Night Surf Merewether Ocean Baths 3454 Ed. 1 of 2

Night Surf is a series of 6x17 format panorama images I made at Merewether Ocean Baths. It was a winter night when high surf surged over the rock shelf and across the pool. The artificial glow of poolside lighting blended with the natural world in an iridescent dance of exploding waves.

My years on this earth, filled with triumphs and tribulations, have shaped not only who I am but also my perspective as a photographer. A life experience of good and bad, yin and yang, light and dark, shapes how I react, anticipate, and appreciate.
This experience protects me. Sometimes, too much.
As I grow older, facing the finite nature of the future, it is tempting to shy away from new experiences - to label them as risks. But these 'risks' are rarely perilous. Most often, they are simply uncomfortable, and it's in these discomforts that we find our most significant growth.
Comfort stifles creativity. The comfort of 'pretty' pictures makes me uncomfortable. Amazing sunrises, postcard landscapes, software exaggerated light and texture - the sameness of photography on Instagram. I imagine pictures that challenge my creative comfort thresholds.
I like to capture many moments in a single frame, to hold the fragments of what I see and experience for longer. The result is a picture that compresses my observations in a mix of motion and emotion. And, in this series, light and dark. With the pretensions of a timelord, I witness familiar places differently whenever I open the lens.

The hand-crafted, Australian-made frame is in the shadowbox style, where the work is set back from the museum-grade plexiglass for a very modern gallery look. The timber moulding is made from locally sourced, sustainable Victorian Ash. The timber is milled, hand-sanded, and painted.

Follow

'My first attraction to photography was through the pages of 1970’s surf magazines. Inspired, I saved for a Pentax and a cheap 400mm lens, then began photographing my friends surfing. I was full of teenage ambition to see my pictures on a magazine’s page. After a week of waiting, the Kodachromes would come back from processing. I would project the best on my bedroom wall, imagining them as magazine covers with mastheads and headlines. During the mid-'70s and '80, there was some limited publishing success. But even more fun and adventure travelling to various surf locations worldwide. Travel opened my photographic soul - it encouraged me to understand my craft better. I discovered (and devoured) the images and teachings of Ansel Adams. Practical instruction came via many workshops conducted by contemporary masters of photography. I was also very fortunate to receive mentoring from iconic Australian photographer David Moore. This mix of 'on-page' and in-person tuition taught me to photograph with precise techniques and greater reflection. I would make photographs for many years using only large and medium format cameras. Later, I settled into a professional photography career in Newcastle, Australia. I was a busy pro, commissioned by local, national, and international clients. All the while, though, I made pictures for myself. Everyone needs a hobby as a break from everyday work, and mine was photography - despite my day job. In 2006, I almost permanently lost my sight after eye surgery. It took several years for my eyes to recover and longer to come to terms with the associated depression. The recovery period gave me more time for my ‘hobby’. I used it to express how that smeared vision filtered the world in the months immediately after the surgery. I was drawn to disguising scenes and details with blur and motion.’
COVID and travel restrictions brought forward his planned retirement from Corporate Photography. He now devotes more time to his personal work while working part-time as a Creative for Apple.
Paul’s work can be found on Instagram ( @lightmoods )