“A souvenir of undersea landscapes:” underwater photography and the limits of photographic visibility, 1890-1910

Abstract

The first known attempts to take photographs below the surface of the water were carried out shortly after the appearance of the daguerreotype in 1839. The earliest records date from the 1850s. Towards the end of that century, in order to help advance scientific study of marine life, what are considered to be the first underwater photographs were taken. In these attempts, photography was valued as producing evidence, while at the same time the limits of its range of visibility were debated. Here we compare some European and American experiments, particularly those of biologists Louis Boutan and Jacob Reighard in their studies of marine fauna from 1890 to 1910.