I am drawn toward images on people’s walls that evoke an emotion; especially positive ones. So when I go out to shoot, I am always keeping an eye out for the opportunity to capture a single moment that communicates my feelings at that time.

During a lull in the storms several weeks ago, I wanted to see if I could capture the power of the big swell and the raw energy of the ocean in a way that is different from my usual imagery. For this particular endeavor, I headed down to the Pier in IB because I like the raised position out in the ocean and IB has a bit of a raw flair to it that reminds me of what Southern California must have looked like decades before. There are no nearby freeways, no tall buildings, no bike path, and no obstruction of any kind when looking south toward Mexico. On a clear day, one can spot the bull ring, but I knew this was going to be a dramatic, stormy one.

Once out on the pier, I was pleasantly surprised by the surf. Typically, the swell approaches the shore in straight lines. Today, however, the swell was so large that individual waves were rolling in well offshore. Adding to that, a strong wind was blowing off the tops of the waves, creating a beautiful spray. All that power in the water and the wind was juxtaposed by a large number of seabirds floating on the surface of the water. They were completely calm and at ease despite the frenetic movement around them; perhaps finding solace in the space between the storms. And then I realized that I too was doing the same thing – enjoying the raw energy around me from a position that was dry and safe for me. It’s a pretty cool feeling to realize you can be comfortable in the face of nature’s fury.

I shot this image in Camera Raw, which allows me to set the white balance and color settings in Lightroom. Once it was uploaded to the computer, however, I knew instantly that this was going to be a black and white image. Color simply wasn’t part of the sensory experience that day and I wanted the focus to be on that solitary wave first, the floating and flying birds second, and lastly the stormy sky and background surf. The final result, “Stormy” is a moody piece that would look great in either a black or a white frame. Hope you enjoy!