Sea Waves

This actuality from Edison purports to show the waves breaking over the superstructure of a pier at Long Branch New Jersey. I have no reason to doubt it, but given the poor condition of the copy I looked at and the general mistiness of the environment, it's impossible to be certain.

Motion pictures of breaking waves are among the earliest of 'genres' of movies; in fact, there are examples of them from the time before Edison exhibited his first film show, or the Lumieres theirs. If you want an example of motion in nature, you could hardly do better: find a tidal pool, set up your camera, and wait for the dramatic, powerful movement.