Not so liquid storm...

"Liquid Storm", what does this name mean to me? I chose this name after the countless storms that are created during the north Atlantic winters. Storms so vicious that since bouy data has been recorded open ocean swells have been recorded to have hit over the 60ft range.

Liquid Storm stands for exactly that, storms at sea and bigger the better. Since I left Ireland I haven't exactly lived up to my reputaion of shooting big surf in any conditions, more so the freezing cold raw conditions that I grew to love and could hardly wait during the flatness of summer for Autumn and Winter to swing around.

 A lot of people who don't surf don't understand the passion of it all, how you become so engrossed in a storm, a particular reef to fire that nothing else seems to matter. Your heart starts to race at the first sign of it on the weather maps, sure there a plenty of times when the storm comes to nothing but that makes it all the more special when all the elements come together-wind, water and slab.
 
 I remember shooting Dave's barrel at Mullaghmore that day when everythng came together. The hooting from Paul and Barry as they watched with awe. Mikee hooting all the way from picking dave up till when they came to the boat, and Dave's grin, wow Dave's grin said it all. I showed him the sequence and we couldn't stop giving each other high fives and hooting like mad men. This is what Liquid storm stands for, but...

...at the moment my life has taken a bit of a change, not in what I want but what actually has to temporary happen until Ireland picks back up and there's work going on there again. It's been a year now since I got back to NZ, so at the moment I'm driving a brand new 280 ton crane in shake city(15 earthquakes since i got back 24hrs ago from Xmas break!). My life at the moment is work driven as we work 7 days a week, althou I did get 2 weeks off over Xmas to chill out.

   So for a while longer I won't be living up to my Liquid Storm name, I apologise to all that follow what I do but mark my words I will be amongst it all again in the future in bigger and gnarlier surf. My passion and vision will never go away and will never change. I want to photograph big heaving barrels and I want to photograph the 100ft wave first hand, it's out there and it's definately rideable.
slàinte

Here's a couple of shots from shake city and some waves I saw on my time off.

My 280 ton crane

Homes torn apart by the earthquake

Here's the cliff the house in the previous photo fell down!