5715 Miles of Coast

Somewhere in Oregon, I came around the bend and my jaw dropped as I looked outside the car window into what seemed like another world of surrealism.

The golden light that bounced off the plants of Earth.  The rock formations in the distance which added depth to the horizon of green sea.   The bird effortlessly soaring through the air.  The way this sight gave me feelings of freedom, creativity, wonder and gratitude.

I captured this on only the second day of my trip and I still cannot stop thinking about this particular area & window of time where everything just seemed to align.

Surreal Light

Fluidity

Taken somewhere in the open ocean of the Carribbean on an evening where the sun fired up everything around it.

The colors of orange, red and everything in between undulated in the sea.  Sharp peaks, rippled textures; the entire ocean colliding into itself at once.

This is how I imagine fiery passion in the form of ocean textures.

Fiery Seas

This piece was chosen/minted for Le Reve exhibit in Paris 2023.

The world seems to fall away when I take my hearing aids out, put on my 5/4mm wetsuit and swim in the frigid seas of Washington with a Sony camera.

Relying mostly on visual cues, I aspire to capture a different sea, in a different way.  The ocean here feels dense and like a dark, mysterious force. While there aren"t waves that break here, the sea still has its moods.

Part of this beautiful process is not knowing exactly what I"ve captured until I get home and slow all the 120 fps footage to 15%. From there, the idiosyncrasies of dynamic seconds are revealed.

Elemental Symphony is a few fleeting seconds of a beautiful dance of cold seas and warm suns.

Elemental Symphony

As I bob eye level with the ocean, the sea rises and falls.  With the sun on the horizon, the ocean becomes backlit as it swells.  Every time this happens, the reflections shift, the ripples are different but the same feeling of intrigue persists.

Sliver of Reflection

Taken in the middle of the day at a shutter speed of 1/1250; the epitome of fluidity.

Freezing time on the ocean allows us to see what we cannot normally see.  It is here that I can show you the true silkiness of the ocean.

Blue Silk

There is something about being eye level with the ocean.  As the seas rise and fall, the sun will appear and disappear behind the rise.  With the light hitting ripples and the shadows being omitted, there is this beautiful shifting contrast happening of color & obsidian black.


Obsidian Ocean

During wildfire season here in Washington State, the world changes and the sun becomes bearable to look at beneath a cloak of smoke.

I decided to swim out in my 5/4mm wetsuit and attempt to capture the smoky sun from the eye level of the ocean.  It ended up being a beautiful pastel sunset with a neon pink sun which was reflected softly off the rolling seas.

Neon Sun

Many people enjoy the sight of waves crashing.  However, not many people get to see the beauty of waves from underneath. 

Tendrils of power, water being pulled smooth and into perfect curves, fueling what is above.

Most of all; watching the way the light pierces, glimmers & dances through the ocean surface from under is a different form of magic to experience.

Which Way Up

Glassy seas are ethereal.  The balance of light and dark in an almost motionless ocean is utterly captivating.  It is one of my favorite textures when the ocean is smooth and the light reflects in beautiful colors.

A texture I could capture over and over and every time it would be just as beautiful as the last.

Liquid Peaks

I adore the way the light comes through the surface of the ocean.  The way it illuminates the particles, creates bouncing rays & ripples as the sea ceiling constantly shifts.

It is wild how in this fleeting capture, an element so fluid can create so much texture and give the illusion of solidity.