Night Surf — Merewether Ocean Baths | Paul Foley
Night Surf is a series of ten 6 × 17 panoramic format photographs by Newcastle-based Australian photographer Paul Foley, made at Merewether Ocean Baths on a winter night of high surf.
‘Waves surging over the rock shelf and across the ocean pool were illuminated by the artificial glow of the poolside lighting. Using extended exposures, I allowed successive moments of movement to accumulate within each frame rather than freezing a single instant.
The resulting photographs reduce the familiar ocean to elemental forms: darkness, a luminous horizon and the shifting trace of water. Breaking waves become mist, gestures and softly drawn lines. Although firmly rooted in the Newcastle coastline, the photographs move between seascape, minimalism and abstraction.
I like to capture many moments in a single frame—to hold the fragments of what I see and experience for longer. In Night Surf, those fragments become a mix of motion and emotion, light and dark.’
The Night Surf Master Prints Edition is limited to two archival prints of each photograph. Read more below…
The Idea Behind Night Surf
The Night Surf photographs began with an interest in the way artificial light changes our perception of the natural landscape.
At night, Merewether Ocean Baths becomes something quite different from the familiar daytime swimming pool. The illuminated water contrasts with the darkness of the surrounding coastline, while long exposures record the movement of the surf over several seconds.
Rather than attempting to freeze the waves, Paul uses exposure time to allow the water to become an element of the composition. Individual waves lose their conventional form and become lines, textures and flowing shapes.
The result is a series of photographs in which a recognisable Newcastle location becomes an abstract landscape.
Newcastle and Merewether Ocean Baths
Merewether Ocean Baths is one of Newcastle's most distinctive coastal landmarks and an important location within Paul Foley's photographic practice. The Night Surf series forms part of a broader body of work exploring Newcastle's ocean pools, coastline and relationship with the Pacific Ocean.
Other photographic work by Paul Foley explores Newcastle Beach, Dixon Park, the surrounding coastline and other Australian coastal environments.
The 6 × 17 Panoramic Format
The wide panoramic format is an important part of the Night Surf series. The 6 × 17 proportion allows the photographs to encompass the broad horizontal movement of the coastline while retaining the vertical energy of the breaking waves. The format also creates a cinematic quality that reinforces the relationship between darkness, artificial light and the expansive ocean.
Limited-Edition Fine Art Prints
Night Surf photographs are produced as limited-edition fine art photographic prints. This Edition is restricted to two numbered prints per image. Each photograph is printed using archival fine art materials, signed by Paul Foley and supplied with a Certificate of Authenticity.
Paul Foley is an Australian fine art and landscape photographer based in Newcastle, New South Wales. He has more than 50 years of photographic experience, including a 35-year career as a professional commercial photographer.
His current practice encompasses landscape, seascape, abstract, long-exposure and human-form photography. His work has been recognised in national and international photography competitions and exhibited in Australia and overseas.