Photographer Jonathan Nimerfroh found himself looking at a Slurpee-filled ocean. The Atlantic Ocean’s waters appeared like that because of the exceptionally low temperatures that caused them to freeze. Every year, lakes ice, but freezing seas is an uncommon occurrence.
The photographer/surfer/ocean enthusiast went out to capture the magnificence of this once-in-a-lifetime occurrence. The partially-frozen waves swirled and crashed against the coast, appearing to be formed of something thicker than water. “The wind was roaring from the southwest, which would normally generate difficult or choppy conditions, not very excellent for surfing,” Jonathan says. However, because the sea’s surface was frozen slush, the wind had little effect on the form. They were the ideal slush waves.” The images below depict this strange occurrence.
They were a strange, thick consistency.
His photo series “Slurpee Waves” is breathtaking.
The unusual look of the waves comes from the shifts in the water and air temperature.
When he took these photos, the temperature in Nantucket was 19°F.
In “Stay Wild Magazine,” he talked about the day he took the photos: “Just been super cold here. The harbor to the mainland is frozen solid … The day after I took these it actually froze up the shoreline for 200 yards out.”
Jonathan is “obsessed with the ocean,” and, in addition to his sea-centric photography, is an avid surfer.
Check out this video to see the Slurpee waves in action:
