Page 36: of Marine Technology Magazine (November 2025)

FEATURE SHIPWRECK IMAGING

All photos courtesy: Jerry Eliason

A shot of the Henry B.

Smith, bene? tting from

Eliason’s drop-down system with the lights positioned away from the camera to reduce visual interference.

IMAGING 100-YEAR-OLD

SHIPWRECKS UNDER 800 FEET OF WATER

By Jon Boucher and Andrea Van Landingham e erry Eliason, a lifelong shipwreck hunter from Clo- sites. Its ability to deliver wide-angle coverage without intro- q quet, Minnesota, has become one of the most respect- ducing geometric distortion is essential for documenting the e ed ? gures in the quest to locate and document lost often vast and structurally complex wrecks resting hundreds s ships beneath the depths of the Great Lakes. Eliason’s of feet below the surface. Combined with custom underwater d decades-long dedication and innovative use of tech- housings and remote-operated camera rigs, the MY125M al-

J n nology have led to some of the region’s most signi? - lows Eliason and his fellow shipwreck enthusiasts to deliver c cant underwater discoveries, including the Henry B. visually compelling and historically signi? cant documenta-

S Smith and the record-breaking Scotiadoc wrecks. tion of shipwrecks unseen for over a century.

A critical enabler of Eliason’s work has been his use of specialized imaging tools tailored for extreme underwater EARLY BEGINNINGS AND TECHNICAL EVOLUTION environments. Chief among these is Theia Technologies’ Jerry’s passion for shipwreck exploration began as a child

MY125M ultra-wide no-distortion lens, which plays a central inspired by the 1960s TV show Sea Hunt. After relocating role in capturing clear, expansive visuals of deep-water wreck to Wisconsin in 1964, he purchased diving gear and started 36 November/December 2025

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