Image Focus

On 24 March 2022, a Calima hit southern Spain. Visibility was poor; the sky turned a vivid orange, and moisture was sucked out of the air, turning it dry and stifling. It became harder to breathe, and everything was covered in a layer of dust.

Calima is the Spanish term used to describe the dusty winds that arrive in southern Spain from North Africa. The vast sand clouds pick up dust and sand from the 9.2-million-kilometre Sahara Desert, blowing over Spanish territory. This can last up to several days.

For surfers, the winds bring with them impressive waves to southern beaches. The local surfers were, naturally, quick to show up and take to the water and of course I was there to capture the action against the spectacular amber sky.

I set my Alpha 7 IV to aperture priority, ISO auto, and flicked the continuous AF mode to Zone. I was confident that the A7 IV and the new FE 70-200mm f/2.8 GM II lens would be able to track the surfer accurately and keep the subject sharp in all my shots – and how right I was.

I shot from the beach, with the 200mm end of the zoom lens enabling me to keep the surfer large enough in the frame, all while capturing the incredible orange backdrop. The speed of focusing gave me complete confidence while shooting that morning. My only fear was whether I could reproduce the colour of the surreal atmosphere that was visible in the sky.

I followed this one surfer right from the beginning of his attempt to ride this wave. With the 10fps continuous shooting rate of the Sony Alpha 7 IV, I was able to take 19 images in just a few seconds – incredible! Each and every one of these shots was in focus too. From the beginning when he caught the wave, to the very moment he flew over the wave and off his surfboard. It is one of my favourite images of the entire collection I shot.

Believe it or not, the colour you see is not the result of manipulation; simply a sandstorm, a Calima, caused this spectacular orange tone and my earlier fears around reproducing the colour has quickly disappeared. The Alpha 7 IV had captured the orange hues perfectly with complete ease.

After getting this shot, I immediately switched to photographing the next surfers in line to ride the next wave, but I just knew I had already taken what was going to be my favourite shot of the day, and I was content with that feeling. I felt that I had taken what would be an important picture for me. I was excitedly showing the other surfers and onlookers on the beach and couldn’t wait to get home to look at the shot on a larger screen.

I didn’t even have a chance to go in the water that day, but it was okay, I had captured an image that would stay with me a lifetime.