FRONTISPIECE. The latest Pegasus 70 mm. underwater photogral1lmetric system.

DIMITRI REBIKOFF*

Rebiko.O· Underwater Products, Inc.Fort Lauderdale, Fla. 33316

History of Underwater Photography

The near future already surpasses the wildest dreams of last year.

I T HAS FINALLY become clear that under­water photography has been neglected too

long as the major tool of underwater explora­tion. Only underwater photography with itsmillions of information bits per picture canprovide a bridge between the di ver, normallya younger man short on knowledge and ex­perience, and the senior non-diving scientist,engineer, or poet. Even if the latter are di\"ers,they cannot hope to observe everything in thefew minutes of bottom stay while busy withcold, pressure, weightlessness, leaks in themask or breathing system, getting lost, un­friendly marine life, and other problems. Thiscompares with the pilot busy with flying theairplane right-side up, avoiding weather,traffic or flak, watching the engine; or theastronomer numbed by cold, boredom, oldage, and inefficient eye sensitivity.

In all cases, the photographic camera sup­plements the eye and brain by catching afleeting instant and preserving it with all its

* Presented at the Annual Convention of theAmerican Society of Photogrammetry in Washing­ton, D. c., March 1965 under the title "The Evolu­tion and History of Underwater Photography" asone of several papers on underwater photography,all contained in this issue.

details. Then the explorer, investigator, en­gineer, or scientist has a full opportunity tostudy in a quiet and comfortable office or pro­jection room all the important (though small)features that may not have been apparent atthe time of direct observation: geology, plan tand animal life, human presence, remote stars

DIMITRI REBIKOFF

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and nebulae, unknown bacteria, etc. Theseare gradually revealed by careful and insistentsystematic examination called photo-inter­pretation. A most interesting area also isremote photography, including TV, capableof depth and duration performance far be­yond any human capability.

rf HIS IS A SHORT, and by no means complete,history of underwater photography.

First of all Louis Boutan, French zoologistand marine engineer, began in 1893 to designa practical housing around a 9 X 12-cm. glassplate "detective" box camera. Plates could beswitched from outside, and water pressureequalization between outside and inside was

pended particle into a completely unwantedsecondary light source located closer to thecamera than the subject. Dark places like thedeep sea, caves, and wrecks provide the bestphotographs; dusk or night being perfect forshallow water.

IN 1894 ENGINEER MARTI. CHAUFO Rriggedthe world's first flashbulb, a short magne­sium ribbon electrically ignited within anoxygen-filled glass jar. This had the majorinconvenience (still existing today) of a singleexposure.

He then rigged and used successfully, de­spite a few minor explosions, a wonderfullyseaworthy, if bulky, undersea Rube Goldberg

ABSTItACT: Like aviation, underwater photography has been developed in theUnited States and France since the turn of the centu'ry by the same breed ofcurious experimenters and scientific explorers. This story of tIle pioneers istraced from 1893, when Louis Boutan produced the first underwater photo­graphs with his 5 X 7-inch plate camera, to the recent development of underwaterphotogrammetric survey and charting by the author. Some of the importantdevelopments include artificial lighting, the strobe flash, the silver-zinc battery,super-wide angle and corrected lenses, SC UBA diving gear, automatic airpressure regulator, a navigable underwater camera vehicle, sonar remote controlsystems, research submarines, stereo movie photography, T V, etc.

provided by a ru bber bladder. He soon con­cluded that no commercially available cameracould be satisfactory for underwater use, afinding still true today.

He then experimented with a reverse cam­era, entirely flooded, and with an air lens. Thephotographic emulsion proved just as sensi­tive in contact with salt water as dry. Devel­oping, fixing and washing were, of course, noproblem. Optical problems led then to a large(18 X 24-cm.) pressure-resistan t camera wi than automatic plate magazine. This camerawas so heavy it had to be suspended from anempty wine barrel as a float and set up onfour adjustable feet (Figure 1). It featured apneumatic remote-con trol system from thesurface, and a long and effective sunshade de­signed "to avoid illuminating the suspendedparticles near the lens." \Ne have a beautifulprint of a kneeling, helmeted diver holding aphototray with the inscription photographiesous-marine made in 1894 with this camera.(Figures 2 and 3).

