Oct 22, 2019 18:00:00

How to shoot the world's most dangerous big wave over 10m in height at the legendary surf spot

Mavericks on the west coast of California in the United States is known as the world's most dangerous surf spot because in the winter, a wave of over 10m in height hits. Photographer Kevin Harrington wrote the microblogging Cake when he shot a 2013 surf event at Mavericks.

My cautionary tale of shooting the world's biggest waves at Mavericks-Cake
https://www.cake.co/conversations/L44Nh7h/my-cautionary-tale-of-photographing-the-world-s-biggest-waves-at-mavericks

Mavericks has a unique level of offshore coral reefs, with ocean currents rushing to the west coast of the United States. Therefore, it is known as the surf spot that surfers from all over the world want to visit once, but at the same time, it is also known as the “most dangerous surf spot in the world” where many surfers lost their lives.

The picture below shows Harlington's father

kitesurfing . A wave as high as 20 feet (about 6m) is attacking from behind, but according to Harrington, the film was taken on a day when waves were small.

Usually, waves break at a distance of about a few kilometers from the shore, so a 70-200mm telephoto lens is enough when shooting a surfer riding on the shore from the shore, says Harrington. However, in Mavericks, the shooting conditions will be severe because the waves break at a farther place than usual.

In addition, part of the Mavericks coastline is part of the Air Force Base, which is not accessible to the public as well as the public. It seems that the point closest to the wave in the beach area where entry is allowed is about 1 mile (about 1.6 km) from the point of surfing, but since the wave is too big, white splashes cover the wave That's right.

When shooting from a cliff adjacent to the Air Force base, it seems that even a super telephoto lens such as Canon EF 800 mm F5.6L IS USM was not enough to take a picture of a level that can distinguish the surfer's face, Mr. Harrington said, The only way to shoot Mavericks waves and surfers is on a boat. '

In order to shoot a big wave at Mavericks, it is necessary to check the Pacific climate for days and predict the day and direction in which the big wave will appear. Although it is not so accurate in the early stages of forecasting, it is more accurate 24 hours before the wave arrives, and based on this forecast, professional surfers around the world decide whether to book a flight ticket. And a few hours before the wave arrives, the sea swell can be detected with the observation buoy, and the specific wave height, direction and period can be predicted with almost 100% accuracy.

Photographers boarded the boat to shoot Mavericks waves and surfers on the day of the surf event held in 2013

The legendary surfer

Jeff Clark , who discovered the spot Mavericks and continued to ride the waves at Mavericks, was the driver of the boat that brought the photographer to the shooting spot.

And below is a picture of the waves I was able to take. The height of the wave including the splash is 25 feet (about 7.6m), which is less than 60 feet (about 18m) that I wanted, but it is a huge wave that can be lost if you are a novice surfer.

A huge wave is trying to crush a surfer that has fallen off the surfboard

One piece that the wave splash is too big and can only be seen as a huge explosion

Clark is

standing up paddle and surfing (SUP) while driving to other people. Harrington says that being able to survive this big wave with SUP despite the painful operation of the hip joint can only be done by Clark, who knows the waves of Mavericks well.

The boat co-founded by

Chris Co-founder Chris McCarskill , and the state of the Mavericks wave shot in a slow motion movie is published below.

Mavericks Invitational Surf Contest Highlights 2013-YouTube


Shooting from the boat was done using a telephoto lens, but the depth of photos taken with the telephoto lens is inevitably compressed . So Harrington decided to get on the jet ski and get closer to the waves to shoot Mavericks waves without a telephoto lens. Mr. Harrington drives a jet ski because he takes a camera.

And one of the photos that could be taken without a telephoto lens is below. Kai Lenny, known as a Hawaiian genius young surfer, passes through a huge half-water pipe. This spot is one of the most dangerous places in Mavericks, and many surfers die.

Mr. Harrington said that the two cameras were submerged and destroyed in this shooting. But Harrington said he was happy because he was able to take the best shot.

Mr. Harrington's Cake has many other amazing photos, so please take a look if you are interested.