Clark Little photographs ocean waves.
Many of us do. We may be drawn to waves because they connect us with the moon and the tides, or with the magnificent marine creatures small and large who dwell in our seas, or just because it's fun to surf and swim and float along the shore. And so we stand at the ocean's edge, whip out our cellphones or our cameras and tripods, and aim to snap that perfect image.
Clark Little goes about things a little differently. Working on Oahu's North Shore and focusing on shorebreak waves, he adopts what his website calls "a unique and often dangerous perspective of waves from the inside out."
What exactly "waves from the inside out" means can be grasped by looking at this write-up of his work by Katie Hosmer on the My Modern Met site.
Even better, don't miss this 3 1/2 minute video. In it we see Little's technique in action, plunging right into the waves with his handheld camera. His passion for the ocean and its "heavy, four-lipped monster" is there for all to see.
Little's photography is art. But it is science, too, I think, in the sense that it invites us to think and learn about the physics of waves.
On this summer's day, enjoy the sight of Little's awesome waves!
Note: It's thanks to my Twitter friend biologist Malcolm Campbell that I learned of Little's artistry. Malcolm is great fun to follow on Twitter, in part because each week he compiles a digest of online science posts and articles. (My July 6 post for 13.7 about stray dogs in Puerto Rico was a recent "read of the week" pick of his.) Thanks, Malcolm!
Barbara's most recent book on animals was released in paperback in April. You can keep up with what she is thinking on Twitter: @bjkingape.
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