Page 9 - BBC Focus - August 2017

E Y E OP ENER

Swell snap

HAWAII,
USA

Photographer Sash
Fitzsimmons claims he
risked his life to take this
incredible image. And
physicist and oceanographer
Dr Helen Czerski agrees that
it’s a dangerous business.
“The energy of a barrel
wave like this one ultimately
comes from the wind
pushing the ocean surface
into ripples and then up into
bigger and bigger waves,”
she says. “As the water gets
shallower, that energy is
concentrated and the waves
steepen until they break in
these beautiful long barrels.
One cubic metre of water
weighs a tonne, so the rapid
movement of this much
water represents a huge
amount of kinetic energy.
Both the surfer and the
photographers need superb
judgment – and a bit of luck
– to stay safe.”
To take the picture,
Fitzsimmons used a GoPro
camera with a fisheye lens. It
was fitted with a dome to
push water away from the
camera, allowing him to
capture the action above
and below the surface.

PHOTO: CATERS NEWS

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