Keenan’s new post about Modern Collective really got me reflecting on the overall lack of really creative work coming from the surfing media. I’ve been following the progress of that film very closely as I thought it was a unique approach to film making, as well I was confident that the action and production would be insane.
These thoughts were also stirred up by a post on a blog I frequently read posted by an Art Buyer based in Canada. She has a ton of great stuff pertaining to commerical photography, but usually never anything pertaining to action or more specifically surfing photography. However when I checked in the other day, I noticed that her guest Mark Zibert had given a shout out to Dustin Humphrey. D. Hump’s work was cited as #1 on Mark’s top 10 list of creative influence. I thought that was not only pretty damn cool, but really deserved by D. Hump. He is undoubtedly, far and away, the single most creative person in the surf photo world at the moment. He seems to consistently be the one setting the bar higher and higher, in addition to using new technologies, finding new angles, and time and again producing the most amazing surf photos I’ve ever seen.
To be quite honest, I’ve dropped out of the loop on up to the minute surf photo industry news due to a little bit of apathy for the whole thing, but at the same time I do feel like I have at least one finger on the pulse of what’s going on. Beyond Hump, there is a handful of people really pushing things. For the past decade and more, Steve Sherman has been the king of classic surf portraiture and I feel like his absence from Surfing Mag has really helped him focus on his own photography in a positive direction. In Sherm’s wake Pete Taras has established himself as the photo editor who will make and break a magazine. In the early 2000′s, his work at Transworld made that magazine the hands-down best place to see the sickest photography pertaining to surfing. At the time, Surfing was doing well, however Transworld just thad that modern and progressive edge, but resisted being super cheesey or cliche. As soon as Taras left Transworld to become photo editor at Surfing, Transworld’s quality dropped off, and Surfing’s became phenomenal – not a coincidence. Jimmy Wilson’s presence as Tara’s assistant editor has been felt too – no longer do average front lit straight from the beach with a 600mm shots make the first round cut like they did in the 90′s. Jimmy knows what he thinks is good work, he knows what he hates, and he will always be brutally honest. Luckily, for the most part, Jimmy and I stand on the same side of the fence as to what constitutes well made, creative, or progressive surf photos. This team: D.Hump, Sherm, Taras, and Jimmy is really the force that drives photographers to achieve more than just “good enough” photos.
I sure as hell don’t claim to be producing the best work around. Not by a long shot, not compared to even people in Jersey or Ocean City for that matter. However, I do feel like I have a valid opinion as this is something that I’m obviously passionate about and have been studying for well over a decade now. In the hopes of educating, inspiring and lighting a fire under the collective ass of the surf media world, here are a few photos/videos/things I want to share.
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D. Hump’s campaign for Insight. I think I read/heard somewhere that it was composited images – which makes sense to me not only for the difficulty in execution, but I noticed a few of the bizzare depth of field issues that plague many photo-composites. Still an amazing concept and the fact that its debateable as to whether its composited or not means he did a damn good job. See more of his work at ReelSessions.com.
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Cole Barash is a young (pretty sure hes 22 now) snowboarding photographer who absolutely dominates his field. I’m always driven when I see people younger than I producing work that is better than almost everyone else in their field. This kid is amazing: action, portraits, lifestyle, and even his writing ain’t bad. ColeBarash.com.
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Fred Mortagne. I’ve seen his work before and noticed how well he integrates architecture and geometry into his photos, but I’m not up to date on his current work, nor do I really follow him. But, his photos show how skate and snowboard photographers often produce more interesting photos than surf photogs due to the limitations (physical or creative) that surfing presents. FrenchFred.com
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DanielBlom.com – Snowboarding – Kills it. (No more writeups – post is getting too long).
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Fully Flared – Skate Video also in Zibert’s top 10 – Most insane intro I’ve ever seen to a skate film. ”Yeah Right!” is another Girl video which really pushed what skate films could be with their invisble board and pass off montages.
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Similar use of high speed, high quality footage, Quicksilver is promoting the “Vision Research Cam” which will allow viewers to breakdown surfing action like never before. Watching this shot of Dane Reynolds boosting is simply amazing. Although its more of an exploit of new technology than someone getting “creative” its cool nonetheless.
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MarkZibert.com – Mentioned earlier in post – overall creative commercial photographer.
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HeatherMorton.ca – Art Buyer blog – Original post referenced in paragraph 1.
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So there is my attempt at a short post – better luck next time I guess.
