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High Five | Echo Beach
Introducing a new series by Vissla photographer Jeremiah Klein, highlighting five lineup shots from iconic surf breaks and beaches. First up for the High Five series is Newport Beach, or Echo Beach as they used to call it...
Photo 1
I have such a love hate relationship with Wedge. It can give you the biggest thrills and can also bust your ear drum and keep you out of the water for 6 months. This was a summer swell, just before Hurricane Marie in 2014, which produced some of the best conditions I’ve seen at Wedge. The morning tides were right and the winds were light almost all day. Glassy barrels make me happy.
Photo 2
This was shot earlier this year in May with the first real south swell of the season. From across the harbor it looks like a left point break but we all know that most of the time it’s a hopeless closeout. The illusions of line-ups are why I love shooting them. Images can create such anticipation and give your mind surfing a run for its money.
Photo 3
That is cylinders left just grinding down the shoreline in very shallow water. The explosions of white water really show how powerful and heavy this wave is. It’s always less crowded on that peak and you can see why. The morning light in Newport can make a ratchet grandma smile.
Photo 4
Super Bowl Sunday on a Tuesday… are you kidding me!? The thing that makes wedge so photogenic is the rebounding and refracting of swell which create a “wedge” of water. Remember your first barrel? Now imagine it twice as thick and throwing out twice as far. This is why so many hellmen are drawn to this place…superbowls!
Photo 5
The secret is out, Newport likes hurricanes and Marie changed the game. This was taken from one of the lifeguard towers with a 24mm lens to show that perfect 12 foot tubing waves is a spectator sport. I thought about swimming that day but thinking and doing are two very different things.