Surf photographer Clark Little's pictures of the insides of waves as they break

Underwater picture of a wave breaking and coming towards Clark. The beach is behind the photographer. The wave tube is full of air and spinning and causing air and water to create the unusual tornado-like swirls. This photo won the 2010 Oceans Photography Award at the Nature's Best Photography: Windland Smith Rice International Awards. The picture will be exhibited at the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History in Washington DC from April 16 - September 25, 2011.

Photographer Clark Little, known for his beautiful pictures captured inside breaking waves, has celebrated his recognition in a prestigious competition by releasing new photos. Clark, 43, was awarded the 2010 Oceans Photography Award at the Smithsonian Museum in Washington DC for his underwater picture of a surf tube entitled 'Twister'.

Photographer Clark Little takes pictures of huge waves on the North Shore of Oahu, Hawaii

Clark has gained national and international recognition for his colourful photographs. He started photographing waves when his wife asked him take a picture to decorate a bedroom wall.

Using a strobe flash in the early morning hours, Clark Little captures the moments before the sun rises from within the hollow confines of a breaking wave in Oahu

"Sunrise is my favourite time to shoot since the wind tends to be calm and nobody is around," said Clark. "I swim out in the dark 15 minutes before the first hint of light and start taking pictures. Seeing colours fill in what used to be pitch black is an incredible feeling I never get tired of.

An endangered Green Sea Turtle swims close to Clark's lens while keeping one eye on the proximity of the breaking waves

He also enjoys photographing the green turtle, an endangered species, in its home environment. "I catch the turtles in the surf when the waves are not so high," explained Clark. "They swim in an area known as Waimea Bay and even though it is where some of the largest waves in the world break, on quiet days it is called 'Waimea Lake' by some. The turtles swim there because it can be some of the calmest water around the island of Oahu."

A wave breaking on the beach at night is captured with a strobe flash and quick reflexes

Lying on the ocean floor in Oahu, Hawaii, Clark Little points his camera upward and captures an unusual perspective of a wave as it rolls over him, creating tornado-like spirals

An endangered HIan Green Sea Turtle swims in Oahu

An endangered Green Sea Turtle swims in Oahu

A large wave throws itself out three times as far its height in Oahu, Hawaii. The sand getting sucked up into the wave off of the sea floor is an indication of how shallow it is.

An endangered Green Sea Turtle swims on the surface of the water

A large, backlit wave throws out a crest as it approaches the shore in Oahu, Hawaii. The foam seen on the water surface is left over from the explosion of the previous wave breaking.

An endangered HIan Green Sea Turtle dives through a breaking wave at the perfect moment to avoid getting dragged across the reef in Oahu, Hawaii.

An endangered Green Sea Turtle dives through a breaking wave at the perfect moment to avoid getting dragged across the reef in Oahu

Shot underwater and from behind a breaking wave, a beach on the island of Maui is seen through the transparent wave, attesting to the water clarity in the island of Maui