The Shorebreak Art of Clark Little: amazing photos from inside the wave

• Tweet
• Email

Shorebreak waves are massive waves that break very close to the shore. Clark Little grew up on the north shore of the Hawaiian island Oahu, and has been riding these kind of waves for the past 30 years. Recently, he decided to show to the world what shorebreaking is all about, after he started taking his waterproof camera in his watersports exploits. He started getting good at it, really good. His work has been published in numerous high-profile magazines, and recently enough Little also released a high successful photo-book, titled “The Shorebreak Art of Clark Little“, which features mesmerizing footage of waves.

Click on the photos for a larger view.

The shorebreak occurs when swells encounter an abrupt change in bottom depth and unleash all their energy in a short distance close to shore in extremely shallow water. These waves can be extremely dangerous. Waves can appear small and harmless, but even one foot shore-break waves can possess enough power to injure bones, pin swimmers to the bottom, and wash beach goers (especially small children) off the shoreline into the surf zone.

Clark Little’s photos offer an insider’s look of the marvels hidden in shorebreaks. For us shore lovers, his art helps an individual transpose himself inside the wave and share a small bit of the adrenaline that gets pumped while surfing.

These incredible photos come at a risk. Little battled countless waves, facing dangerous, massive amounts of water to capture these gems. Since 2004, the photographer took more than 2,000 photos.

All photos are copyright of Clark Little Photography.