Check it out… got my first swim video up!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cA01778cNHU
That is fantastic! I also love that it’s waterproof and will work under water.
Yeah, although I have to admit it’s rather fiddly. It works great for the first 10 minutes then starts getting flickery. I’m replacing some of the more delicate lights with something a little sturdier, and I hope that solves the problem… though I’ve got a flicker in the top part of the tail I haven’t been able to trace. Grrr.
What are you using as a controller? I’ve been chasing down some timing issues and tweaking them out to hopefully cut back on that going on. (I think i’ve been using the wrong timing values for 0’s, as they’re right on the edge, which sometimes mean they get taken as 1’s, which can cause some flashing/flickering. There’s also the possibility of a power issue)
That’s just awesome. I love how this is being used in an environment that most won’t think to mix electronics with. Great job! I wonder how much more intense it will look if you were swimming at dusk when the water’s darker …
@Daniel_Garcia It’s an arduino micro. I don’t know from timing issues… but it all worked beautifully, stayed on for hours, until I took it underwater. So I suspect I’ve got a short somewhere.
@Ashley_M_Kirchner_No I can’t wait to find out… or an indoor tank where the lighting is controllable. The trick is getting photos – this type of thing is super hard to capture when it’s too dark OR too bright. I’ll be modeling this tail at a mermaid fashion show at the Dive Bar in Sacramento (mermaid themed bar with a mermaid tank above the bar itself) at the end of May… hope to get some great pics of that!
It takes knowing how to use camera settings to get a good photo. It’s like taking pictures of the moon where you can see the surface shadows or just a white dot. Or when it’s completely eclipsed and still get to see the surface shadows. Definitely takes some practice and tricks. 
This is awesome!
pure awesomeness!