When speaking about Tobermory and the diving offered in the area, Hamilton-based photographer Steve Haining exudes passion.
What initially started off as a little bit of fun during the COVID-19 pandemic turned into two separate world record-breaking underwater photoshoots conducted by Haining.
"We considered going somewhere easy like anywhere in the Caribbean where you have warm water, good conditions, very open visibility at a higher depth," he said. "But, all of us just love Tobermory so much, it's the best place to dive in the world. There's so much history there, so many shipwrecks, it's freshwater so you get a different experience diving."
Haining had the idea in 2021 amid the COVID-19 restrictions which prevented gatherings.
"We were kind of annoyed with the lockdowns and the restrictions and there was this loophole if you could breathe your own air, then you could hang out together," he laughed. "It was kind of a joke and turned into, 'let's actually go do this'."
That first dive took place in June 2021 at around 30 feet. Haining said the team didn't try to break the record and were told they may have broken it six to eight months later.
"It was this weird, serendipitous moment where we did this shoot for fun, just out of pure pain of wanting to create some art again, it became a world record, it got noticed and we were a little unsatisfied with it," he said. "Thirty feet sounds deep, but it really isn't that challenging as far as it goes."
They took that and decided they were going to push further in all aspects: temperature, depth, and difficulty.
The second 100-foot photoshoot took place on September 19, 2023. That date was picked in hopes the temperature would be more bearable for the team involved.
"The Great Lakes are cold all year round," said Haining. "But in our mind, we thought if the summer sun could cook the water all June, July, August, and then we hopped in the water in September before it gets too cold, the temperature would be the most favourable for the model. It turned out to still be pretty cold for her, unfortunately."
The second photoshoot was a great success, just like the first, featuring many behind the scenes players to help the shoot run smoothly and safely. Not visible in the photos is a diver just off to the side with an oxygen tank available for Mareesha Klups, the model in the 100-foot photoshoot, whenever she needed it. Haining said Klups is also an extremely experienced diver and was the escape artist for Penn and Teller.
Haining created a full documentary of the record-breaking photoshoot, showing the process of achieving such a feat.