There are still several niche photo opportunities out there if you’ll just think about it.  One of the more common is macro photography, as well as mating the still camera with a microscope for a science project or a attaching a camera to telescope for space or stellar photography.  There’s not much in terms of additional equipment except for the macro attachments, microscope or the telescope.

Though in terms of opportunities, underwater photography should be more common, there’s not too many who would want to go through the cost of a camera or a casing for underwater use.  There are alternatives, of course.

One no-brainer alternative is to use a disposable camera with underwater capability.  These point and shoot film cameras don’t have much depth to them but they are workable and well worth it, provided you know how to advance the film.  That’s because the film advance lever is it’s main disadvantage.  Most underwater disposable cameras do not advance the film far enough.  And when that happens, you can’t take the next shot.

Another alternative to an underwater camera is a camera casing for underwater use.  For the most part, these camera casings are quite expensive and are designed for a particular camera and lens unit.  Some water-proof camera casings are almost as expensive as the camera body.  The advantage of the camera casings is that they are rated to go deeper than point-and-shoot disposables.

These camera casings are not without their own set of problems, specially for beginners.  You have to test the seals once you enclose the camera.  And after testing the seals, only then should you go take the camera to deep water.  Unfortunately, it’s the testing which is crucial.  If the case was not closed properly, the seals won’t work, and the camera would get wet.  There’s no two ways about it.  And with a digital SLR, that’s a ruined camera right there.

For a really cool low-tech solution with partial results try a glass-bottomed tube or an aquarium.  These solutions are not costly, and could be done on the work bench.  These two solutions give different results.  The glass-bottomed tube is much like underwater photography on a glass-bottomed boat.  You’ve got a long cylinder with a wide diameter, with a glass or clear-plastic seal at one end.  To take pictures, you submerge one end of the tube into the water and you hold the camera at the other end.  There’s not much flexibility in terms of the shots, but you should be able to see the bottom, up to ten or 15 feet down.

The aquarium solution is different because you can have a different effect when taking pictures using it.  You don’t take pictures with the camera pointing down.  Instead the camera is pointed horizontally.  This allows shots of the waves as it touches the glass sides, as well as pictures with one part above the water and the other part under the water.

These low-tech solutions may not look like much.  But if you take into account the cost of an underwater camera or even a waterproof camera, the successful shots are well worth it.