ohmidog!

There may be nothing new under the sun. Under the water, though? That’s another matter.

Photographer Seth Casteel got intrigued with the idea of photographing dogs under water just a few months ago. He splurged and brought a special waterproof camera case, shot some photos and posted some of them on his Facebook page.

Last week, the Los Angeles photographer learned they’d gone viral after being reposted to Reddit and Google+.

In just a matter of days, money was pouring into his bank account and he was getting so many orders for prints that his newly established online store was experiencing stability issues.

Photographing dogs under water, he says, shows a side of dogs that people may have never seen before. (To see a full slideshow, click on the photo above.)

“Over the course of several thousands of years, we’ve taken wolves and made them Boston terriers,” Casteel told the Huffington Post. “But still, at the heart of it, dogs have wild instincts. For me, it’s all about seeing those wild instincts come through underwater. They’re getting back to being wild. They really love being wild. And under water, they have the best chance of doing that.”

His photos of underwater dogs posted to Facebook have gotten nearly 30,000 “likes” and been shared almost 22,000 times. His website, which typically handles around 200 visitors a day, is now drawing more than 100,000 a day.

He says, since the underwater dogs went viral, he’s received nearly a thousand inquiries for private client shoots from all over the world.

He’s getting deluged with good press, too.

Business Insider called his photos “astonishing … The near-weightless conditions, coupled with the drag of the water, do odd things to a dog. Lips go flying. Fur and ears lie flat. Eyelids are peeled back … Most of all, they reveal the intense determination that dogs bring to having fun.”

Casteel has two dogs of his own — a mini Labradoodle and a Norwich terrier, and he volunteers his time to take photos of shelter pets in the area to help increase their chances of being adopted.

Casteel has a calendar, “Ruff,” coming out soon and is in talks with publishers and agents for a book.