DARK SIDE OF THE LENS from Astray Films on Vimeo.

The first Short Stories film, by renowned photographer and bodyboarder Mickey Smith, explores his world as a true waterman – both as an athlete and artist, and is called The Dark Side of The Lens.

“Originally I planned for the film to be more anonymous, rather than biographical, an all encompassing piece, to represent the photographers keeping the surfing machine afloat”, explains Smith.

Something that offers insight into what it takes to grind out a living as a water-based photographer in the surfing industry: a short experimental glimpse at a life lived in the shadow of obsessive photographic pursuits.”

“It also gave me the chance to ask myself a few questions, like, if you’re always observing and documenting what you see and experience, are you ever truly present? Questions like that where I could step back think and then see what the answers were”, Smith says.

As well as documenting various voices and experiences across surf photography, Smith worked with Allan Wilson from the Astray Collective, who acted as Director of Photography on the project. Together they logged hours of footage across the Atlantic coastline, traveling around Ireland, Cornwall and Manchester. Shot in Super 16mm film, as well as groundbreaking work with Canon 5D mk11 Digital SLR, Smith also projected images of the huge walls of water within which he works, on to monster urban landscapes such as sky rises and castles in Manchester, as well as the cliff lines at his home of Ireland.

found on vimeo.com

From Taschen; A lush visual history of the Golden Age of travel

The metabolism of travel changed more in the last century than in the previous half-millennium, a stunning transformation triggered by American wanderlust. In less than 100 years, the U.S. mass-produced the automobile, invented airplanes, freeways, motels, even sent men to the Moon. Travel grew ever faster and easier. Above all, it was democratized — enabling millions to explore distant lands, or see their own more fully.

At the start of the 20th century, only people with extensive disposable income and time to spare could enjoy leisure travel. By the century’s end, journeys took hours, not days, and mass travel — especially brief air flights — became the new normal. Along the way, ocean liners broke speed records, aerodynamic trains roared down the tracks, stylish boat-plane clippers evolved into jumbo jets. Whether aboard high-speed locomotives or ships, jets, or Greyhound buses — or when setting their own schedule on the open road — Americans demanded ever greater mobility and wider choice of destinations, thereby setting a new standard for travelers around the world.

found on taschen.com

Stop what you’re doing for a moment and take a look at these hauntingly beautiful pictures of underwater sculptures by artist Jason de Caires Taylor. The sixty-five sculptures, covering an area of 800sq metres, are sited in the clear shallow waters of Moilinere bay in Grenada, West Indies.
The underwater sculpture park was created back in 2006 and was designed to create artificial reefs for marine life to colonise and inhabit. Exposed to the ecological processes the sculptures become home to coral and marine life and slowly transform over time.

“The experience of being underwater is vastly different from that of being on land. There are physical and optical considerations that must be taken into account. Objects appear twenty-five percent larger underwater, and as a consequence they also appear closer. Colors alter as light is absorbed and reflected at different rates, with the depth of the water affecting this further. The light source in water is from the surface, this produces kaleidoscopic effects governed by water movement, currents and turbulence. Water is a malleable medium in which to travel enabling the viewer to become active in their engagement with the work. The large number of angles and perspectives from which the sculptures can be viewed increase dramatically the unique experience of encountering the works.” Says Jason de Caires Taylor’s website.

found on beforeiforget.co.uk

Photogrphy by Philip Plisson
found on plisson.com

© COPYRIGHT-GRANT MYRDAL PHOTOGRAPHY
found on grantmyrdal.com

Grant is a South Africa-born, self-taught photographer, who has taken his passion for the ocean and the natural world and created breathtaking seascapes and landscapes that have become sought-after works of art. Shooting the legendary waves of Oahu’s infamous North Shore from the water, Grant’s photos capture dramatic moments of power and chaos and distill them down to serene, contemplative scenes. Even among the madness, he finds time to pause and compose a lasting image. Details of wind and water are frozen into magnificent portraits of waves, viewed from above, below, and inside the curl. His fine art photos have been exhibited in New York City, San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Newport Beach, with recent shows selling out.

found on waveridersgallery.net

Photography by Malcolm Hanes

Check his stunning work on

malcolmhanes.com

Nobody would take a photograph of the event shown in this painting,

simply because nobody would survive this giant wave’s onslaught.

The ship carried on its crest is simply airborne.

(art by R. Avotin, TM 1970, Russia)

found on darkroastedblend.com

Over the past few months, we´ve been studying lighthouses. a gift, a book on the history of lighthouses ignited my renewed interest. the power of the symbolism is universal over the span of time and culture, and though many ancient lighthouses have been lost, there are hundreds – thousands - still standing. holding hundreds of years of history, and the stories of those who have created them, lived in and cared for them – magnetizing and capturing our dreams as they have for thousands of years

found on dacarc.wordpress.com

found on sandervanderborch.com

Low Tide at Ocean Beach. San Francisco, California.

It wouldn’t be a day at the beach in San Francisco without patchy clouds, ever looming fog, 20 mile an hour winds and an average water temperature of 45 degrees… and we wouldn’t have it an other way.

Photograby by © 2008 Joseph Szymanski

found on josephszymanski.com