Today, in the age of digital photography, capturing images underwater has become quite commonplace. However, when GoPros and waterproof cameras were a long way off, there was a man in the depths of history: William Thompson. He was the man who made one of the most important achievements in photography. He took the first underwater photo.
The Man Behind the Lens: Who was William Thompson?
British photographer William Thompson was known for his curiosity and passion to push the boundaries of photography. In the mid-1800s, photography was still in its infancy. The popular method at the time, the daguerreotype, produced detailed images on copper plates. But the idea of taking pictures underwater was considered almost impossible at the time. Until Thompson decided to give it a try.
Thompson lived in a time when technological limitations were discouraging. But he was determined to overcome them. His interest in marine life and the hidden world underwater led him to this field. At a time when simply taking photographs on land was considered a great achievement, he wanted to lay the foundations for a new field of photography that went underwater.
How to Take Photos Underwater?
To understand the magnitude of Thompson’s achievement, it is necessary to know the technical challenges he faced. In the 19th century, cameras were large and bulky, and far from waterproof. Capturing an image required long exposure times and careful handling of photographic plates.
Thompson’s first challenge was to make his camera work underwater. To accomplish this, he placed the camera in a waterproof box with a glass window in the front to allow light to meet the lens. The box had to be not only waterproof, but also able to withstand the pressure of the water.
Thompson’s innovative solution can be considered the ancestor of modern underwater housing. However, this was a very difficult task due to the technical limitations of the time. Glass plates required long exposure times, which meant that the timing of the shot had to be very precise, often relying solely on natural light seeping through the surface of the water.
Diving Capturing History!!!
In 1856, William Thompson made history and took the first underwater photograph. The location of this historic dive was Weymouth Bay in Dorset, England. Working with engineer John Stuart, Thompson managed to capture the underwater image.
The photograph was taken in shallow waters close to the shore, so the sunlight was just enough to capture the image. Thompson placed his camera in a waterproof box, attached it to a boat with a rope and lowered it into the water. Carefully calculating the time, he opened the shutter and captured an image of the seafloor – blurry and ghostly, but showing the textures of rocks and marine plants in a way that had never been seen before.
The photograph may not look impressive by today’s standards, but this image was of great importance. It was the first time mankind had gotten a glimpse of the underwater world, and it heralded the birth of underwater photography.
William Thompson’s underwater photograph was more than just an interesting experiment; it opened the doors to a new field of scientific research. Until this achievement, the study of marine life had been limited to surface observations or primitive diving techniques. But thanks to underwater photography, marine biologists and naturalists were able to observe and document marine life, enabling previously impossible studies.
Looking at Thompson’s blurry image today, we might overlook its significance. But the rocky and mossy landscape of the seabed symbolizes the triumph of man over technological limitations. It symbolizes one man’s courage to open the doors to a world whose beauty has yet to be fully explored.
His courage to dive into the unknown, both figuratively and literally, became a beacon for future generations of explorers, photographers and scientists. This journey, which once began with a blurry image taken from the seabed, continues today with vivid and clear underwater photographs and continues to captivate people’s imagination.
Today, it’s easy to capture the underwater world in high resolution. But it’s important to remember that it all started with a dream of William Thompson and his historic dive in Weymouth Bay.
The next time you take your underwater camera and photograph coral reefs or marine life, think of William Thompson, the first man to go deep, and the groundbreaking photograph he made history.
