This photography portfolio presents a series of 16 images exploring the unique visual and cultural landscape of wave pools. As artificial simulations of oceanic power, wave pools sit at the intersection of nature and technology, engineered environments where water is manipulated to mimic the fluid unpredictability of the sea.
Surfing, once a simple, almost mystical pursuit practised by ancient Polynesians, has transformed over the centuries into one of the world’s most popular and commercially successful sports. Today, surfing is no longer just a pastime associated with beach communities; it has become a global sport, integrated into mainstream culture, a professional endeavour, and even an Olympic event. The way surfing has evolved to meet the demands of modern day athletes and enthusiasts is not only a testament to the sport’s resilience and adaptability but also reflects broader trends in sports development, media consumption, and global consumerism.
Within ‘Synthetic Swells’, the focus lingers on the overlooked, the subtle mechanics, textures, and rituals that form the anatomy of a wave pool session. In this engineered environment, it’s the finer details that tell the deeper story: the hum of hydraulics beneath the surface, the repetition of perfectly timed pulses, the way light moves across a still body of water moments before it’s stirred to life.
Wave pools; the kind surfers actually line up to ride, are a relatively new addition to the surfing landscape. And with them come new considerations, water usage, energy draw and land footprint. These aren’t concerns the ocean ever raised.
But this is the trade off when chasing perfect, repeatable surf far from the coast. ‘Synthetic Swells’ takes a closer look at the facilities trying to do it differently. Designing for sustainability, not just spectacle. The question isn’t whether wave pools belong, but whether they can evolve with the same respect we’ve long given the sea.
By replicating the power and form of ocean waves in controlled environments, wave pools offer a compelling alternative to coastal surfing. As coastal ecosystems face increasing pressure from overuse, pollution, and climate change, artificial wave systems have emerged as a potential solution, relieving strain on natural surf breaks and allowing for safer, more sustainable access to waves.
The images in this series come from that very space of tension and transformation; where heritage meets modernity, and the essence of wave riding is reimagined by pumps, contoured bottoms, and precision engineering. Still new, still strange, wave pools remain largely undocumented in the photographic record of the sport. That absence became the spark for this project. Not a celebration, nor a critique, but a document a study of what happens when an ancient ocean born craft begins to evolve to meet the demands of a modern, global sport.
