Today's edition of Box of Light is our 400th! Crikey. That's about 5200 images we've sent you from a pool of around 520,000 we've shot over the years. We hate to admit it, but most of those pictures have been rubbish and relegated to file 13. Only the ones we're the most happy with get through and then only a small percentage make it into the gallery. Throughout that time the ones we liked and the ones we didn't like has changed. Our style has evolved constantly and we've gone down the rabbithole chasing a certain look more than once.
I never thought I'd spend so much time trying to capture the perfect blurry image, but some of our most successful ones, in terms of sales through the gallery, have been exactly that. I'm still chasing a couple I have in my head – so more blurry photos on their way.
There are a couple of photos we hope to nail within the next 400 editions. The first is a shot of a sea lion swimming in the wall of a big crystal clear wave – I've seen it happen at the Cove and at St Kilda many times when I have been surfing, but am yet to witness it while I have my camera. It's 50 percent luck and 50 percent opportunism. I'll be ready.
The second shot is to capture a clean south swell pouring into Second Beach near St Clair in the last rays of the day at the height of summer. The light penetrates the water between the cliff and the rock take-off and illuminates the wave just right. I've seen it once while surfing, but still haven't nailed it. There's just a two-week window each year to get it. When those stars align I'll be there.
Hopefully, in pursuit of those and others we'll stumble across some fresh new angles, filled with feeling, to bring to your inbox each Tuesday.
Thanks for being a part of our journey.
See you at the beach ... Derek
PS The Rip Curl Pro in Raglan made history this past weekend by being the first New Zealand surf event to be run through the TAB. Yep, you could bet on your favourite horses. If you had a wager on Billy Stairmand in the men's and Raiha Ensor in the women's then the next round is on you.
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