Louis Bou tan realized soon the essentialrequirement for artificial light, as daylightunderwater converts every intevening sus-

system featuring a glass clock cover atop alarge oxygen-filled barrel containing a smalllighted alcohol lamp (Figure 4). A curvedtube ending above the lamp's flame was con­nected to a rubber ball filled with magnesiumpowder via a long rubber tube. All the diverhad to do was to squeeze the ball to obtain areliable repeating flash-unless the clockcO\'er became completely opaque by thesecond shot. Some beautiful marine life docu­ments were thus obtained.

Later, in 1899, Louis Boutan enclosed twopowerful electric arc lamps within massive,cast iron, cylindrical and spherical housings.These arc lamps were mounted in the mostmodern way, 45 degrees sideways and for­ward of the camera so as not to illuminate allthe suspended particles between subject andcamera.

Again, Photographie sous-marine was writ­ten on a stretched canvas target, and thewhole system lowered to 50 meters (depthlimited by the electric cable).

The test photo was excellent, but LouisBou tan wri tes, " too heavy at sea aboard arolling and heaving boat. It is too dangerous;

HISTORY OF l'NDERWATER PHOTOGRAPHY 899

FIG. 1. Louis Boutan pushing his 8 XI O-inchIInder\\'ater plate camera into position about1894.

ne'·er again!" This is still ,'alid today, for allthe excessi,·ely hea,'y oceanographic cable­hung equipment experimented with again andagain by some landlubber newcomers whoprefer to ignore their predecessors' experi­ences. He also found the electric cable hung

FJG. 2. How the world's r,rst underwater,napshot was taken (1898).

FIG. 3. The snapshot that resulted from theapparatus shown in Figure 2,

from the boat too heavy and cumbersome,This, too, is still valid today.

F OR A LONG PERIOD of time underwater pho­tography was forgotten while the airplane andthe automobile were being created.

Then, about 1913, an f\merican pressphotographer and cartoonist, John" Ernie"\\"illiamson, created the world's largest cam­era housing, a six-foot spherical cham ber largeenough for not only both motion picture andstill cameras but also the photographer him­self, "oft accompanied by wife and baby.. , ."

The chamber was safely connected to apermanently moored barge through a largereinforced flexible hose, big enough for aladder. The observation porthole was as largeas the cham ber itself, and the whole assem blywas limited to a shallo"· depth in the Baha­mas' coral reefs, perhaps 15 to 20 feet,

J. E. Williamson made many good, au­thentic commercial 35-mm. motion pictures,including the first and best 20,000 LeagnesUnder the Sea by Jules Verne in 1915. Hecreated a beautifully frightening rubberoctopus operated by a diver hidden inside,which appeared in many subsequent Holly­wood "underwater" films produced mostly(like some of the latest TV shows) in thestudio swimming pool. This movie star octo­pus was finally lost overboard a few years agoand must now be a real puzzler to passing liveoctopi, J. E, \\'illiamson must also be credited

FIG. 4. The Louis Boutan repeater magne­sium flash system (J 895).

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with the first underwater color motion picturein 1924, The Uninvited Guest.

T HE NEXT SIGl\lFICANT achievement in 1925was color photography by Charles Marti nassisted by Drs. Langley and M. Valentine.\Vorking on shallow Bahamas' coral reefs, thecamera was loaded wi th the Lu miere au to­chrome additive color plate. Light was pro­vided from the surface by exploding a one­pound load of magnesium powder carried by asmall raft, a rather crude arrangemen t afterthe Louis Boutan devices.

In 1931 Mr. A. Dratz, an optical researchengineer who was working for the FrenchNa\'y in the Toulon Arsenal, was apparentlythe first to recognize the necessity of a water­refraction correcting lens system between thewater outside and the air inside the housing.Unfortunately. his correcting lens dependedon a very expensive and difficult-to-makehemispherical dome glass. This shape had tobe ground and polished one at a time formany hours. Full correction of all aberrationswere not achieved, but modern versions ofthis original dome design are often proposedor tested again to this day, most often lackingthe essential properly computed second cor­recting lens mem ber.

