January 2025
My trip to the North Shore of Oahu last winter unfolded with a few last-minute turns. I hadn’t been back to shoot the Seven Mile Miracle since 2017, along with a previous trip to Hawaii in 2024 where my mind wasn’t fully in “vacation mode”. This time around, I arrived without an agenda when a friend picked me up at the airport, and I let myself simply absorb the place without expectations. I found myself getting dropped off at the beach, posting up under palm trees to hide from the sun, shooting aimlessly for hours. The forecast wasn’t necessarily ideal, and the conditions didn’t quite line up at some of the more iconic waves. Still, the level of talent in the water here during winter is undeniable. In less than a week, I shot thousands upon thousands of frames. From that large body of work, I’ve specifically chosen to showcase the images that originally caught my eye in a monochromatic fashion. In a place so full of colour and sunshine, stripping things back to basics felt right. Darker & simpler. This approach was inspired by one of my favourite photographers Nick Green, who once released a black-and-white book from his six-week stay in Hawaii.
I hope you enjoy seeing warm-water surf culture through a lens shaped by cold-water influence.