Bluesphere Selections

ON THE BOUNDARY - BURLEIGH HEADS. A roaring southerly brings swell to the Gold Coast. At low tide, thick barrels roll along the line at Burleigh headland. Photo: Shelli Bankier

WANDER - CUDGEN BEACH, AUSTRALIA. A big swell hits an open beach that is usually overly wind blown, but sometimes the wind is right and sculpts perfect offshore peaks. Photo: Shelli Bankier

PERSPECTIVE - ANGEL'S BEACH, AUSTRALIA. An empty beach and an empty wave. No crowds, offshore winds and the deep blue sea. Where would you rather be? Photo: Shelli Bankier

SHIFT - AUSTRALIA. Another blur experiment that hits the right moment - that perfect arc of the lip line folding behind the foam lines. Photo: Shelli Bankier

INSIDE THE MOMENT - TEAHUPO'O, TAHITI. Tahitian surfer Raimana deep inside the jaws of Chopes. Photo: Shelli Bankier

TRANSITION - KIRRA, AUSTRALIA. With Snapper in the background and a low lying storm moving in, this wave traveled along the points until it rolled into Kirra and some lucky guy got into the pocket. Photo: Shelli Bankier

HAWAII DREAMING - PIPELINE, HAWAII. An early swell in October gave me this moment of grace. The sky, the color and Pipe in her beautiful glory. Photo: Shelli Bankier

PERFECTION - TEAHUPOO, TAHITI. Can't write much about this image…if a picture says a thousand words, there isn't much left to say. Photo: Shelli Bankier

THE TEMPEST - PIPELINE, HAWAII. A windy big swell day at Pipe gives beauty in the color of that heavy lip and the gloss of the inside of the barrel. The heart of the beast. Photo: Shelli Bankier

RISE AND FALL - TEAHUPOO, TAHITI. A perfect curved arc of water meets the Teahupoo reef and falls. One single line of energy that has traveled for thousands of miles across the sea to meet the land. Photo: Shelli Bankier

FLUID - SNAPPER ROCKS, AUSTRALIA. This is a new image from a body of work in which I have been experimenting with blurs - slower shutter speeds to illustrate movement. Photo:Shelli Bankier

REPERCUSSION - KIRRA, AUSTRALIA. The thing with bad weather is it brings great waves. This shot happened between squalls during one of the best swells to hit the Gold Coast in a very long time. Photo:Shelli Bankier

EMERGE - SOUTH OF KIRRA GROYNE, AUSTRALIA People look at you strangely sometimes when you're a photographer…especially when you're hiding in the grass with a camera. But I had my reasons! Kirra again. Photo: Shelli Bankier

POINT OF VIEW KIRRA, AUSTRALIA. Kirra hasn't worked much over the last few years, but when it does, it is amazing. Photo: Shelli Bankier

ALLURE - BURLEIGH HEADS, AUSTRALIA. Maybe I shouldn't write the locations for all the images? But Burleigh deserves the credit. Photo: Shelli Bankier

CRYSTAL LIP, AUSTRALIA. Waves crafted from crystal water and offshore winds. The waves here are still pretty amazing. Photo: Shelli Bankier

LIGHT GLOW - LENNOX HEAD. I was meant to be shooting a particular surfer on this day, and as I looked up the beach with my 600mm lens, I saw light hitting the waves a certain way so I shot this instead. Photo: Shelli Bankier

OSCILLATE - BURLEIGH HEADS, AUSTRALIA. One of the best days I have ever seen at Burleigh Heads. A rare, really big swell with offshore winds. Photo: Shelli Bankier

PERFECT CURL - SNAPPER ROCKS, AUSTRALIA. This is actually the first part of the wave at Snapper, breaking at the north end of a little cove called Froggies and just about to run through the gauntlet into Snapper. Photo: Shelli Bankier

EARLY MORNING SWELL - BURLEIGH HEADS. This is a peak forming further south along the headland. When the swell is big with the right conditions, it's an immaculately carved wall of water, churning along the point. Breathe it in. Photo: Shelli Bankier

OCEAN DAWN - BURLEIGH HEADS. I like the gorgeous barrel lines and how your eye is led out to the possibilities of the next wave. Photo: Shelli Bankier

DAWNING LIGHT - BURLEIGH HEADS. Further south along the headland at Burleigh are lovely long peaks when the swell is really big. It's a soulful place to be at sunrise and puts you right in the present. Photo: Shelli Bankier

CASCADIA - AUSTRALIA. Another in the blur experiment project. I love this one with its ethereal feel and the subtle glow in the lip line. Photo: Shelli Bankier

DOLPHIN FREEDOM - GREAT BARRIER REEF. Another absolute favorite and another happy accident. Shooting a pod of dolphins over the bow of a boat and I left the shutter on slow, which I thought was a mistake until I got the film back and this piece of magic was there. Photo: Shelli Bankier

CONTOURS - AUSTRALIA. Just lines. It's like a held breath the moment before the lip comes down. Photo: Shelli Bankier

ESSENCE - AUSTRALIA. A beautiful curve of ocean blue folds down. Photo: Shelli Bankier

AFTERGLOW - KIRRA, AUSTRALIA. A view from atop Kirra Headland at very late afternoon with a slow shutter speed picks up the golden glow of sunset and the movement of the water. Photo: Shelli Bankier

VELOCITY - BURLEIGH HEADS, AUSTRALIA. Another rare Burleigh moment - this image is the front cover of my book: BlueSphere It sums it up perfectly, really. Photo: Shelli Bankier

THE PERFECT WAVE - TEAHUPOO, TAHITI. What to say about this perfect wave? This empty wave was the wave of the day, jaw dropping and unridden. Photo: Shelli Bankier

SOMEWHERE - AUSTRALIA. A storm wave lit by eerie late afternoon light. One of those lucky moments that just happen. Photo: Shelli Bankier

SILENCE - AUSTRALIA. Under the rhythm of a breaking wave, looking underwater out to sea. Just a moment of silence. Photo: Shelli Bankier

WATERFALL - TEAHUPOO, TAHITI. Like a crystal glass sculpture frozen in time. Shot on film. Photo: Shelli Bankier

CURIOUS KIDS - SECRET SPOT TAHITI. This place is secret on pain of death: a weird wave that appears out of almost nothing, jacks up as the water hits the reef, and then fades away again. Photo: Shelli Bankier

CRESENT - AUSTRALIA. Just a cool viewpoint. Photo: Shelli Bankier

SPLENDOUR - AUSTRALIA. A little photographic trick shot in camera - not altered - adds a little something something to create a 'moving' image. Photo: Shelli Bankier

THE VERGE - SALT BEACH, AUSTRALIA. Another of my new images with blurs. A sunset bleeds its beautiful light into the frame. This image holds silence and serenity. Photo:Shelli Bankier