Years ago, I shot a sequence of my friend underwater in the bathtub for a design school project. She’d take a deep breath and hold herself under while I furiously clicked away from above. The ripples and bubbles created such interesting effects that I knew someday I’d want to try more.

Fast forward twenty years, and you might not be surprised to learn that I’m a huge fan of underwater photography, particularly underwater surf photography or images where the subject appears just beneath the water’s surface. There is magic in the quality of light shining from above into the deep abyss, creating ripples of light that reflect off of any surface it can find. When I stumbled across underwater surf photographer Sarah Lee last year, I was doubly hooked! (Just take a quick look at her underwater set and you will be too!)

But an underwater housing for my DSLR camera? Just a dream for now, since these babies can run well into the thousands of dollars. But that’s okay! There are plenty of underwater point and shoot camera options on the market today from camera housings for your “snappy” to actual waterproof cameras themselves. Fortunately for me, I can also get my underwater fix by using an underwater case for my iPhone!

Two weeks ago, I was submerged in a pool at the Ace Hotel in Palm Springs at Shutter Sisters Oasis swimming back and forth while happily clicking away…or at least giving it my best attempt with a Lifeproof case snuggly wrapped around my iPhone 4S. You seal the phone into the case almost like a ziplock baggie, and then a screw holds it firmly into place in the phone’s headset outlet.

I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t a little terrified at first. We all were! But our fears were quickly asuaged after tentatively submerging it under a few inches of water and nothing happened. The case held tight and off we went.

 

It’s a bit tricky to see what you’re shooting, and I found myself swimming around while madly pressing my “+” button and hoping for the best. To my delight, I was pleasantly surprised with the results.

 

Yes, you will delete as many shots, if not more, than you keep, but the final outcome is well-worth the attempts at capturing some exciting underwater memories, not to mention a few selfies too!

Lindsey, aka Modchik, bought a Lifeproof case earlier this year. Her results were so good, that she even printed a favorite shot of her daughter onto a 16×20 photo canvas! You can see her results here.

Love my new @lifeproof case can you tell? I spend hours video taping my kids doing cannonballs I'm exhausted please enjoy a look back at last week while I wait to see if I fried my phone in the pool (any tips?) it's currently marinating in a bag of dry rice

that day we laughed and swam together ... I shared the events of this day on my blog. Thank you for everyone's comments of love and prayers for Lily. I treasure this photograph #lifeproofcase #sooc no editing #underwater

Want to protect your phone around dust or water, in the tub or out in the rain? The Lifeproof case has you covered. It’s simple to navigate our phone through the clear, plastic front for use in all of these scenarios.

 

Lifeproof makes cases for the iPhone, iPad, iPod Gen 4 and will soon launch a Gallexy S III edition. The retail prices for the iPhone 4/4S is $79.95 and an iPhone 5 edition is on its way. You can be sure one of these handy gadgets will be on my holiday wish list this year. Have you ever shot with an underwater phone case? Be sure to put your shots in our Mobile Monday Flickr Group and share the links in comments. We’d love to see them!

Until next time!
Holly ~ Soupatraveler