WAVES: THE BREATH OF THE OCEAN
The movement of the ocean is a living spirit. It moves, breathes and flows in ways that constantly amaze. It can wrap you in it's gentle embrace, rippling gentle kisses against your skin, then in the next moment roll you over the falls, taking your breath away. Let the water, waves, foam and splashes of the Pacific Ocean surrounding Hawai'i transport your soul.
~ PHOTO STORIES ~
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I took Fractures in Blue towards the end of an absolutely epic winter wave season on Oahu's North Shore. It was one of those springs where swell after swell of perfectly formed waves kept rolling in month after month. There were so many perfect glassy barrels, I was somewhat tired of shooting perfect wave after perfect wave! It was late in the season, April, when I shot this ocean picture. I started to look for a different type of wave. I've always loved how the foam dances on the water during big wave days. To me foam is Hawaii's version of glaciers, winter ice & snow. I always had wanted to capture the beauty of the foam. Out of the corner of my eye I noticed a wave that had decent shape, even though it was all foam as it was breaking. This was my chance! Then, as I was shooting, the wave started fracturing apart and showing sections of amazing turquoise blue water! It was thrilling and special to witness!
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It was a fairly uneventful season for wave images the year I took Ocean Wild. The winter season had been completely wild that year with monster waves. Although they were big, it was kind of a 'junk' season. The waves weren't shaping up for great ocean pictures because we had too many strong winds coming out of the North, hitting the back of the waves and 'mushing' them out to the point of not forming barrels. We weren't getting many days of waves with good barrels at all. I decided to head out early one morning to one of my favorite shore break spots. The waves are thick and heavy here. One could easily dislocate a shoulder! As I was watching & deciding where to shoot, I saw this wave that was doubling up! Double ups happen when a section of back wash hits the face of the new wave so hard it flows up and forces a new section of wave to form. The day was stormy and dark. Would there be enough light coming through the clouds to illuminate the transparency of the water? Would I be able to capture the wave doubling up at the right moment? Would I be crushed? Challenge accepted! Double wave, Double Win!
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The photos Explosion and Splash into Hawaii happened from a spur of the moment decision made over morning coffee. I decided it would be a day to adventure and wander (go holo holo) to capture whatever beach or ocean scenes I could find. I love days like this because there really is no plan. I threw on my slippas (Hawaiian pidgin for flip-flops) and bikini, put my Sony camera in my backpack, grabbed any other gear and away I went! I ended up on one of my favorite beaches. I was playing around with taking pictures of stand up paddle boards laying on the beach. In the background the ocean was showing off all it's layers of water in stunning shades of electric blue, turquoise & green. I became aware of these small waves hitting the edge of the reef and exploding into a wall of splashes. So of course I headed over! I knew there was a good chance that I would get soaked in taking the Explosion and Splash into Hawaii ocean pictures but that was all part of the fun! I had an awesome time dancing with the sea and getting this water capture. I love Explosion as modern contemporary art because it's not just droplets of water like many splash photos are, it is loaded with the detail of the sea foam. I love Splash into Hawaii because the white of the traditional splash is offset against the layers of Pacific Ocean colors. So refreshing!
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I've been shooting images of waves for well over 15 years. Over time the patterns of weather and how it affects the North Shore winter waves starts to tell a story. I have observed that our best winter wave seasons happen during the strong El Niño years. When an El Niño pattern is forecast, my heart does a happy dance inside my chest. The feeling of anticipation is palpable. I just know it will be fabulous for wave images! I took the El Niño Madness photo during one of these years. The wave faces were about 20 foot that day when we were out. I was sitting on the back of a friend's wave runner shooting. I just love how many different colors and textures were showing on the water & in the spray. The right mixture of glass, foam and spray to make a great ocean picture. The wave faces were even showing reflections of palm trees. Take a look at the larger photo above and you will see them right below the lip of the wave in a line. El Niño Madness equals extreme wave beauty!
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Into Glass is the epic perfect shore break wave picture. When the conditions are like this we say the water is glass. The sound of the wave as it breaks is the most magical whisper. The sound is so soft, if one can describe a wave as soft! It sounds like a hushed "SHHHHHHH" brushing against your ears and senses as the water flows 'over the falls'. If you notice the lip of this wave is shimmering like ice or glass. The ocean is so smooth that it's reflecting the blue sky and clouds above. It really was the perfect serene day to be out getting water captures in Hawaii.
