The Freak Liquid Mountains Of Lake Erie by Dave Sandford

The Freak Liquid Mountains Of Lake Erie by Dave Sandford

My name is Dave Sandford. I have been a professional photographer for 18 years. Shooting professional sports have paid the bills, but I’ve been the most passionate about anything to do with water. Oceans and lakes beckon me. Since I was a kid, I’ve loved to be on, in or around water. I’m fascinated by the sheer raw power and force of it, captivated by the graceful movement of a wave and mesmerized by light dancing across it.

Recently, I have felt drawn to the lakes that are virtually in the backyard of my hometown of London, Ont., Canada. Specifically, the awe-inspiring Great Lakes. Lake Erie, the 4th largest of the Great Lakes caught my attention for this photographic essay. I chose to focus on Erie at a time of year (mid-October through December) when the Great Lakes can act more like oceans than lakes. With warm sunny beach days behind us, it is some of Autumn’s dark, cold and windy days that transform the Great Lakes into wickedly wild and treacherous bodies of water.

Lake Erie is 388km in length and approximately 92km across. It is also the shallowest of the Great Lakes, with an average depth of 62’ and the maximum depth of 210’. Lake Erie’s name originates from a native tribe who called the lake “Erige” (“cat”) due to the unpredictable and at times dangerously violent nature. Because of the shallowness of the lake, conditions can change dramatically in just a matter of minutes, with fierce waves springing up unexpectedly. Lake Erie’s unpredictable and violent nature has laid claim to some 1800-8000 shipwrecks dating back to the 17th century, most of which have never been found.

Over the last 4 weeks for 2-3 days a week, sometimes 6 hours a day, I did the 45 min drive to Lake Erie. The images here were made using my Canon gear, 1Dx body, 400mm & 70-200mm lenses, protected from the elements by my Aquatech sport’s housing and sport’s shield gear. Shot during the month of November on the North shore of Lake Erie, about 500’-600’ off-shore from a small lakeside community called Port Stanley, Ontario. Daily temperatures ranging from -2 up to 14 degrees celsius, sustained wind speeds of 45-50km/ph, gusting 70-100+ km/ph, the average water temperature of 11 celsius, and wave heights reaching 25’. It is days like these that most people stay away from the lake… It’s days like these, when Erie comes alive, showing it’s true power. These are the days I can’t wait to get to the lake and create images!

More info: davesandfordphotos.com | Facebook | Instagram

The Witch of November

The Freak Liquid Mountains Of Lake Erie by Dave Sandford 02

Eerie Erie

The Freak Liquid Mountains Of Lake Erie by Dave Sandford 03

Lake Erie Monster

The Freak Liquid Mountains Of Lake Erie by Dave Sandford 04

The Phonograph-Songs of the Deep

The Freak Liquid Mountains Of Lake Erie by Dave Sandford 05

November Witch

The Freak Liquid Mountains Of Lake Erie by Dave Sandford 06

November Witch

The Freak Liquid Mountains Of Lake Erie by Dave Sandford 07

Lake of the Cat

The Freak Liquid Mountains Of Lake Erie by Dave Sandford 08

Black Friday

The Freak Liquid Mountains Of Lake Erie by Dave Sandford 09

Creeping Death

The Freak Liquid Mountains Of Lake Erie by Dave Sandford 10

Bane of the Great Lakes

The Freak Liquid Mountains Of Lake Erie by Dave Sandford 11

The Gales of November

The Freak Liquid Mountains Of Lake Erie by Dave Sandford 12

Red Peak

The Freak Liquid Mountains Of Lake Erie by Dave Sandford 13

The Sandstorm

The Freak Liquid Mountains Of Lake Erie by Dave Sandford 14

Two Face

The Freak Liquid Mountains Of Lake Erie by Dave Sandford

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.