UNDERWATER





I have always had a fascination with underwater footage of sea creatures. It began with the prevalence of nature documentaries by David Attenborough in my childhood, where insects and sea creatures captured my attention. Insects were easy to observe in the garden, but it was more elusive for ocean animals. The fact that there are entire worlds below the water surface blew my mind, and I was always wondering how to peer through a window to that world.



The development of consumer-level cameras that could withstand the submersion and water pressure was interesting when it began, but not enough for me to purchase one specially for that purpose, probably because I never took it seriously.



I think the time was right when I had access to a place by the ocean, and that was the moment I wished I had a GoPro with a lighting rig. I still have some hesitation in buying something like that for such a specific use. I have my iPhones though, so the idea was to work with what I do have currently.









FISHING ROD CAMERA



The goal was to see if I could fashion some equipment that could help me do this in a way where I could retrieve the video footage. I used what I could find in this place, and decided on:



- A fishing rod

- Rubber kitchen glove

- Strong clamps



Here is how I attached the rubber kitchen glove to the fishing rod:









And here is how I attached the iPhone to the kitchen glove:









It was a crude set-up, but one that I felt comfortable in securing everything together. I then spent a few sessions learning how to shoot clear video underwater, which meant being still or moving really slowly. There was also the tide and clarity of the water, as well as the strength of the current to consider: mid to late afternoon seemed to be the best time.





Then there was a realisation that some bait would be needed to draw the wildlife towards the camera, which is why I hung some frozen bait when I had the iPhone on the fishing rod.









Here is 12 minutes of footage I ended up with:









I was fairly happy with the result. There was great clarity with the water, and the sunlight as well as the iPhone flashlight made sure there was sufficient light. The shrimp and the little fish were exciting to see.





CRAB POT CAMERA



The next day I decided to attach the iPhone to a crab pot to see what was at the bottom of this channel. I was curious to see how much light could be down there, and whether the iPhone flashlight would help visibility at that depth.



I used a wood paperweight with clamps and a fishing line to secure the iPhone to the crab pot.



Here is the set-up I had:









I had a lot more trepidation with this set-up. At least with the fishing rod, I still had my hands on it. For this, it would mean I would have to leave the iPhone at the bottom of the channel and hope I could get it back again. The clamps were strong, and the fishing line was stronger, but it was still more nerve-wracking.



The result was a surprise. I left it down there for forty minutes, but there was only twenty minutes of footage. What I saw and especially heard in the footage was interesting and unnerving at the same time:





The highlights include:

0:00-0:36 Descent, including dolphin splash

6:01 Maybe a stingray?

10:41 Crab

12:14 Dolphin

13:04 Something pulled the entire crab pot

17:52 Crab

20:18 Stingray hit the button of the iPhone, stopping the recording.



I’m still amazed at what I managed to capture underwater with my iPhone, especially at that resolution of 4K at 60fps. The sounds of the dolphin clicks and what I think is the sound of the stingray were strange.



There was something that dragged the crab pot, which I am unable to identify. My iPhone was also permanently damaged due to that final crab pot submersion, and it was fortunate I got the footage out of it before that happened.







In any case, this whole process was fun to figure out and execute.



A few days after this, I returned to Singapore and procured two waterproof cases for up to forty metres for my iPhone SE, which does 4K at 30fps:



These cases seem solidly built, and I returned to Australia a week later and secured them to the crab pot with a tripod and cable ties:





This time I felt somewhat more secure, and I left the iPhones at the bottom of the channel for two hours.

The footage was alright, but I was more concerned with the waterproof cases working.





There was a thought to attach one inside a lobster pot in the open ocean, but there is too much risk in leaving it for 24 hours under the sea. We lost a number of lobster pots in the next few days due to the current, and I am glad I did not pursue that idea.









It also meant that the extent of this underwater videography would be limited to the channel, which means a lot of footage of crabs, puffer fish, trumpet fish, and stingray. I did get the face of a stingray here:







as well as it brushing past:







My goal for this place was to record some underwater video of dolphins. They swim regularly along this channel, and the best footage I could get of them was from the surface:







Perhaps I would get lucky at another time somewhere else…

