Diver Develops Film From Camera Found At Bottom Of Sea, Freezes Up When He Sees Face

In a stunning tale of chance and resilience, a camera that sank during a 2012 shipwreck off Vancouver Island has been reunited with its owner—memory card and precious photos miraculously preserved after two years underwater.

The camera belonged to Vancouver artist Paul Burgoyne, who lost it when his boat, the Bootlegger, was shipwrecked during a 500-kilometer journey to his summer home in Tahsis, B.C. The vessel went down less than an hour after Burgoyne captured his final photos, taking irreplaceable images with it—including snapshots from a family gathering where his parents’ ashes were scattered at Lake of the Woods, Ontario.

“Getting the camera or the photos back, that’s really quite wonderful,” Burgoyne said, still astonished by the discovery.

The remarkable recovery happened in May 2014 when university students Tella Osler and Beau Doherty, along with diving officer Siobhan Gray from the Bamfield Marine Sciences Centre, found the camera 12 meters below the surface during research dives off Aguilar Point. By then, it had become a makeshift home for various marine species.

Against all odds, the Lexar Platinum II memory card remained operational. Professor Isabelle M. Côté of Simon Fraser University posted a family portrait from the recovered photos online, hoping to identify the owner. Fortune intervened when a Bamfield Coast Guard member who had rescued Burgoyne during the original shipwreck recognized him in the image.

“I have a new respect for these electronics,” Burgoyne remarked. “You discard most of it every two years, but that little card is an amazing bit of technology.”

The discovery brought flooding memories of that chaotic day—the serene moment before disaster, his mistaken assumption about the auto-pilot, and the sudden chaos that followed. Among the recovered images was video footage showing the turbulent seas his boat faced moments before going under.

This extraordinary recovery showcases not only the surprising durability of technology but also fate’s unpredictable kindness—transforming what seemed permanently lost into a heartwarming reunion with cherished memories pulled from ocean depths.