“I spent uncounted hours sitting at the bow looking at the water and the sky, studying each wave, different from the last, seeing how it caught the light, the air, the wind; watching patterns, the sweep of it all, and letting it take me.
The sea.” 
― Gary Paulsen

As in the quote I selected, I spent a lot of time sitting on the shore, filling my lungs with the wonderful smell of the ocean, watching the waves as they thundered to shore, and listening to the complex sounds of the waves as they crashed, churned, and receeeded . The sound is the inspiration for the title of this image. The words “Voice of the Pacific” resonated through me, as I sat entranced the marvel and sheer power of this mighty ocean.

I was trying to do it justice through many shots of waves captured at different speeds and different times of day and then felt inspired to use the same technique I use for my abstract tree images and tried a horizontal pan. It took many shots to get what I was after but I am pleased with the result.

The image above captures many of the elements which I found myself observing from the shore: the roll and foam of the waves as they crashed and collided with the shore and each other, the subtle shades of green and aqua within the waves, the movement of the water, and the vast expanse of water on the distant horizon. From this vantage point, looking due south, there is only ocean for thousands of kilometers, till the ocean meets the far distant shores of Antarctica. it’s quite overwhelming.

As I look at the image, It brings back very clear memories of this time I had with the sea, mere weeks ago now. I still here the voice of the Pacific becoming my return and I will return to hear what more it has to offer me.

Nikon D800
Nikkor 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6 G I AF-S VR Zoom @ 116mm
1/4 sec, f/36.0 ISO 100

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