Ocean Forest

It’s relatively easy to enjoy a forest landscape if you can find access to open land. The vast forest below the ocean surface is another story.

As storms ravage the west coast here in Washington, bull kelp that grows to heights of 150’ are uprooted and wash ashore giving us a glimpse of the vast forest landscape hundreds of feet below the surface. Randomly splayed along the shore the massive clumps create a study in the power of nature and the biodiversity that exists undersea.

As a visual element for a photographer clearing your mind of the manmade world and opening your senses to the natural world is the key. It takes time to shed the synthetic point of view we live in – the four walls of our homes many times defining our perception of the world. Finding the patterns and forms presented so beautifully by mother nature takes patience and an altered point of view. One that gets easier the longer you spend wandering down a stormy remote beach with a camera.