Clark Little: The Art of Waves

Clark Little: The Art of Waves

Instagram sensation Clark Little shares his most remarkable photographs from inside the breaking wave, with a foreword by world surfing champion Kelly Slater.   “One of the world’s most amazing water photographers . . . Now we get to experience up-close these moments of bliss.”—Jack Johnson, musician and environmentalist Surfer and photographer Clark Little creates deceptively peaceful pictures of waves by placing himself under the deadly lip as it is about to hit the sand. "Clark's view" is a rare and dangerous perspective of waves from the inside out. Thanks to his uncanny ability to get the perfect shot--and live to share it--Little has garnered a devout audience, been the subject of award-winning documentaries, and become one of the world's most recognizable wave photographers.   Clark Little: The Art of Waves compiles over 150 of his images, including crystalline breaking waves, the diverse marine life of Hawaii, and mind-blowing aerial photography. This collection features his most beloved pictures, as well as work that has never been published in book form, with Little's stories and insights throughout. Journalist Jamie Brisick contributes essays on how Clark gets the shot, how waves are created, swimming with sharks, and more.   With a foreword by eleven-time world surfing champion Kelly Slater and an afterword by the author on his photographic practice and technique, Clark Little: The Art of Waves offers a rare view of the wave for us to enjoy from the safety of land. "Stunning images from inside the barrels of some of the most powerful and dangerous waves on Earth. . . . The Art of Waves chronicles [Clark's] adventures in the ocean." —Associated Press "How do you photograph the world's most dangerous waves? You get thrashed. Clark Little uses his knowledge and love of surfing and the ocean to show people rare glimpses into the inside of Hawaii's most powerful waves." — USA Today " The Art of Waves from delicate tubes to towering walls... powerfully intimate and unexpected." — Coastal Living "Trust me, you want to check it out. This will be the pièce de résistance of your coffee table books." —The Weather Channel "The Art of Waves brings together [Clark Little's] most remarkable work to date . . . a unique glimpse into a world most of us only experience from the safety of the shoreline."— Outdoor Photography Award-winning photographer Clark Little grew up on the North Shore of O‘ahu, where he made his name as a pioneer of surfing at the lethal Waimea Bay shorebreak. His images of waves have been shared around the world, from the walls of the Smithsonian to the pages of National Geographic . Clark and his work have been featured in Nikon television commercials along with appearances on CBS Evening News with Norah O’Donnell , Good Morning America , Today , and the Discovery Channel. He lives on O‘ahu and can be found at the beach under a detonating wave most days of the week.   A lifelong connoisseur of waves and a former professional surfer, Jamie Brisick has authored books including Becoming Westerly: Surf Champion Peter Drouyn’s Transformation into Westerly Windina , We Approach Our Martinis with Such High Expectations , and Have Board, Will Travel: The Definitive History of Surf, Skate, and Snow . He was awarded a Fulbright Fellowship and his writings have appeared in The New Yorker , The Surfer’s Journal , and The New York Times . He lives in Los Angeles. Introduction: For the Love of Shorebreak By Jamie Brisick Clark Little never set out to become the world’s best wave photographer, but in hindsight it seems as if he’s spent his entire life training to be exactly that. He’s been a devout surfer since the age of six, on the North Shore of O‘ahu, where the waves are big and powerful, and the light and water color are majestic. Clark and his older brother, Brock, were thrill-seekers. While Brock heaved himself over the ledges of thirty-foot beasts on the outside at Waimea Bay, Clark preferred the Waimea shorebreak, where swells bounced and torqued and tripled up before exploding on shallow, neckbreaking sand. His amygdala registered no fear, and his pain threshold was like an MMA fighter’s. Clark is designed to be in dangerous water. In 2007, Clark’s wife, Sandy, bought a photo of a wave, shot from the shore, to hang on their bedroom wall. Clark saw it and chuckled. “Honey, what are you doing buying a picture of a wave?” he said. “I’ve surfed the shorebreak all my life. I’m going to go out and get one from inside the barrel.” With a cheap point-and-shoot camera encased in a water housing purchased on Amazon, he threw himself into the Waimea shorebreak, the same wave he grew up surfing, not far from their family home. After a series of requisite beatings, he nailed some shots. The results were spectacular. The fast shutter speed froze what in real time happens way too quickly for the naked eye to study. The way the wave sucked up the sand. The wa