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Hawaiian Snow is probably the most frightening ocean & wave picture I have ever taken! This one really put the fear of God's creation into me for certain. The day started out as a fairly large swell, the conditions were decent and the surf report said later that evening a larger swell would start rolling in. We figured if we were out of the water by about noon we would be okay. That is the nature of the ocean though, fairly unpredictable. A new swell can pick up speed and power as it rolls across the open ocean. Then before you know it....surprise!!! It arrives hours earlier that predicted. That's EXACTLY what happened. As the waves of the swell started building we could see them rippling on the horizon. We looked at each other and thought "oh, oh gotta go!!". As the first set rolled in I had my camera full on shooting as my friend drove the wave runner. This little crazy side wave came into the channel and collided with a second small backwash wave creating the splash. So lucky it didn't tip us over! We were being watched over that day for sure.
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I took this wave picture entitled Liquid Power on The Day of the Eddie Big Wave Surf Invitational at Waimea Bay. One of the most honoring and grueling surf invitational competitions you could ever imagine! It is only held when the wave face heights are holding at a consistent 35 feet. The night before a 'possible' Eddie is held, the coordinators announce it. Madness ensues!!! The North Shore of Oahu is flooded with people hopeful that it will actually run. The beach and surrounding road is packed with thousands of people who camp out overnight waiting for the call. It becomes one big party. At sunrise the next morning, the coordinators go out on the beach and make the call if it's a go or no go. It is so rare for this competition to run, it's only happened in 2003, 2009, & 2016. One of the most amazing things about this competition is the surfers do not get towed into the waves! They have to hand paddle into them with their own power. Can you imagine paddling into a 35 foot wave, peering over the edge and taking the drop? Whew! That takes guts!
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Winter wave season, those of us that live on the north shores of the Hawaiian Islands look forward to it every year. The storms that send the mainland U.S. snow and ice send us waves. Waiting for the first swell of the season to be forecast and the anticipation that follows is very exciting! Every swell is different. Each surf spot breaks differently depending on the direction the swell is coming from. Is it from the direct north, the north north-west, more westerly? The excitement continues to build as more details come in about the ocean conditions. How will the wind be? On shore or off shore? Then the swell arrives. I head down to the water see if it's worthy conditions to take ocean & wave pictures. I cruise the surf spots checking out conditions just as if I'm going out to surf. This is one of those days it was worthy to head out to the water with my camera. This shore break was pumping with beautiful barrels. It definitely put me In The Zone.
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Waimea Bay on the North Shore of Oahu. Famed surf spot for only the best of the big wave surfers. The surfers that surf here are a special breed of athlete. Can anyone say adrenaline junkies apply here? I was out one afternoon looking for a little bit of a different location to shoot Waimea. On big swell days the bay is packed and I get tired of jockeying for a good shooting spot. Let's just say this spot was achieved by doing a little bushwhacking and a little rock scaling on a point. The important thing was to make sure I wasn't going to be swept off into the water as the waves rolled in. It felt like I was part of an Hawaiian fable unfolding with ancient lava flow as a perfect mate for the glacial ice blue waves. Together in one story, ancient fire and Hawaii's version of ice in a perfect barreling wave created the ocean & wave picture Icy Blue. Score!
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The ocean picture Blue Crush always makes me think of the feeling of the spray coming off the back of the wave and showering me with water droplets as I am waiting in the line up to catch a wave. Sometimes the spray feels soft and misty. Sometimes it is pelting and hard. There is nothing quite like that experience in the ocean. The peace, the tranquility as I sit on my board between sets taking in the beach scenes as viewed from the water combined with the pure creative power of the ocean waves is truly awe inspiring.
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Back Door Pipeline happened on a quintessential big wave day. I generally don't take ocean pictures at the famed north shore surf break, Banzai Pipeline. The competition with the guys is just too much They are very territorial. The swell was building and I knew once it passed about 20 feet faces most of the other photographers would be gone. When Pipe hits about 25 feet it becomes a sheer closeout. You can see in the photo it was close to doing just that. When I arrived the light was perfect! Just enough shining through the clouds to illuminate the wave to a beautiful turquoise blue and also enough light to create cloud shadows on the water, creating beautiful contrast against the foam. I was only down there shooting for about 25 minutes before the conditions became a total closeout and no more barrels were visible. Luckily I got one of my most iconic beautiful shots!
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