Unforgiving Surf

There is a sculptural elegance to surfing that belies its brutal edge. Although that fluid grace depends on being able to grip and balance on a seemingly wafer-thin board despite all the pounding waves. The forces of nature can be rough, relentless - and humbling. Yet for the dedicated or professional surfer, a breaking wave can be a fully immersive, quasi-religious experience. It becomes their path to personal enlightenment. Or at least a groovy ride. In my photographs for Unforgiving Surf, I want to show that extended moment when a surfer fuses with a wave and takes on a more iconic stature. There is certainly beauty in the arc and flow and spray of the water and the intimate way a surfer holds to all that.

I use my camera to shift my perspective on life and make more of a passing moment so it resonates in a profound, metaphorical way. The resulting photograph is an evocation of a personal experience that goes beyond what I simply saw. Using long exposures, I’m interested in how our perception of a scene shifts and takes on greater emotional weight the longer the shutter is left open. A more expansive aura of awareness gets captured in the image. I live with my wife and two young daughters in East Vancouver and travels frequently on photography projects.