Drama- Watching Winter Waves

Drama – some people thrive on it. They seem to need drama in their life to give it spice, to make it more interesting. But as for me, I’ve always taken the alternative view. I try to avoid unnecessary drama in my life.

I’m not alone. When I googled “What does drama mean?”, I got the answer,  “Drama typically refers to conflict, tension, or emotional upheaval in interpersonal relationships or social situations”. Hmmm. Good thing to avoid.

But the Oxford dictionary’s definition of drama is much more benign – “an exciting, emotional, or unexpected series of events or set of circumstances.” When it comes to photography, a little drama is a good thing.

Great light can add drama to a photo. Combining that with an interesting subject, like a rugged coastline, can make for an especially exciting, dramatic photo.

Revealing the power and majesty of Nature is one of my favorite ways to add drama to my photos. And one of my best-loved ways to do that is by watching winter waves along the Pacific Coast.

My favorite place so far to watch winter waves is Pacific Grove, California on Monterey Bay. Not only is it a very picturesque coastline, conditions there favor the most dramatic kind of waves, the plunging breakers. It all has to do with the topography of the ocean floor. Since it rises steeply in that location and is rough and rocky, the waves get taller and break more violently than they would on a gentler, more shallowly inclined ocean bottom.

That’s not the only reason. Wind is the main driver of big waves. That is why surf warnings accompany weather fronts. Also, waves coming all the way across the Pacific have a greater distance to build up than waves on the Atlantic or the Gulf of Mexico.

Waves have been in the news a lot in the last couple of weeks, wreaking havoc on both coasts and creating extra drama in a lot of people’s lives. A friend texted me a couple of weeks ago to tell me that king tides in the San Juan Islands, where I spent last winter, coupled with 70 mph winds, created an unprecedented storm surge, wreaking a little havoc in a place where the seas are generally quite calm. Just before New Year’s, there was a high surf warning and evacuation notice in Santa Cruz, a place that got hit very hard by a runaway ocean last winter.

Winter waves have been a big deal on the East Coast lately, too. We’ve all seen the pictures of houses washing away in Maine. I was inspired to write this post by Tina Schell’s tale in this week’s Lens-Artists Photo Challenge recounting how this winter’s storms on the South Carolina barrier island she lives on were more terrifying for her than hurricanes she has endured there.

We can expect more drama, and more stories about big waves in the future, because it’s a scientific fact that waves are getting bigger. Waves in California are a foot taller than they were 50 years ago. Global climate change is presenting us with a double whammy. Rising sea levels mean more water coming into shore even when it isn’t storming. Climate change is also bringing us more violent and more frequent storms.

These waves have the power to move mountains. And they will. Just ask the California Department of Highways, constantly rebuilding Highway 101 after every big storm. It’s a minor miracle that that road is still with us. It is quite exhilarating to try to capture that power through photography.

So if you have the chance, get out there and enjoy the drama of winter wave watching. But please stay safe while doing so. Heed the warnings and watch from a safe distance.  Don’t get too close to the shore on those days with heavy surf advisories. And NEVER turn your back on the ocean. Sneaker waves are real and can be deadly.

Thanks to Patti of the Pilotfish blog for this week’s Lens-Artists Photography Challenge, Drama.