Transformation

What I like about this shot by Clark Little, a photographer who gained notoriety for his images of the Hawaiian surf, is that it does what Georgia O’Keefe did for skulls and flowers. He transforms a mere compound, that being water (actually, a ubiquitous chemical substance and I had to look this up because as far as I knew, water was an element) ——— where was I? : )

In this particular image, Clark Little turned a mere compound — a wave — into a Man-o-war, a conch-shell, an orb, a piece of blown glass. Whether it’s something to study or hold or ride, it’s painterly and with impact.