I have spent years photographing surfers and surfing events. My goal is often to capture critical moves on the wave, body language that speaks to the difficulty of the sport and facial expressions that hint at the ultimate joy of surfing. Yet these are typically solo representations as surfing is primarily an individual sport. That is, until you watch adaptive surfing…
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Every spring, a convoy of trucks towing trailers filled with state of the art shells and long oars descend on Mission Bay. Then come the busses filled with athletes from schools all across the nation. Finally, SUVs and minivans pull into the parking lots, disgorging excited parents wearing all forms of college attire. That’s when we know it is time for the annual San Diego Crew Classic.
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Standing still and silent, the Coronado Bridge traverses the bay in a graceful curve, carrying workers and visitors back and forth to downtown. It is relatively new (1969), but an icon that represents San Diego as much as Balboa Park.
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While many photographers set out looking for the big landscape image, I find myself more drawn to the details. That’s right, I have a passion for patterns and color. Perhaps its because there is no shortage of variation and surprise in what nature shows us. Seeing these patterns requires one to simply slow down and look more critically at our surroundings. We have a natural ability to process thousands of details when we look out the window. But what happens when we break these down into individual elements? Magic!!
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Remember those trips to the beach when you were just a little kid? You would walk along the shoreline with your little green bucket swinging from your hand as you scanned the sand for a beautiful shell to add to your sandy collection. Maybe it was a whole sand dollar, or perhaps a jewel toned shard of shell. Everything was a treasure. You would bring them home, hose them off, and line them up on the warm bricks to dry. What is is about collecting seashells that is timeless?
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Don’t point your camera at the sun; Don’t use a long lens on scenic shots; Don’t shoot backlit objects. Well…all good advice. What happens, however, when you don’t follow the rules?
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I posted before about my fascination with our Brown Pelicans and got so many great comments and questions, I thought I would share the story behind this image I call “The Dive.”
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There is a patch of old So Cal coast where time is forgotten and development was left behind. It is raw; it is natural; it is called the Tijuana Sloughs. It also happens to be a great place to spend a day with your camera.
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The ocean is relaxing and soothing, right? Not always! Sometimes the ocean roars with anger and power as we recently witnessed this January. When she fully awakens, it is a thing of beauty and its time to shoot! And boy did January deliver with a set of gorgeous images.
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I am drawn toward images on people’s walls that evoke an emotion; especially positive ones. So when I go out to shoot, I am always keeping an eye out for the opportunity to capture a single moment that communicates my feelings at that time.
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We all did it growing up. We all know the thrill of feeling the wave gathering strength and propelling you down the face. But there is a subset of bodyboarders who have taken that experience to a much higher level. I set out last week to see if I could capture some of the action and here is what I discovered:
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Remember when photos were something you got in packs of 12 or 24 from the drive up Kodak Fotomat? Your options consisted of rounded corners or normal corners. If you had a really special image, you could go to the local photography shop for a paper enlargement made in their darkroom. Oh how far we’ve come from those days. Today, the options are incredible…
Continue readingWhat an amazing run of swell we have enjoyed here in Southern California. Pundits call it a once in 50 years kind of swell. I call it “busy time.” As a surf photographer, the opportunities have been broad and the toughest part has been choosing where to shoot every morning.
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Every image has a story behind it and “The Scavenger” is no exception. I absolutely love this little image as much as for the symmetry as the moment in time. Here’s the story….
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With tens of thousands of surfing images stored on my hard drives, I realized that I have an incredible source of material to play around with (notice I didn’t say “work”). Photoshop opens the door to a wealth of approaches to making whimsical, wacky, or cool images from your surf photography. Let me show you some examples…
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I get a lot of questions about workflow when I’m out shooting the surf scene. First, I appreciate the question because there is so much more to capturing a good image than just pointing and shooting and anyone who asks the question has obviously struggled with the editing process. So, here I strive to share the steps I take once the day’s shooting is complete and I’m back at the computer.
Continue readingThis is a question I get a lot: are the best surf photos closeups or distance shots? My personal answer is that there is a purpose for each type of image. Here are my specific thoughts on the matter:
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A lemon shark silently glides through the shallows. The tip of its caudal making just the smallest of ripples on the surface of the water. A yellow pilot fish effortless mimics the movement just off the right pectoral fin. The texture of the sand is fine, ground up coral. It’s color is white, but reflects the green of the jungle just meters away. The moment passes quickly, but fortunately the image lasts forever. How was it captured?
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Readers, I am thrilled to share that I have been asked to do a solo photography exhibition on Nov 11. It will be held at the Emerald C Gallery in Coronado and I hope you can all attend. So what have I decided to show? I will share some previews here:
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One of the beauties of our modern, connected world is the access to all sorts of cool images. We see them every day on social media. Often, however, there is disconnect between photography and art. How many images do you see posted on Instagram that you immediately think would look good hanging in your home of office? Not many, I would venture to guess. But here is another way to think about it…
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