W HAT REALLY STARTED the developmentof underwater photography was the newease and mobility afforded to divers by theSC UBA (Self-Con tained Underwater Breath­ing Apparatus) gear, il1\'ented in 1926 byCommander Y\,es LePrieur. ft \\'as made es­sentially of a small high-pressure air tank onthe back, an automatic air regulator matchingthe breathing air pressure to the surrounding\\'ater pressure, and a face mask for clear\'ision. It was the original forerunner, with its1863 Rouquayrol-Denayrouze demand-reg­ulator, of all today's highly reliable SCUBAapparatus.

Commander Y. LePrieur's research in un­dersea photography resulted, among otherdevelopments, in the first underwater, stereo,motion picture camera, made up of t.wo syn­chronized 16-mm. cameras mounted side byside at the proper interocular distance.

A young Austrian biologist, Dr. HansHass, was probably the first to produce bothstill and 16-m m. motion picture photographywhile swimming around sharks, beginningaround 1937 in Cura~ao and Bonaire in thewarm and clear Caribbean. He achieved\\'orld fame with brilliant shallow-waterphotography of coral reefs, beau tiful coralfishes, and larger sharks; and designed well-

FIG. 5. Reproduction of the world's first re­mote-controlled snapshot underwater after diverDavid had set the camera and kneeled in its field.

engineered and successful housings for high­quality cameras, especially for the Leica andthe Rolleiflex (Rolleimarin). Dr. Hass and Dr.Hoffman were the first to use cast aluminum,a first step to reduce the excessive weight inwater of the early bronze and iron housingsthat could not be carried in mid-water byweightless swimming di\'ers. Good mid-waterattitude and depth control, using the lungs asa swim bladder, and fish-like swimming withthe rubber fins invented by Capt. DeCorlieu(France), were proven essen tial to high­quality underwater photography by Dr. H.Hass. A most important point is that thebottom of the ocean is always covered with asilt layer that muddies the water thoroughlyas soon as an old style "hard-hat" divertramples the bottom with his lead-soledboots, or tries to set up a camera tripod.

AT ABO T THE SAME TIME, Fenimore John­son of Philadelphia contributed many out­standing developments to the art of under­water photography. Among other items werevery well-designed aluminum camera hous­ings, and an underwater still camera. He con­tributed, too, the ingenious clear-water coneinstalled in front of the camera lens that madepossible for the first time clear photographyand vision of a limited area even in the murki­est harbor waters.

HISTORY OF UNDERWATER PHOTOGRAPHY 901

Soon after Dr. Hans Hass (and advised byCdr. LePrieur), Capt. Jacques Yves Cousteauachieved early fame by showing an excellentblack-and-white 35 mm. motion picture film,Epaves (wrecks) skillfully shot and producedby Capt. Philippe Taillez, the pioneer andfirst commander of the French Navy GERS,or submarine research group in Toulon. Thecamera was enclosed in a simple cylindricalhousing by Taillez and his team.

In 1943, J. Y. Cousteau and EngineerEmile Gagnan improved on the LePrieur andCommeinhes SCUBA lungs, adapting fromwartime city-gas automobiles an efficient andsensitive automatic pressure regulator. Pat­terned after the 1863 Rouquayrol Denayrouzediving gear, this regulator was to become theearly aqualung (SCUBA)-the favorite toolof the modern underwater photographer withthe DeCorlieu fins and the LePrieur-Forjotdiving mask.

Between 1947 and 1949 we were engaged inadapting our Eclatron portable strobe Rash todifferent scientific and industrial applications.One of these was the study of propeller cavita­tion in water tunnels first, and later on ships'hulls in the open ocean. This required under­water high-speed strobe, synchronized bothwith the propeller and with a stereoscopic pairof automatic, underwater, 35 mm. pulse cam­eras.

