“Surfer’s Charge”

Location: Pacific City, Oregon (2019)

A surfer catches a wave in Pacific City, Oregon during a sunny morning in the winter.

The tide was beginning its march back toward the shore. The winter sun was shining brightly against a clear blue sky that almost gave the illusion of summer.

Out of frame, black Oystercatchers, shorebirds with bright red beaks tough enough to feed on clinging mollusks, were patrolling the tide pools.

When waves crashed against the rocks the spray was a salty rain.

Audible over the frothy water, the oystercatchers would give a piercing ‘kleep’ as they signaled their territory.

I waited amongst the rocks of the tide pool for the right moment to occur – when a surfer riding a bucking wave would coincide with the slamming of another wave against the tide pool.

Wearing full body wetsuits, the surfers were prepared for the bitter cold of the Pacific.