I got into surf shooting a few years ago now. For me, mostly, the act of getting a good shot is an end in itself and so it has taken some time to first consider and then act upon setting up a website to ‘share’ my photos.
My objective in doing it now is twofold –
1. It’s always great to be able to share things which are important to us with our friends, who by their very nature are interested in what interests us!
2. Generally speaking, surfers love getting shots of themselves and often ask me if I have a blog or facebook site where I post; so finally I can say yes…I do.
Many different factors contribute to what I like about a particular shot. Of course the obvious thing is that it a shot which captures an exciting moment…a surfer getting some air; but there are many other things which to me are perhaps equally important.
- Lighting and composition of course, but sometimes too it can be a combination of the action and the colours of a wetsuit or board.
- Surfboards themselves are works of art these days and the way in which a board is visible in the shot can make or break an image.
- The water is to me an element with a life of its own. Whether it is shimmering bright or wild with spray flying back from the top of the waves, it always has something to say and sometimes can be the main feature of the shot.
- Whilst I appreciate that for surfers the ‘dismount’ (dignified or otherwise) is not something which interests them….it does fascinate me! Some surfers are as graceful in getting off the board/wave as surfing it. Some surfers seem to ‘surrender’ themselves to the water. I find these moments endlessly rewarding to shoot.
- There are humorous things too; a board surfing alone….someone surfing upside down
I hope you enjoy my corner of the world. Feel free to let me know what you think. Of course if you are a surfer who has come here looking for your own pics I hope you like what you see. If you would like high res versions of an images just drop me a line and I’m happy to supply them.
Warwick Martin
ozsurfpics 