Photographer’s striking images of waves are so sharp they look like sculpture
posted Monday, May 6, 2013 at 12:28 PM EST
Wave photography has usually been the domain of sports photographers, capturing huge, thundering walls of water that propel surfers through their feats. But French photographer Pierre Carreau has shown a very different world of waves with his AquaViva series, transforming the water into perfectly still snapshots that seem unreally still and sharp.
By tightly controlling the focus, shutter speed, and angle of light, his Macrowave shots look sculptural, as if the waves had been carved of ice or glass. Much like a tilt-shift photograph can make a huge scene look small and toy-like, the tight depth of field adds to the unreal air of the photographs.
His website explains that it takes him hundreds of attempts to capture the perfect photograph, and that it's a combination of the right gear, the right wave, and the right light that makes the images work:
Pierre has to take hundreds of shots to capture the right moment. In his words : "digital photography and the best camera/lens are absolutely necessary to create my images. Technology allows me to make it possible".
Pierre has found small waves to be more interesting to him as they show details and transparency that are not visible on huge waves.
A perfect control of natural light is also important for the visual impact of his project. Pierre always says : "a photographer is literally someone who writes with light".
His images are available to buy online through Clic Gallery.
