I have always been obsessed with being underwater. There was a period in my life where I dreamt about swimming with dolphins at least three times a week. I lived in Hawaii for a couple of years before I started physical therapy school, and I learned to surf. I learned to respect and love the water. When I started to learn photography, I never in a million years thought that I would end up where I am right now: underwater with my camera. It’s seriously a dream come true. There is something about being underwater that fills my soul. I love the sound. I love the quiet. I love the light and the colors. I love how we move underwater.

And if anyone knows me, they know I also love to edit. I love taking an image, seeing its potential, and bringing that to life through editing. Editing images underwater presents it’s own set of challenges. The color straight out of camera is less than desirable. Skin is often blue. Clarity is lacking. What you see when you look underwater with your goggles is an entirely different thing than what your camera captures. But for me, that’s part of why I love underwater photography. I can uncover that beauty. See what I originally saw, and in many cases, see something even more beautiful than what I originally saw.

Last year, I put my camera into a DiCAPac bag and said a little prayer every time I did. Every image had the port in it, and it was a pain to edit it out of every image, but I did it, and did it gladly, because I knew I would love the final result. Here are some images shot last year. This year, I took the plunge (pardon the pun) and bought SPL housing for my Canon 5dMkIII and a port for my 16-35L lens. I have taken my underwater housing into the pool exactly one time so far this year. I threw out over 200 images. The sun was in and out of the clouds that day, and I quickly found that I craved that sunlight. When the sun would peek out of the clouds, I would beg the kids to do what I told them and do it NOW before the sun was gone. And bonus? Because they were having a great time in the water, they were happy to oblige. Anyone who takes pictures of their kids a lot knows that getting their kids to cooperate is often more than half the battle.

And do you know what happened? Magic happened. My soul lifted. My heart laughed. I felt light.

Here are some of the images I captured that day. I cannot wait to continue this journey and hope you join me.

You can follow me on Facebook or Google+.

Let’s actually start with two from last year that I didn’t edit until this year. My crazy splashers.

My little man.

And here’s the same guy this year. This was the first one that I edited when I got home, and my heart was in my throat. I was so excited. And just to give you an idea…. here’s an image before any editing. Straight out of camera: blue and murky.

My swimming beauty.Wild Child. This one makes me happy.Our fingers were wrinkled. We’d been in the water for maybe an hour and a half. My camera said I had one more picture on my camera, so I turned the camera on me and my kids. I might be happiest in the water with my camera and kids.

And if you are interested in learning more about editing in both Lightroom and Photoshop, check out my SHINE ~ Unleash Your Awesome Workshop. It’s the last week to register!