Catching the Wave
“The sea is a desert of waves,
A wilderness of water.”
Langston Hughes, Selected Poems.
It wasn’t surprising. The ephemeral nature of waves appealed to me as much as the ever-changing dunes of Death Valley, one of my favorite photographic subjects.
Have you ever noticed that a larger wave occurs every few waves? When waves traveling at different speeds interact, some waves become larger than the others. If the crest of a fast-moving swell arrives at the same time as a locally generated wave, it creates an even bigger wave.
Depending on the season, the big one might arrive every third wave. On another beach it might be every seventh, or somewhere in between.
The Shot
Last April, I was on the Palm Coast of Florida photographing waves. Arriving before dawn, I wanted the rising sun to backlight the wave crests.
I started counting the number of breaking waves between the biggest waves. After a few minutes, I could predict when the largest, most dramatic wave would roll in.
The experience was Zen-like: intentional, full of tranquility, and joyful. Before I knew it, I had taken over a thousand images in pursuit of the “perfect” wave.
This was my favorite shot, not only of the morning, but of the entire trip. I want to thank Mark Metternich for assistance in processing this image.
Thanks for looking,
Chuck Derus