Ray Collins sees waves and water in a way that most people don’t. Luckily for us he also captures it with his camera. Collins acquired his first camera in 2007 and seems to have stayed in the water with it ever since, focused on capturing all of the different forms of water. Initially he wanted to take snaps of his surfer friends in his native Australia catching rides and enjoying barrels, but instead was enticed by the blue liquid under their boards.
Collins, who is actually colorblind, is able to focus on the patterns and light play in the waves, and pays special attention to the shapes they make against the sky. His unique perspective shows off the grandness and drama of the seascapes. Normal splashes of water are seen instead as incredible peaks on mountains. The front of a wave turns into a deep canyon which sinks to unseen depths. Collins manages to capture the translucency, strength, fluidity, and the unrelenting force of water all at the same time.
His unique style has won him some hefty accolades in just a few years, including 1st Place for ‘Australian Surf Photo of the Year‘ (2015), he was a finalist in the ‘Smithsonian – Annual Photo Contest’ (2015), and also was the winner for the ‘American Aperture Awards’ – Landscape/Seascape/Nature (2015). He has shot campaigns for Nikon, United Airlines, Qantas and National Geographic, and has a new book out called Found At Sea, which a collection of some of his favorite photographs.
You can also see his daily photos on Instagram.