Facing the Storm: How Ocean Photography Helped Me Transform Fear into Joy

I’m a photographer, traveler, and sailor. I’ve crossed oceans. Been out there when the waves get high, the wind goes wild, and our boat moves fast, carried by wind and waves. Honestly? At first, it freaked me out. It was loud. Wet. Messy. Way too much sometimes.

That’s actually how my ocean photography started — as a way to calm myself down. When the sea got rough, I needed something to focus on. So I grabbed my camera. And it helped! As soon as I started taking pictures, I felt better. I wasn’t frozen in fear anymore. I was watching and I was in awe! And I remember shouting: “Show me more! Come on, wave — be bigger, brighter, wilder!” I was cheering the sea on, as if we were in it together. This thing that used to scare me became something I wanted to explore. And I wanted more of it. The waves, the movement, the light — I couldn’t stop looking.

My photos show the ocean as I see it out there — far from land. Not those soft, sleepy waves at the beach. Not the ones that come to die in a beautiful farewell dance. I mean, those are nice too.

But the waves I see? They play freely in the vast expanse of the ocean -  wild, strong, alive.

Each photo I take captures a real moment at sea. One real, messy, powerful moment. You don’t stage this stuff — you catch it if you’re lucky.

Over time, I started to notice something else. These photos — they don’t just look good. They do something. People pause. They stare. They breathe. Deeper. It’s not just the blue colors (though they definitely help). It’s the shapes. Waves have natural, flowing shapes — soft, organic and easy on the eyes. Psychologists have studied this — we relax when we see organic, balanced forms. We like soft curves. Repeated patterns. Things that don’t shout. They speak to some old, quiet part of us. Even if we don’t have words for it — we feel it.

So yes. I started photographing the ocean just to deal with my fears. But now they’ve become something much bigger. These photos calm me down. They help me feel present. And I’ve seen them work for others too. Sometimes, someone just stops in front of one. And you can almost see it — the little exhale. That’s when I smile and think — okay, that’s enough.

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Note to designers and collectors:Some of these images live in homes, some in wellness studios, some in quiet corners of hotels. And the calm they bring? It’s not random. It comes from a mix of color psychology and soft, flowing, organic forms. Not just visual beauty — but something you can feel, even when you don’t know why.

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I’m Tali — an ocean photographer, visual storyteller, and the artist behind Maison TALI.

This piece is part of my slow art journal: a place where I write about silence, texture, waves, and what it means to be fully alive.

Thanks for reading. I’m so glad you’re here.