A Diving Bokeh Bar
The Challenge
An award winning amateur photographer wanted to further develop his passion for two of his hobbies; photography and diving by adding macro effects to his pictures as he was diving. To be able to capture the beauty of the ocean whilst diving he firstly wanted to add a watertight tube to his camera to create a photo effect entitled ‘tunnel of joy’.
The first challenge facing GX’s product design team was to decipher this idea so they could design a viable product from the simple sketch provided. Having interpreted exactly what was needed, they turned their attention to more practical issues such as the choice of material, the finishes and how to waterproof any working elements.
The Solution
To be able to attach the ‘tunnel’ the design team chose to utilise a standard filter machined thread which could be screwed on to an underwater camera. They managed to incorporate a choice of different colours; orange, silver or white, by the use of special coatings on the inside of the tunnels.
To add more effects, the design team found a unique way to incorporate glass spheres onto a filter disc. These spheres look like bubbles in the final photo. This was achieved by bonding glass spheres onto the discs which screwed into the bell end of the tunnel.
Having seen what effects could be achieved using the tunnel of joy on his camera, the diver then asked the design engineers at GX to create a lightweight submersible frame. He wanted the ability to have glass crystals positioned in and around the subject being photographed to add interest to his pictures. To be able to suspend and adjust the position of over twenty crystals the team designed and built a Bokeh Bar for him using fishing wire to attach the crystals and rotating shafts to change their positions.
The Result
Using the new equipment designed by GX, one of the photographs, “Spiralling Spirograph”, was entered in National Geographic’s Photographer of the Year Contest 2017. This amazing image was chosen by one of the National Geographic editors as their favourite entry of the week for Nature Photographer of the Year.