Michael Reid Gallery in Sydney is currently showing “Maelstrom”, an exhibition of photographs by professional photographer and creative director, Luke Shadbolt. As a part of the Head On Photo Festival of Sydney, this showcase includes Shadbolt’s explosive photographs capturing raw oceanic force.
Luke Shadbolt grew up by the ocean on Australia’s Central Coast and quickly worked his way from being a graphic designer and creative director for some of Australia’s largest surf brands, to becoming an award winning water photographer. “Maelstrom” includes a collection on photographs which document the duality of nature; creation and destruction, beauty and chaos in a single act.
The photographs were taken over a period of 6 months throughout the Pacific, during the particularly volatile El Nino season of 2016. After a year of planning and in the midst of so much swell activity, mist and ocean spray, he captured images showing the raw strength of the ocean. When a wide array of environmental factors aligned all of a sudden, the result is awe inspiring moments of water in its primal ferocity.
With his work, the photographer encourages the viewer to reflect upon our own naivety and place as a species within the greater natural balance of power. The light, the angle, the textures and nature’s unpredictable compositions all come together in these images that show exceptional moments of natural activity, fundamental to the functioning of our planet and oceans.
Photographer 
Pennsylvania based photographer 