‘Boreas’ is part of the my ‘Sirens’ portfolio (2015-2023), photographs of monstrous waves named after creatures from myth and legend. The series has been published in two monographs and extensively featured in the press. ‘Boreas’ is one of the last photographs I made for the series. Like the other photographs in the series, it was inspired by my lifelong love of the ocean and of mythology and, more specifically, the Odyssey and Iliad by Homer. ‘Boreas’ is the ancient Greek god of the cold north wind, storms and winter. He was often depicted as a striding, winged god with ice in his beard or as a gust-blowing head in the clouds.
All of the photographs in Sirens were made during big winter storms on the same beach on the East Sussex coast of the UK. Working on an open beach during a force 10 storm makes for very challenging and exciting conditions! I worked with a 70-200mm lens and fast shutter speeds to freeze the shapes in the waves. No tripod was needed, and one would have been useless in 80mph winds anyway. Usually, I would sit or lie on the beach to make the waves stand above the horizon. This sort of photography is more like wildlife or sports than classic landscape work and the decisive moment is key. Multiple visits to the location and taking time just to watch and listen enabled me to anticipate what the waves might do, although you can never know for sure. People have died on this beach, and I was always very careful not to put myself in danger.
I work in RAW so, of course, I have to edit my photographs, but I am an outdoor photographer because I like to be outdoors, so I try to do as much as possible in camera. I do almost all my edits in Lightroom, which I have set up to import using my camera settings rather than the adobe default presets. I find that no amount of editing can substitute for good light, so I prefer to develop the exposures that have outstanding natural light rather than try to compensate for poor light with extreme edits. Simple adjustments using the basic panel or the tone curve are usually enough. For me printing is an essential part of this workflow. I always edit for print and I love choosing paper! Once I have finished editing a photo, I print it in my studio on carefully chosen fine art paper and pin it to my wall. I then live with the print as I come and go. Sometimes, I will notice things I want to change, or I’ll decide that I no longer like the photo. It is only if the print survives this scrutiny, that I will deem it ready for publication.
