A Very Small Window 🪟

Most of my photographer friends wait patiently for the biggest swell of the year to shoot Mavericks. On the other hand, I wait patiently all year for the lowest swell which tends to happen around mid February to mid March. For three days last year, the water clarity in Northern California was the best I’ve ever seen. Hawaii-like at Ocean Beach with clarity I’ve never before seen in my entire life so far. I hastily noted down the dates in my journal, wondering if it will happen ever again. 

There wasn’t much hope this year, as XL swell after XL swell slammed the coast almost all winter, which was great for surf but not great for clarity. The swell finally dropped to 2-3 feet this week, but intermittent rainstorms made it difficult to pick the right day to snorkel and dive. Today looked to be the ideal window, a three foot swell, a -1.0 ft low tide, and the marine layer burning off by the lunch hour. I took the afternoon off from work as conditions like this was worth dropping everything for.

To have everything line up is a rarity around here: 

• Negative tide
• Partly sunny to sunny skies
• No rain the previous week
• Light wind 
• Cold water temperature
• Swell less than 3-feet for the entire week prior 

But it does happen, maybe once a year, or once every couple years, or even once a lifetime. 

Most of my photos are made after visiting the same location over and over again. The more I return to the same spot, the more I learn of the factors that comprise of its ideal conditions. Most of the time, it’s not worth going. And sometimes even when the forecast is ideal, it still isn’t perfect. Only through perseverance, and learning, you may get rewarded. To be able to witness Mother Nature, showing all her glory, even for just a fraction of a second, there is no comparable feeling in the world.  

February 10, 2021 | Photography & Art