Surf photography has so many options these days. Blue water and clear skies are the typical go-to. Sometimes, however, I like to play around with the finishes to share more of a mood that the day presents. For instance,

Let’s take a look at a session from Ocean Beach last week. The swell was quite good and the before school/work crew was doing there thing in the water. Yet, OB has a certain gritty vibe to it. The parking lot has an interesting crew hanging out and there are always plenty of dudes stuck in the 80’s along the beach. The surfers are a mix of up-and-coming groms and older watermen and waterwomen who claim their spot just north of the pier as if it were their own. So, when shooting OB, I like to tell a story.

There is a vastness to the concrete pier. A nice channel runs out past the pilings to the lineup and from there surfers like to swing out north of the pier for a peaky wave that offers both lefts and rights or they paddle south to catch a left that runs through the pier when there is a decent swell (above).

There is at once a largeness to the ocean and a singular familiarity where the wave is going to peak, break or open up. Each individual on a board has their own level of intimacy with their surroundings. Some are content to go straight in the shade of the old pier. Others seek an open section to hack and throw a bucket or two of water. This is the beauty of surfing: there are no lanes, no rules to what you can accomplish, and no greater feeling than the power you are generating against the raw power of the waves. Yes, it can be lonely. Yet a picture of that exact moment of feeling preserves and allows one to share. And for this story, I like to remove the blues and greens and let the surfing and the old pier do the talking.