seth casteel snaps underwater puppies making a splash

seth casteel snaps underwater puppies making a splash
all images © seth casteel

beagles, spaniels and pugs are only a few of the aquatic pooches featured in photographer seth casteel‘s latest series of pet portraiture ‘underwater puppies’, adapted into a recently-released book. 80 previously unpublished images comprise the volume, showing off the newly-learned skills of tiny swimming canines. armed with waterproof camera and a rubber toy, casteel taught the playful pups — ranging from 6 weeks to 6 months of age — about buoyancy, their physicality in the water and how to get out of a pool, all while snapping stills of their wide-eyed mugs and paddling paws. as they plunge into the pool, each young dog exhibits expressions of surprise, spirit and complete contentment, with seemingly smiling faces surrounded by a giant splash. take a look below for a behind-the-scenes look at casteel photographing the puppies for his book.

‘iggy’ sticks out his tongue as he plunges into the pool

‘corey’ paddles back to the water’s edge

‘reason’ is ready to catch a ball in his mouth

‘rolley’ calmly swims beneath the surface of the water

wide-eyed ‘monty’ takes a look around

‘ginger’ seems secretive

‘pringles and pickme’ swim in unison

‘popsicle’ plunges into the pool

behind-the-scenes with casteel and pooch