At the end of the Rainbow..

IS A POT OF GOLD..

After years of searching and anticipating, waiting eagerly for that perfect alignment of elements to occur, my brother and I were out on the Jetski, a mere spec amongst one of the largest swells in history. Getting out in the ocean this day was tough, we'd just spent the last half an hour pushing and dragging the Jetski down the stickiest, quicksand beach after a huge tidal surge had pushed us right up into the embankment where we launched. It was a dark, grey and stormy afternoon and we were hopeful for the sun to emerge through a tiny break in the weather that we could see near the horizon. It was the end of a severe week long storm front that had battered the east coast of Australia and the start of one of the largest, cleanest swells to hit the coast in decades. We waited and waited, as the big swell tossed and turned us, the water was a dark mix of rain and river runoff and I was nervous to even stick my toe in! All of a sudden a huge wave reared up out of nowhere, throwing me off and into the murky liquid.. That's the nature of the ocean, things can go south real unexpectedly, and real quick. I scrambled back on, hope running low, then, like the arrival of an army of angels, the soft amber glow began to transform into a brilliant gold, and a bright and colourful rainbow arched over us as the sun illuminated the ocean all around, turning the brown lumps into mountains of pure gold! It was like being in a dream as we screamed and celebrated in the midst of such magic before it disappeared, never to be repeated again.

As the golds turned to red and the pinks swirled into orange, like a dying fire, the embers softened into a peaceful glow and we began to make our way back across the ocean to the safety of dry land, completely content on what we had just experienced. On the way in however, the large breaking waves closer to shore and incoming tide had made a somewhat fortress around the coast while the impending darkness was forcing us to make a decision. Adrift out the back, water black as night, stars beginning to come into sight, we waited and waited for a break in the marching lines. However the waves only seemed to be growing.. "Step on it!!!" I screamed at my brother as we bobbed over a wave to see a dark line feathering before us! Full throttle, we flew towards this line, hoping to push over it before it towered to high! But we were too late, the lip pitched as we collided with the crest..

It felt like a really long time, in fact I had enough time to really think about what was happening while gravity let go and left us suspended in the air. Hang time. Both of us became disconnected from the craft, then in turn I became disconnected from my brother. The three components that created our safety vessel, completely dispersed in the air. Then gravity grabbed us, and hurtled us back to earth, back towards the blackness it had become. I landed on the corner of the jetski on my back with an incredible thud, Bryce continued to land on top of me and we both rolled into the water. Now, we literally only had a couple of seconds to climb back on the ski, insert the lanyard, ignite the motors and get the heck out of there before the next wave hit us and caused even more turmoil! Bryce was incredibly efficient in checking off the aforementioned list, myself on the other hand managed to only just clutch the back of the jetski and hang on as we fled to safety, my body rag dolling behind the ski through the dark waters. Spontaneity can make or break you in moments like this, as I climbed back up on the vessel, we followed the very next wave in, riding on it's back until it collapsed onto the cold, sandy shore. 

Our feet were back on the ground, adrenalin began to settle back to standby mode and I had a card full of once in a lifetime gold. We made it to the end of the Rainbow and back again..

This is a short account of the energy we invest into Thurston Photo. The all new "Waves Of Gold" Collection is a preciously selected 6 moments that occurred in that short historical moment of time. They are available as a Limited Edition print at 24"x36" (61x90cm) with only 10 of each being made available worldwide. Our email list had first preference over the weekend, and numbers are dwindling.. Get the full set while available.

GEAR USED

The weapons I took with me on this journey was a Canon 7D Mark II and the Canon EF 50mm f/1.2 encased in the Aquatech Elite 7D2 housing. I'd go to war with this setup.

Thanks for reading, investing into my art and sharing this journey with me!

-PT.

"Gold Vein" | Limited Edition Fine Art Print.

"Enraged" | Limited Edition Fine Art Print

"Heart Of Gold" | Limited Edition Fine Art Print.

"Golden Eagle" | Limited Edition Fine Art Print.

It would be a crime to send you away empty handed now wouldn't it.. So here you go: Click below to download a free iPhone or Android screensaver to refresh yourself after such a read!