“The best way I can describe the water is it’s like a washing machine. It’s not like ocean waves, where you have a nice set that’s rolling in. They are really erratic, they go all over the place, and there is a strongundertow there so it can be a very dangerous place.”

“I’ve had a number of people contact me that used to live by the Great Lakes …. and they said the photos really stirred something inside them because they grew up there and know what the water can be like.”

“I’m hearing from other people that are blown away. They say, ‘This can’t be a lake, it’s got to be an ocean.’ They had no idea that a lake could generate waves of this size and force.

“The wave [in this photo] looks sort of like a mountain. I’ve already had it printed up for my own wall at home. These waves move so fast. It’s insane how fast they form, and then from the time that they form to that nice peak to exploding, it’s a mere second.”

“I really enjoyed that challenge, when I was out there, of getting it when it’s in that almost perfect peak on both sides before it explodes, so it has that look of a mountain or a volcano.”

“There was only one evening where the sun broke through. Most were very overcast days.

“I enjoy the challenge of freezing things in time. Getting them at the right moment -­ at the peak moment.”

He said his sports photography and his waves series share one important characteristic. “In all the things I’ve made my living doing in photography there are no do-over’s no re-dos. You get one shot at it and that’s it, so it really helps you hone your craft.”

“When you’re on a beach you don’t have a studio setting where you can set something or someone up and have multiple opportunities to get it. It’s one and done.”

“No two waves are ever the same -­ you either have it or you don’t.”