magickcanoe.com Blog

There’s no doubt about it — my friend and I are a couple of wave junkies. No matter where we were along the coast, we spent many hours perched on high look-offs, or clambering about on rocky outcrops searching for the best places to watch the waves come crashing in. I shot literally hundreds of photos of waves on this trip — everything from seascapes of long lines of breakers rolling in, to close-ups of wild waves exploding against rocks just a stone’s throw from my chosen vantage point (click on all photos for larger views).

So, what’s the fascination with these waves?

There’s a hypnotic quality to wave-watching. I find a safe spot to stand or sit, and then let my mind get in synch with the rhythm of the waves. Among my favourites is to find a place where I can watch the seething, frothy riptide as it churns to wash up and away from the shore. The white caps and foam smash together and frequently rise up to form mountainous crests in the surf. Between breakers, vein or braid-like patterns undulate, weaving every-changing patterns. This small movie clip probably gives a better explanation than anything I am able to write.

Of particular interest are places where massive volumes of water are forced through arches, sea caves or other openings in sea stacks or shoreline rock formations. Here’s another small movie that I made of waves rushing through one of these openings.

Perhaps best of all are those spots where I can find a relatively safe perch on a rock formation close to dynamic wave action. When packing camera gear, some consideration must be given to avoiding an unexpected soaking. The above photo was shot at one of these locations. If you check out the larger view of this shot, you should be able to see the arch of a rainbow that shot up each time a good wave crashed through to explode inside a slot in the rock. I’ve also posted a movie shot from the same vantage point to give a better feel for the wave action along that section of shore.

I’ll probably post some more wave photos and footage as time allows.

Tags: waves, Pacific, Oregon, California