when travelling through water,
this means the deeper the water, the less reds, yellows and orange
colours remain, and thus the strobe replaces the colour lost. Strobe
lighting is also an essential tool for creativity as it offers shadow and
texture; this is why Holloway uses strobe lighting, which is visible in her
works.
Holloway demonstrates how much underwater photography
had developed since 1983, she does this but no only capturing innovative,
creative yet elegant images, but she also captures motion underwater.

3. Jessica Scannella
Once again Holloway has done this for press and editorial purposes, yet
her motion picture are just as stunning and breathtaking as her still
images. She has truly shown how much underwater technologies have
improved since they first started by introducing different types of media to
the underwater realms.
The lack of knowledge and technology of photography during 1893
led to people like Boutan creating and developing the equipment used
today, for example, Boutan’s ideology of underwater housing for the
camera.
It is clear to see the change and development of housing over time.
Boutan’s housing seems bulky and a struggle to handle underwater,
whereas the modern version of underwater housing looks easier to control
and has a sleek appearance with more adaptions that fit with the use of
underwater photography. The same applies to the weight of each
housing, as boutan’s housing was constructed with welded copper, it
would have been heavier than present days housing of plastic.
Boutan’s housing Modern day housing

4. Jessica Scannella
This is one of Louis Boutan’s
underwater images taken in
1893. To produce this image,
Boutan attracted the fish to a
clear panel so they were more
visible. This image is clearly used
for documentation as it records
the fish underwater in there
natural environment, it also
allows doctors of science, such
as Boutan himself, to
understand and gain
knowledge of creatures and plants to record how there existence and
behaviors. The image is shot in black and white, as colour photography
had not yet been discovered. The overall image is effective as it provides
an insight into the fish underwater, it also creates an interesting picture to
view as the bold contrast of the fish’s silhouettes against the clear panel
illustrate an exciting image.
Zena Holloway produced this image; it
had been shot for advertising purposes and
was used by ‘Georg Jensen’, a Danish
jewellery company to promote their stock.
The main aim of this image is to make the
jewellery look pleasing and to attract the
viewer’s attention. Holloway has taken this
image effectively as she has lit the jewellery
with precision and made the overall image
look fashionable and suitable for the
products being sold. The effects the water
provides the model’s hair gives a unique
touch, which Holloway has captured well.
The two images produced by Boutan and
Holloway are very different and shows how
much underwater photography has
changed and developed. An obvious
difference is the subject and purpose of the images, Boutan’s images
were often used for marine biologists and discovering new information
from the underwater world, whereas Holloway’s images are used for more
advertising and editorial purposes so they are often images of models and
being creative with the fabrics and the water. Another difference
between the two images is the format, Boutan’s images was taken with a
film camera which is visible through the gainand lack of sharpness within
the image, whereas Holloway’s image was taken on a digital camera. An
advantage of taking an underwater image with a digital camera is that

5. Jessica Scannella
Holloway is able to digitally able to manipulate her images with software
such as Adobe Photoshop, this allows her pictures to look a lot more neat
and clean and able to discard of any unwanted elements within the
picture.
When producing my images I decided to produce two modern
images in the style of Zena Holloway and the other two images to based
on an older style of Louis Boutan’s. Due to the financial cost of professional
underwater housing equipment, I instead purchased a plastic housing
bag which is secure and protects the camera for getting wet.
This is one of my modern
images I attempted to
recreate. I wanted to
produce an image like
Zena’s that showed flow
from the water, yet
elegance that didn’t
make the scene look
unnatural. The doll’s hair
portrays movement and
the flow of water around
her; the material from the
dress also does this as you
can see behind the doll.
From studying Zena’s work
I had noticed she plays a lot with hair and long materials to produce a
scene of floating and provides these
elements with a life of their own, this is
something I have tried to create though
the doll’s hair and dress.
However the modern picture I tried to
produce on the right I intended to be an
advertisement. I tried running the tap
above the deodorant can to produce a
bubbling effect to portray the fact that
the can is underwater. I feel this works
well as an underwater advertisement as
it represents that the deodorant will keep
the consumer fresh and the use of
bubbles help to illustrate the message.
The brand is also visiable and clear to
see, this is why it is an effective
advertising image.

6. Jessica Scannella
I tried to recreate the image on the left, which is one of Louis Boutan’s first
underwater images. My image was originally in colour but in order to
mimic Boutan’s image I converted my image to black and white.
Boutan’s image is in balck and white due to the lack of technology in
1893 as only black and white film was used at the time. Boutan’s image
contains the water surface and with a rippling effect from the surface, my
image also contains the surface of the water, which can be seen above
the model’s ankles. The image that Boutan produced was for
experimental purposes as this was a new thing for him and photography
and I feel that my version of this image suits the original.
Finally, my last image is based
on Boutan’s ideology and purpose of
underwater photography, to gain
information for scientific purposes.
This image demonstrates what
underwater photography was
originally designed for, the image
provides a range of information such
as what lives underwater such as fish,
mammals and plants, the behavior of
animals and plants underwater and
the details about the environment
underwater. This image was
converted to black and white to

7. Jessica Scannella
emphasis the time period the image would have been taken in. The
framing of the piece is also realistic as the composition would not have
been perfect due to the lack of technological equipment and
environment they would have been in.
In conclusion, I have found researching and experimenting with
underwater photography myself has proved interesting yet challenging. I
have found that underwater photography is difficult to master and
requires a logical approach to techniques and equipment in achieve
great results. From studying the start of underwater photography to
present day, I understand how much technologies have changed. At the
foundation of underwater photography I now understand and appreciate
the amount of time and effort that had gone into taking an underwater
shot and realise how modern equipment has been adapted from
previous years. The only similarities of these two periods are the general set
up of a housing for the camera being used and balancing artificial light
with sunlight. On the other hand there seems to be a great development
within underwater photography, which has created some differences, for
example, more advanced technologies. The housing for cameras in 1893
was bulky difficult to handle, whereas modern housing has been adapted
and includes features such as handles and being more lightweight.
Another key difference within the two periods are the subject matters, this
is mainly due to social effects and changes over the years. It was more
common for marine life to be photographed in 1893, although marine life
is still captured today, underwater photography has been led to a more
creative, artistic approach which has been adopted for the use of
advertising and editorial purposes due to its unique effects. Overall I feel
that underwater photography is a unique yet significant form of
photography as it is specialized and requires dedicated equipment. It is
also a way of discovering another world whether it is for marine or editorial
purposes.