IN 1949 HENRI BROUSSARD, the founder ofthe Submarine Alpine Club in Cannes,wrote us stating that "daylight was insuffi­cient for photography arou nd 40 meters (130feet)."

Despite my protesting (I could not swimvery well), I found myself soon equipped withSCUBA, fins, and a too-heavy lead belt. Theresult was that I went to the bottom like astone-20 feet the first day, 80 feet the sec­ond, 150 the third-and then I started tolearn to swim with fins.

The first essential problem was powerfullighting, especially as the early Kodachromehad a sensitivity limited to about 8 ASA.

Our 1949 high-voltage battery strobe lightwas a startling success. It was housed in along plexiglas tube filled with clear trans­former oil, installed at maximum distanceforward of the camera lens to avoid lightingup the particles in suspension between sub­ject and lens (according to the oft ignoredprinciple described by Prof. Auguste Piccardin his bathyscaphe design). Not only everyframe had good contrast and definition in thecenter, but the brilliant colors of the fixedmarine life, such as sponges and coral, just

defied description. This work, the equipmentand subsequent discoveries, were published inScience et Indus/rie Ph%graphique, Paris(and also in This Week magazine) in August1952.

It must be said here that the first deep-sea,one-shot, remote underwater photographswere recorded in 1939 by Drs. Maurice Ewingand Allyn Vine, of Lamont Geological Labora­tory, u ing an open camera and a single mag­nesium Rashbulb triggered by a bottom-con­tact weigh t.

The amazingly colorful undersea world re­vealed by our strobe system led to the devel­opment of self-contained high-power Rood­lights for color motion pictures. After tryingand discarding xenon arc tubes and others be­cause of excessive weight and complexity, wefinally developed in 1950 a simple pressure­resistant, water-cooled, low-voltage incandes­cent lamp with the same reRector and physi­cal arrangement as the strobe. Many 16-mm.color motion picture films were then producedof all our following explorations in se\·eraloceans. This lamp has the same non-spill deepreRector as our strobe lamp.

IN 1955 PROFESSORS A. Ivanoff, Y. LeGrandand Cuvier of the Paris Museum of Nat­ural History, after studying thoroughly theeyes of fishes, came to the conclusion that itwas impossible to obtain any satisfactoryphotographic vision through a Rat glass orplastic porthole because of the plane dioptereffect that makes such a porthole the equiva­lent of a 3.4-dipoter magnifier lens. Such a lensintroduced into the optical path not only in­creases the focal length of the camera lens by34 per cen t, restricting the field of vision by34 per cen t in angle and abou t half in area,but also re-introduces all the optical aberra­tions, such as chromatism, sphericity, astig­matism, etc., that were so painstakingly re­moved from the expensive modern cameralenses.*

Professor Ivanoff, along with the rest of us,founded the Submarine Research Institute inCannes to join forces and find a practical wayto solve the problem by entering the waterand start seeing, thinking, and living likefish. The Ivanoff-Rebikoff lens is a typical re­sult of this multidisciplinary team effort. It isa reverse Galileo Telescope computed out oftwo new types of optical glass to correctfully all aberrations along with the focal­length increase for the first time. It has

* See accompanying article by Mr. \\"akimoto­Editor.

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proven since to be the ultimate improvementin underwater optics, applicable to all cam­eras, all optical instruments, and the humaneye.

At last, we could have clear photographicvision of large areas of the ocean bottom in­stead of the old narrow-angle shots showingonly divers without head or legs, small partsof wrecks, or underwater houses or oil rigs, atype of photography still prevalent today aslong as old flat-windowed cameras continue tobe used by operators unaware of basic optics.

A number of advanced underwater lenseshave been designed and made, each a singletype for a specific frame size. Examples are thenew 80-degree Dr. Robert Hopkins under­water lens for use behind a conventional flatporthole, the Leitz-Canada 43 mm., and theNikon 28 mm. "wet" lenses with their firstelement in contact with the water.

