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Fetish: I Love Half-Underwater Photos

One summer, I took a solo trip to Kauai. I brought along a waterproof camera to capture what I saw in and out of the water, at the same time.

This wonderful shot is from mathetdjam's photostream and was taken with a Canon EOS 300D with what I'd assume is an external housing.

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Since my first trip to Hawaii, I've had a thing for photographs taken with a point and shoot half below the waterline. I personally use the Pentax WP series, because they are pocket sized. But newer models from Canon and Olympus are coming out that can be submerged to a depth greater than 30 feet, which is more than enough for deeper snorkeling or surfing or swimming or lounging around in a lake, river or on a beach. Anything greater than that, and you'll have to go with a plastic housing. Clunky but I believe some of these float (I could be wrong) and they're very sturdy.

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But never mind the gear.

I love these shots because they remind me of how much life is under the surface of the briny sea, and that the vast majority of the ocean is yet undiscovered. The half-submerged shots below are some of the best I found on Flickr, and leave a greater impression on me than strictly underwater shots. Because what's down there becomes much more strange when we are looking at it in the context of not some endless blue background that fades to black, but the very world we travel on and through daily. It's the contrast between the border of the sea and land that both grounds me and causes my mind and imagination to reach out under the waves and want to know more.

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If only I had access to submarine, with a giant camera on the nose, I'd surely show you more.

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[SARAH LEE, SARAH LEE, ESOX LUCIUS, freerider!!, mathetdjam, Bushrat Steve, SARAH LEE, vanveelen, carib being, Mikkel Noe, Ed Fladung, bobby hugges, Fiona Ayerst, JennyHuang, Nuts in May, JJay, Special thanks to Odelia Lee for the research help]