I’m going to give this one an emphatic YES! While I take a lot of shots of surfer’s doing their thing, I always have my eye open for a potential image that would complement a room. It might be subtle colors, shapes or details that catch my eye, but…

…but those are the components of an epic image worth hanging. The top image was taken when looking north from a spot I was shooting at in La Jolla. There was just a brief moment when the clouds parted and the sun struck the shoreline break revealing these amazingly subtle colors.

Or how about “Dugouts?” I was shooting a crew of surfers on an island in Panama when the morning haze was still lingering around. The surf action was behind me in this picture and between sets, I spun my camera around to this little point sticking out into the edge of a small bay. The colors and composition drew my attention and I didn’t even realize those were hand-strewn dugouts on the beach until I edited images after the trip. (Granted, I was about a 1/4 mile away from the point in this shot with 700mm of glass).

“Big Blue” was snapped on a fun day right down the street from me. We were in the water early in the morning and, believe it or not, this is looking straight into the sun. Fortunately, the clouds made this possible. I made the shot when I was lining up to get in position to shoot a surfer on the very next wave. Couldn’t resist clicking on this one though! 

So, while I shoot surfers for their use (social media, sponsors, and sometimes wall prints), I always have my eye open for potential wall art that can be enjoyed by everyone. To explore more, please visit my gallery at www.DerekEmgePhotography.com