Gallery: Crash Into Me: Underwater Wave Photos Turn a Fluke Into Eye Candy

© Mark Tipple / The Underwater ProjectGrip the sand, they remind themselves. Go low, stay low. Their faces spontaneously contort, their muscles tightening in reaction to the saltwater and the struggle for power in the ocean.They surface when the surge has passed. Then breathe.They don’t know that a camera has captured it all; from straining arms clawing at sand to eyes squeezed tightly shut against the bite of salt.Mark Tipple holds the 11-pound camera as steady as possible in the melting foam and makes his way to the shore.“Surf photography’s been around forever, I wanted something different” Mark says.“I was bored of shooting empty waves. One day, I was caught inside by a big wave and as I dove underwater I suddenly thought I’d see what the kids next to me were going through – I turned the camera on them.”That day, it took just one picture, ‘Escape’, to transform the way Mark viewed the ocean – the split-second decision to turn his camera on the swimmers setting the ball rolling for a series that has captured imaginations across the globe.“That first image remains one of my strongest – I realised immediately that it was close to what I had been looking for ten years ago on my first surfing road trip.” © Mark Tipple / The Underwater ProjectGrip the sand, they remind themselves. Go low, stay low. Their faces spontaneously contort, their muscles tightening in reaction to the saltwater and the struggle for power in the ocean.They surface when the surge has passed. Then breathe.They don’t know that a camera has captured it all; from straining arms clawing at sand to eyes squeezed tightly shut against the bite of salt.Mark Tipple holds the 11-pound camera as steady as possible in the melting foam and makes his way to the shore.“Surf photography’s been around forever, I wanted something different” Mark says.“I was bored of shooting empty waves. One day, I was caught inside by a big wave and as I dove underwater I suddenly thought I’d see what the kids next to me were going through – I turned the camera on them.”That day, it took just one picture, ‘Escape’, to transform the way Mark viewed the ocean – the split-second decision to turn his camera on the swimmers setting the ball rolling for a series that has captured imaginations across the globe.“That first image remains one of my strongest – I realised immediately that it was close to what I had been looking for ten years ago on my first surfing road trip.” A swimmer heads for the cooler termperatures of the ocean floor during a heatwave at the start of 2013, on the northern beaches of Sydney. © Mark Tipple / The Underwater ProjectGrip the sand, they remind themselves. Go low, stay low. Their faces spontaneously contort, their muscles tightening in reaction to the saltwater and the struggle for power in the ocean.They surface when the surge has passed. Then breathe.They don’t know that a camera has captured it all; from straining arms clawing at sand to eyes squeezed tightly shut against the bite of salt.Mark Tipple holds the 11-pound camera as steady as possible in the melting foam and makes his way to the shore.“Surf photography’s been around forever, I wanted something different” Mark says.“I was bored of shooting empty waves. One day, I was caught inside by a big wave and as I dove underwater I suddenly thought I’d see what the kids next to me were going through – I turned the camera on them.”That day, it took just one picture, ‘Escape’, to transform the way Mark viewed the ocean – the split-second decision to turn his camera on the swimmers setting the ball rolling for a series that has captured imaginations across the globe.“That first image remains one of my strongest – I realised immediately that it was close to what I had been looking for ten years ago on my first surfing road trip.” Swimmers struggle with the breaking wave above at Maroubra Beach, Sydney, shooting for The Underwater Project; a personal project by documentary photographer Mark Tipple.© Mark Tipple / The Underwater Project Mike dives below a wave on the first shoot of the trip. All was going to plan until the tide dropped further, leaving little room for error.© www.marktipple.com"I'm done bro, I'm done."With those few words Mike rose to his feet in ankle deep water and began the 10 minute walk towards shore, dodging thick back urchins and sharp reef outcrops while assessing his wounds. Even from behind the waves I could see a stream of blood run down his arm, and t-shirt turn red across his shoulders.This was in the first hour of a 10 day shoot.We both knew the reefs on the island were shallow; we'd been there before and surfed the waves, but shooting The Underwater Project dictates no boards and definitely no wetsuits - meaning the danger of losing skin was increased tenfold. With a wary eye watching for rogue waves I watched as Mike left the water, he stumbled on a few urchin spines adding insult to injury; and I wondered if there was something else that I could shoot underwater.After a few technical adjustments (read : complete confusion with new gear); the Mare Vida series found me. Wikimedia Commons © Mark Tipple / The Underwater ProjectGrip the sand, they remind themselves. Go low, stay low. Their faces spontaneously contort, their muscles tightening in reaction to the saltwater and the struggle for power in the ocean.They surface when the surge has passed. Then breathe.They don’t know that a camera has captured it all; from straining arms clawing at sand to eyes squeezed tightly shut against the bite of salt.Mark Tipple holds the 11-pound camera as steady as possible in the melting foam and makes his way to the shore.“Surf photography’s been around forever, I wanted something different” Mark says.“I was bored of shooting empty waves. One day, I was caught inside by a big wave and as I dove underwater I suddenly thought I’d see what the kids next to me were going through – I turned the camera on them.”That day, it took just one picture, ‘Escape’, to transform the way Mark viewed the ocean – the split-second decision to turn his camera on the swimmers setting the ball rolling for a series that has captured imaginations across the globe.“That first image remains one of my strongest – I realised immediately that it was close to what I had been looking for ten years ago on my first surfing road trip.” © Mark Tipple / The Underwater ProjectGrip the sand, they remind themselves. Go low, stay low. Their faces spontaneously contort, their muscles tightening in reaction to the saltwater and the struggle for power in the ocean.They surface when the surge has passed. Then breathe.They don’t know that a camera has captured it all; from straining arms clawing at sand to eyes squeezed tightly shut against the bite of salt.Mark Tipple holds the 11-pound camera as steady as possible in the melting foam and makes his way to the shore.“Surf photography’s been around forever, I wanted something different” Mark says.“I was bored of shooting empty waves. One day, I was caught inside by a big wave and as I dove underwater I suddenly thought I’d see what the kids next to me were going through – I turned the camera on them.”That day, it took just one picture, ‘Escape’, to transform the way Mark viewed the ocean – the split-second decision to turn his camera on the swimmers setting the ball rolling for a series that has captured imaginations across the globe.“That first image remains one of my strongest – I realised immediately that it was close to what I had been looking for ten years ago on my first surfing road trip.”

Gallery: Crash Into Me: Underwater Wave Photos Turn a Fluke Into Eye Candy

Documenting life below the surface

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Sydneysiders revel at the beach in summer's heat

Documenting life below the surface

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Shooting the underwater project in the Cook Islands

Documenting life below the surface

Documenting life below the surface

Documenting life below the surface