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Sunrise from a secret spot on the North Shore. When it is good, often I swim out in the dark and get out of the water five hours later. Photo: Clark Little.
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Backwash wave hits an incoming wave, throwing a glass arch into the sunrise colors. National Geographic used this as a two page spread last summer. The Limited Edition print sold out quickly. Photo: Clark Little.
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Shot while lying down on the dry sand. A second later I am 20 yards up the beach. This picture is the cover of my debut 182-page coffee table book. Photo: Clark Little.
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This is one of the earlier shots taken when I started shooting photography five years ago. It’s taken at sunrise and the yellow and gold curving up the face are reflections off the beach and surrounding mountains. Photo: Clark Little.
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A large North Shore wave makes its way into a shallow sand bank, sucking the sand off of the sea floor into the wave itself. Photo: Clark Little.
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Looking from behind the barrel on an ultra glassy day at Makena Beach, Maui. Photo: Clark Little.
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Waimea Bay shorebreak with the iconic church tower framed in the tube. It all began with surfing this wave. The surfboard morphed into a camera. Photo: Clark Little.
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The water clarity and white sand beaches is why I love shooting on the North Shore. Photo: Clark Little.
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This Hawaiian Green Sea Turtle (Honu in Hawaiian) barely gets under this pitching wave. Notice the bottom of the barrel less than an inch above the shell. The turtles come into shore to eat the seaweed off of the reef, which is where I strategically wait for them. Photo: Clark Little.
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I send this one to my friends on the mainland during winter blizzards, to remind them what they are missing. Photo: Clark Little.
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Backlit during the sunset, the wave turns green. Photo: Clark Little.
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Who says it doesn’t snow on the North Shore? Photo: Clark Little.
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People often mistake this wave for Pipe, which is about ¼ mile away. The colors are different since there is not reef below this wave. Photo: Clark Little.
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Sunrise with a strobe flash lighting up the inside of the tube. This is the top seller on my website. Photo: Clark Little.
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One of my new shots from the Wedge in Newport Beach, California. Photo: Clark Little.
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Where the light from the strobe flash ends, the remnants of the sunset colors fill in. Notice the sand getting pulled into the wave face helping to define the wave. Photo: Clark Little.
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Shot after a historic 30 days of non-stop rain a few years ago. This was the first sunny day, so I jumped into the ocean, which was red from the massive red dirt runoff. Photo: Clark Little.
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I am standing in knee-deep water as this wave heaves up and over. It is so shallow that the sand is getting sucked into the wave. The sun is directly overhead at noon, which lights up the sand. Photo: Clark Little.
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The silhouette of palm trees and a wave frames the setting sun. Photo: Clark Little.
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When a slight breeze hits the wave on ultra glassy mornings, it cuts facets into the wave surface creating a sunrise jewel. Photo: Clark Little.
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This is the view underwater looking at a barrel coming towards shore. A second later it is steamrolling me. This picture was on exhibit at the Smithsonian in Washington DC for six months this year and was awarded the Ocean Photography Award. Photo: Clark Little.
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Looking out of a snow-white barrel filled with foam. Photo: Clark Little.
Clark vs. Goliath. Or Little vs. Big. Whatever you want to call it, you wouldn't catch us where he is.
Clark Little was born in Napa, California in 1968. Two years later, a move to the North Shore of Oahu (Hawaii) dramatically changed his future. In the 80’s and 90’s he made his name as a pioneer of surfing at the Waimea Bay shorebreak. Clark had a unique talent for taking off on hopeless closeout shorebreak waves and surviving in one piece.
In 2007, Clark discovered his ability and passion to capture the extraordinary beauty of the shorebreak when his wife asked him for a picture of the ocean to decorate a bedroom wall. With the confidence of an experienced surfer, Clark jumped in the ocean and started snapping away, recording the beauty and power of Hawaiian waves.
In just five years, Clark has gained worldwide recognition for his North Shore shorebreak wave photography with appearances on television shows including Good Morning America, Inside Edition, The Today Show, and ABC World News Now.
Clark’s work has been exhibited at the Smithsonian Museum, Dow Museum, Science Museum of Virginia, Ritz Carlton Laguna Niguel and published in National Geographic, New York Times, LIFE, Nikon World, Paris Match, Outdoor Japan, Sierra, Geo, Nature’s Best Photography, Rangefinder, Surfer’s Journal among others. Commercial clients include Nike, Nikon, Hewlett-Packard (HP), Anheuser Busch, Lockheed Martin, Verizon, XS Energy Drink among others.
In November 2009, Clark published his 182-page debut art book, The Shorebreak Art of Clark Little. Then in August 2010, Clark opened his first gallery in Laguna Beach, California. A second gallery was opened six months later in January 2011 in his hometown of Haleiwa, Hawaii just down the road from many of the North Shore beaches featured in his photography.
Clark Little’s 2012 calendar can be found for purchase here.
For a chance to win a calendar from Clark Little, post this on your Facebook wall, then send us an email to contribute@theinertia.com letting us know about it. Winners will receive one of Clark Little’s 2012 calendars, full of spectacular shots like the ones above!
