It took Clifford Ross a few years of photographing hurricanes and being dissatisfied with the results before he realized that the central drama was in the ocean. And that if he wanted to capture it, he’d have to get in it. “There’s an apocryphal tale that Turner lashed himself to a ship’s mast” says Ross describing the 19th century painter’s desire to depict stormy seas.
The artist, a New York City native, first became interested in photographing hurricanes in the mid-’90s, he thought he’d be chasing them all over the world. Until he realized he could just stay put on Georgica Beach, a few miles from his Long Island home. “I sit like a fisherman and wait,” says Ross who lenses eight to 12 storms per year. He doesn’t use waterproof cameras, “I don’t want anything between me and the wave,” says Ross. Despite photographing in water anywhere from his ankles to his neck, “the camera and I have both survived,” says Ross. “Its like dancers who say they leave their body during a performance. I’m so riveted by what I see, and trying to stay upright, I don’t feel any fear.”
photography
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