Today is officially the first day of summer, but not all of us can take vacations. For those poor souls, a look through Mark Tipple’s The Underwater Project is the next best thing.

The project was born by accident. The Australian photographer was shooting underwater and snapped a picture of a swimmer struggling underneath a crashing wave. Later on when Tipple was reviewing the day’s shoot, he was struck by the young man’s expression and the ethereal quality of the chaotic scene.

“[The first image] was a personal favorite and I’m still trying to beat it,” he says. “But it’s also the most frustrating as I have no idea who he is.”

As an experienced surf photographer Tipple realized he was on to something. He’d seen a lot of photos of people underwater but never seen anything that focused on the aesthetic of the waves from below or the body language of the people evading them. Ever since, he’s been chasing waves and trying to track that original swimmer down to thank him for inspiring an entire body of work.

The photos in The Underwater Project are not only beautiful but also unique in the way they convey the power of the ocean. The people Tipple photographs are often suspended in awkward positions as they fight, fruitlessly, to maintain control.

Tipple says he’s constantly getting tossed around as well and often has to rely on a Hail Mary shot. He only knows if he has a picture when he checks the back of his camera after the water calms down.

A couple times he’s accidentally mistimed his approach and it ended badly.

“I can get in trouble if [the wave] lands on me,” he says. “When I was starting this happened a few times and it ripped the camera out of my hand, sending it to the rocks on the shore and twisting me into a pretzel at the same time.”

When Tipple started the project he was using a Canon 7D but now uses a Canon 5D Mark II or III in an Aquatech underwater housing. He’s lost his share of GoPros while filming footage for videos but he’s never had an underwater housing leak or crack on one of his DSLRs, even after they were dragged across the rocks.

He has no plans to stop shooting the underwater project any time soon and at this point says he’d rather be shooting underwater than on land.

“I feel a lot of freedom. The ocean both comforts and challenges me as does photography, so when the two are combined it’s an amazing experience,” he says.

All Photos: Mark Tipple