Below the surface

Photographing the underwater world is an ambitious undertaking, even with the right gear, but without the right gear? That is another challenge unto itself.

To begin this build, a solid base was needed. This came in the form of a watertight travel case. Designed for the safe transport of equipment such as cameras and lenses, this case was already the right dimensions, sturdiness, and workable material to modify into a working underwater camera housing, not too mention the handy foam it comes with to ensure everything is well seated within the case. 

PVC piping, used in plumbing, securely moves water around. It stands to reason that this could be reversed, used to keep water OUT instead! Wide enough to accommodate the widest lens, the pipe was fitted and bonded into place into an opening drilled out of the travel-case. Additionally, smaller piping made great handles with which to hold the camera in position comfortably whilst in the water. 

Next was a trickier problem; to dome, or not to dome. After a great deal of research and some conversations with photographers already well acquainted with the underwater world, the dome was determined to be the best suited option for this particular project. A dome allows for a wider angle lens to be used, whilst creating pleasant aesthetics with the water, specifically in regards to 'over-under' shots, in which both the underwater and above-water environments are shown.    

So now the camera and lens could be housed securely, however another issue arises; how to trigger the camera shutter. There would appear to be three possible solutions to this:

1 - A button on the housing, which when pressed pushes down through the housing and triggers the cameras own shutter button. A tricky solution, but certainly manageable.

2 - A wireless trigger, although this trigger itself would also be in the water with the photographer, and may experience some trouble sending the signal through the water. It was realised that for this option to be usable, the trigger itself would also probably be in the water, and would need its own housing of some kind. Then comes the issue of trying to hold the camera in place whilst also trying to use the trigger, an underwater juggling act.

3 - A hardwired off-camera trigger, similar to the wireless option, but with the assurance off firing each time without interference through the water. Integrated into the housing like a button, but with the key difference being it could be mounted anywhere the one metre cable would reach.

Whilst each option had both positives and negatives, the third option was chosen decided to be the best. A hardwired trigger could be connected to the camera within the housing, and then integrated into the PVC handles, with the trigger button itself positioned comfortably to be used while holding the housing. To enable the button to remain watertight, yet usable, the cap was left off of the right-hand side of the PVC handle, and instead was sheathed with fingers from dive gloves.

With the trigger now in place, the housing was ready for its first swim. Left for 24 hours in the bathtub, submerged, and containing tissue paper rather than a camera and lens, the housing passed with flying colours. The plastic welds had held, the materials remaining bonded together, and the tissue paper still untouched by water. 

The next step was to to finally mount a camera and lens within the housing, connected to the trigger, and take the whole package out into the real world. The aim of this outing was not so much about the photography itself, rather to troubleshoot the system and see if the endeavor of building a housing had been worth the effort. The result was, for the most part, positive. The handles had been comfortable to hold and maneuver the camera with. The housing had been quite buoyant, though this could easily be corrected at a later date with the addition of small weights zip-tied to the PVC. No viewfinder meant shooting blind, but after some practice, a feel for where the camera would be facing was developed. With a manually set focal distance, and the camera on aperture-priority, the biggest challenge was lighting, though this too could be addressed with some future modifications.