In fear is focus

What drives someone to capture a moment that perhaps another may never see?

Alex Frings is driven by many things when it comes to photography; he has a desire to capture a better photograph than last; the will in getting THE perfect shot (which most of the time doesn’t happen, which is not encouraging), if anything, it makes Alex want to go out again and perfect his passion.

There is also the excitement that can often takes you out of their comfort zone, putting you into dangerous situations beyond your physical abilities. Floating around in crystal clear water when it’s sunny feels easy to Alex, on days like these the big fish never seem to cross his mind. I know they are there, always, somewhere… but when it’s big, dark and rainy, with murky water and blackened skies, something is always different and unsettling.

“The sweep took me past the crowds at Main Beach and away from my friends and the watching eyes of spectators near The Wreck. I suddenly felt alone, unsafe and a bit scared. My heart rate jumped up. The rip next to The Wreck dragged me out to sea very quickly and I realised once again that the ocean can take over at any point in time. A very humbling feeling. I was wondering if anyone was watching me from the car park whilst drifting past the Boilers and duck diving through a few chunky ones with camera in hand. I said to myself; take a deep breath, calm down, all this means is that you have to go back in somewhere down at Belongil. So I went along for the ride, drifting down past The Wreck…

I started to focus again on what I came out there for in the first place, capturing the raw moment, so putting the fears aside, I happened to capture these images whilst humbled by the ocean on a rather unpleasant day”

To support Alex and his wonderful creativity from behind the lens, swing by his facebook page or his website.

NOTE: Alex also had a near death/drowning experience in Bali a year ago, when he foolishly went out with his camera on a 12ft+ day at Balangan. It was a very important and enlightening day of his life that taught him a lot about himself, respect for the ocean, and value of his own life when attempting to capture the perfect photograph.