Breathtaking Photos of Waves Frozen in Time by Pierre Carreau

Pierre Carreau

“The physical realm of our existence, of the world around us, can be turned to artistic purposes in an endless variety of ways.”

– Pierre Carreau

I have a fascination and appreciation for the ocean. French photographer Pierre Carreau shares that same fascination. In his series titled “AquaViva,” Carreau captures breathtaking photos of ocean waves frozen in mid-break using a series of high-speed cameras, creating “liquid sculptures” of nature’s powerful forces. Carreau states,“I like the fact that this energy comes from far away to be revealed on our beaches.”

In his artist statement, Carreau says:

“Water is amazing. Basically it has no color, but through reflection and refraction it can possess all of them, the entire spectrum of light…Consider that nature presents to us this vibrant energy daily wherever the ocean meets the shore. We are incapable of capturing these fleeting masterpieces with our own eyes, however, for the movement is too swift, and the tumultuous action of the waves too distracting in its kinetic form.”

“This simultaneous depiction of roiling movement and suspended kinetic energy parallels the dual nature of the oceans and of water itself: life-giving and yet dangerous, inviting and yet fearsome, primordial and yet ever-changing and always renewed.”