Seth Casteel

UNDERWATER DOG

Seth Casteel is an award-winning photographer and the New York Times Best Selling Author of Underwater Dogs, Underwater Puppies, Underwater Babiesand a trio of children's books. In February of 2012, Seth's series of photos showcasing dogs diving into swimming pools became an Internet sensation overnight, reaching over 100 million people in less than 24 hours. This sudden attention resulted in a book deal with Little, Brown and Company. Now with over half a million copies in print around the world, Underwater Dogs is one of the best selling photography books of all-time. Seth has gone on to publish a total of seven books and his eight book, POUNCE, is scheduled to be released October 18, 2016.


In 2007, Seth began volunteering to photograph homeless pets to help them find loving families. These improved, positive photos showcased unique personalities, resulting in countless adoptions. As his volunteer work continued, he stumbled upon a new career in photography.Seth has developed a career as an animal photographer, accepting commissions and commercial assignments, collaborating with dozens of publishers and exhibiting his artwork in galleries around the world. His work has been published in National Geographic Magazine, The New York Times Magazine and in hundreds of other magazines, newspapers and calendars.

What does Underwater Dogs mean to Seth?

It is one of his life's pursuits to explore the emotion of dogs and is his belief that they have a range of emotions similar to human beings. Buster helped him to realize that many dogs have an incredible connection with the water that goes back thousands of years when dogs were wolves. Today, in many homes, dogs enjoy a life of luxury - sleeping in bed with us, fancy treats, the pet salon. As much as they enjoy these things, dogs have wild instincts and have a need to explore them. The water is simply one of the best ways for them to do this. Curious - Playful - Focused - Primal.  All of the dogs featured in this project chose to participate of their own free will. Before meeting me, most of them had never been underwater before and some had never even been swimming. Dogs prove to us that if you just jump in, you might have fun along the way. Dogs inspire us!