Spin Cycle
These fantastic tones and textures are created when a wave starts to barrel toward shore when photographed and tracked using a slower-than-normal shutter speed. With enough practice, I've been able to track waves such as this throughout their trajectory to achieve a very particular aesthetic.
Starry Nights and Waterfalls
A 1hr nocturnal trek into the jungles to find Sangara Waterfall on the island of Iriomote. Positioned just right to also shoot the Milky Way above it.
Passing Squall at Sunset
Whilst an uninterrupted image of the sunset would have been nice the rain reminds us that it keeps the islands green.
A Sunset of Pastels
I tame the raging seas with a super long exposure, in this case 300sec or 5min. The waters become a silken carpet transporting a sunset of tropical hues.
Brain Coral Beach
Sunset on Okinawa, I was scouring for compositions around Cape Zanpa. Lighthouse aside I was looking for something different, something fresh.
A Trace of Waves
Whether a rough, grey day or one of tranquility filled with the vibrant hues of a tropical sunset. This imaging style creates ponderous scenes in all settings.
Turtle Time
If there's one thing about the Kerama Islands it has to be the warm, crystalline and inviting waters that are home to an abundance of Sea Turtles.
Turquoise Gems
Bathed in Turquoise lagoons the Kerama Islands to the east of the main island of Okinawa are some of the most picturesque islands in the prefecture.
Hi Five Islanders
Managed to snag this mother and son having a family moment when walking out by Toguchi Beach in Yomitan on the main island of Okinawa.
Windswept Islands
Storms and Okinawa go hand in hand. From tropical squalls to Category 5 batten down the hatches, hold on the the dog doozies. But they survive.
Watersports Paradise
A watersports paradise the Ryukyu Islands are meccas for exponents of SCUBA Diving, Surfing, Fishing and all manner of sail powered adventures.
Sunset’s For Miles
Wherever you find yourself in Okinawa chances are at some point in time you'll lucky and witness one of the amazing sunsets that occur in the region.
The Explorer
I've been on Okinawa for three and a half years. In that time I've been fortunate enough to travel and witness many of its floral and fauna treasures.
Ebb and Flow
Like fingerprints, these textures and swirls of motion are unique to every liquid passage. A moment in time captured, never to be repeated. This makes these moments so very unique and special.
The Flipside
Using specific equipment and photographic techniques, one can see both sides of the Oceans surface in one image. This style of imaging is conducive to bespoke advertising and fine-art options.
Evening Hues
The subdued evening hues in Northern Okinawa with a trace of the receding sun. A slow shutter panorama that enthuses the viewer to bask in the warmth of a tropical evening.
Zampa Goes Wild
Cape Zampa is by far one of, if not the, best location to watch and photograph monster waves as they crash ashore during times of big Ocean swell and more dangerously during typhoons that hit Okinawa through the Summer months.
Rolling Seas at Zampa
Peeking behind the aquatic veil at the iconic location in Okinawa that is Cape Zampa. I cannot get into the water often to get this kind of image, and I don't suggest others follow my example.
Details of a Wave
A detailed look at a wave. It may not be a big wave, but it is photogenic, full of character, and has incredible tones and color. I could sit and shoot these all day long.
Kerama Gold
Bathed in the golden glow of a setting sun, the Kerama Islands dance on the horizon. When seen through a telephoto lens they adopt and almost levitating quality, adding to their mystique.
Foreboding
Toward the end of the photographic session. With most surfers out of the water and the sun setting, I turned to see just dark cobalt blue off into the distance. It signalled the end of my swim for that day.
When the Ocean Folds
Slab waves tend to be more prominent over very shallow reefs. They draw the water back across the reef to feed their impressive size. Getting caught out by a slab wave often translates as 'pain'.
Hidden Textures
Depending on how it is accomplished, motion or speed blur allows the viewer to sit in awe of a segment of the Ocean as it comes to life before their very eyes. New textures, shadows and shadows convey the sense of movement as one simply watches.
A Trace of a Wave
As small waves near the end of their journey, I track them with a slower-than-normal shutter speed. This in turn renders them with a palette more associated with pastel hues. It also creates a riot of motion.
Ghost Waves
A handheld pan using a longer shutter speed is normally associated for a genre of shooting called ICM or Intentional Camera Movement. In this case the ghosting waves drive the imagination and transport the viewer to their own time on the shores of Toguchi Beach.
Give Me An ‘A’
Intentional Camera Movement is an emerging genre within photography. It allows the artist to create artwork that appeals to their interpretation of the scene when absorbing the textures, colors, and motion before them.
Expiration
At the end of their journey, waves wash ashore amidst a riot of motion and turmoil. Their death throes, be they loud and violent or subdued whispers are all nonetheless aesthetically unique.
Domestic Arrival
A wavelet arrives on a beach in the northern confines of the main island at sunset. Could it have originated in the neighboring island of Yoron or Amami Oshima? Could it be from further afield, yet from within national boundaries?
Toguchi Dreaming
Toguchi beach in Yomitan is one of the favored beaches in the southern regions for photographers serving all genres. Whether it's for landscape, family or wedding shoots this is the perfect backdrop for all.
Somewhat Warped
A panorama of the horizon at sunset, when taken with a supremely wide-angle lens, will result in a somewhat bowed perspective. Depending on the sweep of the arm will determine just how severe that bow will become.
Blood Red Sunset
Under a blood-red sky as the sun sets in Okinawa. The sunset hues are not always this vivid, but when they are they stop most folks dead in their tracks.
When Rocks Explode
Using a slower-than-normal shutter speed when water impacts rocks or other immovable objects allows me to try and convey that incredible force using motion blur.
Green Slide
To be able to capture the full gamut of Ocean tones one also has to wait for days when the sun doesn't shine, day's when after significant rains the waters become green and turbid.
Ocean Fold
Slab waves abound in Okinawa when the swells become more significant. They tend to be squat, thick, and incredibly powerful. They always make for great photographic subjects too.
Golden Horizon
An eruption of motion, tones, and light in this motion panorama captivates the viewer. Shot around 30 minutes before sunrise on the east of the main island of Okinawa after a night of wild camping in the Yambaru region.
liquidmocean
Capturing the motion of the Ocean in landscape imagery is something I normally accomplish with a 1.6sec shutter speed.
Northern Shores
The Rocky shorelines of Okinawa on the Western Coast are dominated by areas such as this, perfect for long exposure photography.
A Sense of Tranquility
ND Filters allow the shooter to transform a rough Ocean into a scene of apparent tranquility by extending shutter speeds and 'ironing' out motion.