Feb 11th, 2016: Liquid Mountains

[xoxoxoBruce]

Of the five Great Lakes, who's total surface area is about the same as the land area of the UK, the next to the smallest is lake Erie.
Erie is the 11th largest in the world by surface area, at 9910 sq miles(25,700 sq kilometers). The big difference in Erie is it's shallow,
with an average depth of only 62 ft (19 m) and the maximum depth is only 210 ft (64 m), which also makes it violent, claiming at
least 1400 and possibly 8,000 ships.



Now on the other side of Erie is home to the Canucks, nice people mostly, but like any country there's a few who are nuts.
One in particular, David Sanborn, is really, really, bonkers.
Why do you say that?
He took these pictures.
Well, taking pictures doesn't make him bonkers.

Around this time of the year the lake is at its most violent. The wind lashes at 50 km per hour and temperature plunges below zero. On days like these when most people avoid the lake, Sandford drives out to the lake’s shore before sunrise, gets into a wetsuit and wades out into the surf with his photographic gear. If the waves become too rough, he retreats to the shore and shoots with a long lens.

link
I rest my case. (looking all smug and shit)



Sanford makes a living as a sports photographer, so of course he gets into risky situations once in awhile.

He keeps an eye out for the weather conditions that come together to create the incredible wave formations he captures. Those weather conditions usually coincide with 65 mph winds that send the water of Erie 25 to 35 feet into the air. And that’s when Sandford heads to the shores of Erie with his 400mm and 70-200mm lenses, sometimes shooting for six hours at a time in air as cold as -2 to 14 degrees Celsius. His dedication and passion have paid off with incredible, surreal images of the roiling waters that Sandford calls “liquid mountains.”

link
Wading in a wet suit? Bonkers!