On August 5, 1926, National Geographic's team, led by naturalist William Longley and photographer Charles Martin, achieved the first natural-color photographs taken underwater, using a raft-mounted magnesium flash powder rig off the Florida Keys. The technical feat, requiring precise timing between flash ignition and shutter, opened an entirely new visual frontier of marine life.
On August 5, 1926, National Geographic's team, led by naturalist William Longley and photographer Charles Martin, achieved the first natural-color photographs taken underwater, using a raft-mounted magnesium flash powder rig off the Florida Keys. The technical feat, requiring precise timing between flash ignition and shutter, opened an entirely new visual frontier of marine life.