UNDER SEA WITH HELMET AND CAMERA 



cameras and lunch boxes high on our bodies we waded across this lake, 

 which had a hard sandy bottom and was not over three feet deep. This 

 obstacle only added to our enjoyment of an unusual journey on foot. Our 

 walk was perhaps four miles when we arrived at the flamingo nests. We 

 were disappointed to find that the birds were not there. Our guide said we 

 were too early. He expected them but could not predict their arrival more 

 closely than a week and this was one of their late years. However, the last 

 year's nests were interesting to see— hundreds of them. They are built of 

 sand, cylindrical, and rising about one foot from the ground. But one tgg 

 is laid by each bird on the flat top of the cylinder. The mother squats on 

 the egg with her feet on the ground. After taking some photographs and 

 eating lunch we returned to the shore, having enjoyed a most delightful 

 expedition. 



In the morning we headed North to Middle Bight and found an anchor- 

 age outside the reefs where the bottom looked satisfactory for my first 

 attempt at submarine photography. I had prepared for this by having made 

 a case of sheet brass put together by solder. It is designed to fit my camera 

 snugly and is equipped with a window covered with plain glass situated 

 so that the exposure can be made through it. A detailed description of the 

 camera-case and its use is given in the second part of this book. 



All was ready, now, for my first descent with the camera. Although the 

 sun was shining brightly, I opened the diaphragm wide. I had no data to go 

 on, and thought perhaps the sun's rays filtering through the water might 

 not act on sensitized film as quickly as in the air. I decided that the error of 

 overexposure was sure to bring some visible results, whereas underex- 

 posure might produce nothing. This first attempt excited me so much 

 that I photographed the first sea grasses which I saw with a few small fish 

 among them. It has occurred to me since, that a fairly satisfactory method 

 of determining the exposure to be used under water would be to point an 



