The first underwater color photo

National Geographic has a slideshow that shows off major milestones in underwater photography. This image is the first color photo ever taken underwater.

Underwater color photography was born with this shot of a hogfish, photographed off the Florida Keys in the Gulf of Mexico by Dr. William Longley and National Geographic staff photographer Charles Martin in 1926. Equipped with cameras encased in waterproof housing and pounds of highly explosive magnesium flash powder for underwater illumination, the pair pioneered underwater photography.

Maggie Koerth-Baker is the science editor at BoingBoing.net. She writes a monthly column for The New York Times Magazine and is the author of Before the Lights Go Out, a book about electricity, infrastructure, and the future of energy. You can find Maggie on Twitter and Facebook.

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Ian Bruce

Magnesium flash powder? I guess the reason the fish is light-brown is because it’s only halfway thru the cooking process.
Anonymous

Dude took a color photo of a black and white fish.
EpilepsyWarning

The pictures of the Sea Lions in that slideshow looks like a fantasy poster. Thats a pretty amazing shot.
cratermoon

magnesium + water = FUN!
Anonymous

that fish does not look impressed, rather vaguely annoyed
Anonymous

I’m sure it’s a great milestone, but why would you take the first underwater color photograph of brown fish? I mean, couldn’t you have found something more… colorful?
tylerkaraszewski

Hi Fishy!