AN IMPORTANT BOON to underwater motionpicture photography and photogrammetrywas provided from 1950 to this day by theoutstanding silver-zinc battery invented byProfessor Andre in Paris, and produced byYardney Co., and other battery companies.The special value of the silver zinc battery liesnot only in its tiny size and weight (aboutone-sixth of both lead-acid and alkalinebatteries), but above all for its practicallyconstant voltage during discharge. Thismakes possible a constant light intensity andcolor temperature with efficient low-voltageincandescent lamps. Let us note here that: (1)both arc and xenon arc lamps ha\'e prO\'enimpractical so far because of their complex,heavy, and inefficient ignition and ballast

systems; and (2) power cables surface-fed bygenerators are not only a negation of themodern air-hoseless SCUBA diving methods,but are also much more expensive than thesilver-zinc batteries for the same amount ofillumination.

WE FOUND QUICKLY that the complete sys­tem of battery power supply, floodlightcamera, and controls introduced so muchhydrodynamic drag even in the smallest sizewith neutral buoyancy that a vehicle systemproved to be essential. In 1951, we developedthe "torpedo" and "scooter" towing units(Figure 6), nothing more than a! horsepowerelectric motor turning a three-bladedshrouded propeller through a reduction gear.

\"'-e found soon (in 1952) that the powerhad to be increased to I! horsepower toachieve a minimum speed of over 3 knots,which is a minimum speed to travel any dis­tance within the time limits of the SCUBAsystem, and also to overtake and photographreliably other swimming divers and mostfishes. This amount of power could not becontrolled directly any more; this made neces­sary the design and successful experimenta­tion of the Pegasus photographic vehicle(Fron tispiece and Figures 7 and 8).

Pegasus is a long, thin, torpedo-shaped,aluminum mari~e machine, the final result ofmany years of evolution in undersea engineer­ing. It is "flown" just like an airplane bystick and rudder precisely controlling pitch,roll, and yaw. The underwater pilot-diver hasa complete instrument panel with artificialhorizon, gyro compass, depth meter, andpropeller revolu tion log, all made necessary

FIG. 6. Dimitri Rebikoff's first photogrammetric camera with double correct­ing lens and strobe "torpedo" in 1952. Depth-110 feet. Photo by G. Barnier.

HISTORY OF UNDERWATER PHOTOGRAPHY 903

FIG. 7. Dimitri Rebikoff with his first under­water stereo "pressure cooker" camera wi th "tor­pedo strobe" oil-filled lighting system In 1950.

FIG. 8. The Pegasus Instrument panels. Left­Intervalometer; center-the navigation and altitudegyro panel.

by the fact that visibility, even in the clear­est water, is limited to a few hundred feet atmost.

Pegasus is thus a stable and precisely con­trolled platform for all photographic opera­tions, from all 16 mm. TV program photog­raphy without a disturbing swimmer "rockand roll," to the most sophisticated industrialand military 70 mm. area mosaic, stereo­photogrammetry with an automatic pulsecamera controlled by an intervalometer sys­tem. It also provides utmost safety and com­fort to the underwater photographer by doingaway with exhausting and dangerous pushingof heavy camera and lighting equipment, bysupplying effective and swift transportationfrom boat or shore to location, by supplyingair tanks, suit heating, unlimited lighting,sonar communications and ranging andsafety devices, such as life raft and shieldedhull. \Ve can now safely carry two 400-foot16mm. Rebikoff- i[illiken, corrected wide-

angle, high-precision motion picture cameras,or two 35 mm. or 70 mm. Rebikoff Flight Re­search 92 degrees pI us cameras.

A VERY IMPORTANT AREA of underwater pho­tography is TV, where the film emulsion ismerely replaced by a vidicon or image orthi­con tube behind exactly the same lens system.Mr. Emmanuel \Vexler of Paris patentedsome of the first underwater remote con­trolled systems from about 1945 on. We re­member experimenting in Cannes with thevery early iconoscopes inside a well-designedspherical aluminum photo housing withquartz windows (developed by Dr. Paul Hoff­man in Munich for the German Navy duringWorld War II). Dr. Udo von Schulz, wellknown for his sonar mosaic camera demon­stration, was also an early pioneer of under­water television. The latter has become amajor tool of underwater work and construc­tion, especially in the hands of pioneer"hookah" construction diver Andre Galernefrom Paris, now in New York.

