A few days ago I was thinking about Billy Connolly’s sketch of the North Sea. For those of you who don’t know: Billy Connolly is a very funny Scottisch Comedian who can talk about anything anytime. But I remembered him talking about the North Sea, particularly about how we don’t belong in there. At the end of his sketch talking about British family holidays at the North Sea he wonders when are we going to take the hint that we are not welcome in there. Anyway, google it if you want, it’s very funny. But I remembered this sketch only later last week. Because early in the week, I felt quite the opposite 🙂 .

We are in a transition period from summer to fall, with some interesting weather. Last Tuesday I decided to go to the beach in Kijkduin to photograph waves (of the North Sea), as the wind was quite strong and the sky seemed to be filled with characterful clouds. I usually wear sandals (in Summer) or boots (during the winter) so I can get my feet wet and find a more interesting perspective, but last Tuesday I decided to go just that bit further. The air was still a mild 18 degC warm, and I decided to put on my bathing suit so I could get even closer to the rolling waves. I took my Nikonos underwater camera, that can definitely take a few splashes of water, and off I went.

And it was gorgeous. The light was beautiful, the water not too cold, the waves interesting, but with some separation making it easy to create great compositions, etc. But this could also be my mind making it nicer looking back, as there is no reality check from the photos. Because after almost shooting an entire roll, I was hit by a large powerful wave, who knocked me over. I can’t remember exactly what happened, as it all went by very fast, but the next thing I know is that I am with my head under water, feeling my glasses slide from my face, and my Nikonos drifting from my body. I tried to grab them, but the flow was too strong, and in a few seconds I lost them both. Glasses gone, Nikonos gone, film roll with beautiful photos (the photos you lose are always beautiful!) gone…

So that’s what made me think of Billy Connolly asking when do we finally get it? Anyway, I went back to the same beach the next day. The wind was even stronger, the light a bit less pleasant, but a at least there were plenty of clouds giving texture to the sky. I took my M2, so this time I had to keep a safe distance from the waves, but I did get my feet wet just a little bit. I shot Adox Silvermax, hope you like the results 🙂 .

The film was developed in Ilfosol 3 and scanned on my Epson V800 scanner.

Thanks for reading!