January 22, 2005

Another island image

I've just finished reading the biography of Eddie Aikau, who was a legendary waterman, cultural icon and lifeguard of Waimea Bay in the North Shore . I was so excited to finally visit the North Shore and see some of these famous breaks that I had only heard of before. I was surprised that this surf mecca was so uncommercial and undeveloped. Visiting Waimea,Pipeline, Sunset, I could feel the power of this area. I wanted to tap into that feeling with some of my images.


I shot this image at Pipeline, just as were were leaving the path. I wanted to get almost pure black for the profile and foreground, and really emphasize the connection of the man to ocean he's looking at. What attracted me originally was that he looked so comfortable and balanced on that tree stump, as if he jumped up there to recon the waves every day.



Pipeline closeout. Even the shorebreak was huge., reverberating on the beach. No one surfed this day.