About 1954, Dr. Harold Edgerton* of MITdeveloped a very well built and rugged deep­sea version of the 1949 Rebikoff torpedo­shaped electronic strobe Rash and added avery simple and reliable 35 mm. remote-con­trolled pulse still camera, specifically designedto be operated from a dangling oceanographicwire. The system was completed by an in­genious sonar trigger actuating the cameraand strobe at just the right distance from thebottom.

(Note: The same action is simply obtainedin the Lamont camera system by a triggerweight hanging down the predeterminedrange. This weight was later to be mistakenshortly for the Thresher's conning tower, forwan t of a modern \\'ide-angle corrected lens.)

This Edgerton system has become a stan­dard item aboard most oceanographic ships,and also on many research submarines be­ginning with Dr. Jacques Piccard's Trieste,gathering endless and fascinating evidence inmany spots of the world's oceans. Amongother applications, it recorded marine life,including fishes, seven miles down with Tri­es.te, and the \\Teckage of the Thresher, alsowith the Trieste, the latter along a randomcurved track shown in a weird and fascinatingtapeworm mosaic.

T HE MOST SIGNIFICANT develop men t of re­cent times appears to be in processing andfilm material. The visibility in water is deter-

* See accompanying article.-Editor.

904 PHOTOGRAMMETRIC ENGINEERI TG

mined by the contrast separation thresholdbetween the brightest details of the subjectand the brightest secondary light sources be­tween subject and lens represented by il­luminated particles.

Any increase in the contrast gamma willincrease visibility. Systematic application re­search has become overdue with the LogEtronic process (now used by Woods Hole),high contrast development and printing, highcontrast film material such as Aerocon Ekta­chrome, and more sophisticated lighting sys­tems-with a big question mark on highlytouted laser systems.

In the field of optics, the old Dratz hemi­spheric glass, or plexiglas dome, has found newyouth with the extreme wide angle "Fisheye"and Kinoptik lenses. They have extreme dis­tortion, however, limiting their use to orig­inal artistic effects and some types of one­shot surveys.

Most interesting is the corrected panoramiccamera invented by Gomer McNeil. A lateralangle of 120°, without loss of definition, isachieved but, typical of a panoramic cylindri­cal projection, the scale change over the 120°is considerable. An advanced version of thiscamera will be experimented with as a mosaicphotogrammetric system with 120° angularcoverage along the track. The U. S. NavyOceanographic Office is planning to installthis downward-pointing camera on theirRebikoff Pegasus, which is fully equippedwith an aircraft-type gyro-instrument panel.This may become one of the most advancedand unique underwater photogrammetric sys­tems so far.

AT THE BOTTOM END of underwater pho­tography technology, we have recently dis­covered that our lowly amateur Instamaticcamera system has completely eliminated theeternal bugaboo of underexposed downwardshots and overexposed upward shots, thanksto the simplest form of au tomatic aperturecontrol in which a cadmium sulfide photocelldirectly drives the aperture leaves. We mustnow install, and soon, the same system on allour advanced motion picture and still cam­eras.

1~HE NEAR FUTURE OF underwater pho­tography already surpasses the wildestdreams of last year. Tot only do we have tochart the continental shelf prior to the deepsea in a continuous area mosaic, stereo-photo­gram metric chart, but we must also recordphotographically every activity of man-in­sea, be it commercial or scientific. Just as inouter space, man is too busy just surviving orperforming the simplest tasks to do anyeffective observation. This observation is to­day (just as in astronomy or microscopy) bestperformed by a camera faithfully recordingevery detail. Later these observations can bestudied leisurely and repeatedly by the world'sbest experts, who do not usually have thetime or opportunity to go observing on loca­tion.

To conclude, the artistic value of the sheerbeau ty of the discovered ocean bottom land­scapes and marine life should not be neglectedin a modern world where the wonders of na­ture are too often destroyed by the acti\'itiesof man.

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See announcement of 1968 Congress in Switzerland on page 940.