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A Day at the Beach

My parents moved to California when I was four. It was at that time when I saw my first surfer gliding to shore on the South Side of the Manhatten Pier. We lived in a walk up a couple blocks from the beach. I have no idea why a four year old would retain such sharp memories. I can only assume he was getting his foundation tutored to him by the land and sea. In the years since, I have seen a LOT of change in this State. My understanding of the place comes from a deep connection to our

Sea Within

I once met a man who inspired me greatly. At his encouragement, I went on to accomplish all manner of things in the ocean. Of course it was not by his urging alone, but for some reason, he was my catalyst, and the reaction which occurred as a result of his input, wed my life to the sea. Many years later, as I sat with a writer pal of mine at the man’s home on the sand near Santa Barbara, he recounted his life before the Multiple Sclerosis morphed him into a creature who could do no exploits. “I lived

Three

The third in a series on Loves. Surfers. Yes, those who ride weather, water and wave. I love them. The rapid thunk thunk thunk of footsteps atop the wooden stairs that led up to the flat I had rented that morning at Currumbin Beach, Queensland, jolted me out of my jetlag induced reverie. I had been in Australia for less than 12 hours and had somehow managed to get from Sydney to Coolongatta and into a flat with a rental car in that time. Not bad, but I was tired. It was the second leg of the 1978- 1979 Pro

Surfing is for Everybody

William Orbit gets it. Click on this link if you want a  soundtrack for this blog Had a gal come by yesterday who was working on a College thesis at Syracuse, and had asked if she could interview me about the changes that I had seen on the coast in my lifetime. Wound up talking about how, in spite of the ocean doing pretty well, (My homestretch of coast used to be littered with innumerable oil piers which were dark, pitch stained fingers, laying across the bright blue of surf lineups. They are all pretty much gone now. Removed.)  that

Modus: Light and Water

“How many shots did it take to acquire this one?” It is a good question. I hear it a lot. Here is how it works… Learn your craft. Buy the right camera and lens setup. Build-acquire the housing. Figure out optics in water. Watch weather.  Select a swell, tide, surf break, weather pattern with the correct potential combination. Wake at 4 am, Prep your gear. Have a little coffee, but not too much because you do not want to pee in your wetsuit during morning feeding hour, and sharks feel the charge from your camera body and sometimes come for

Deep

Some of us may have thought that it was an oxymoron to call our locally produced little magazine, Deep. I mean as paper publishing began to spiral, here were a bunch of us doing a locally based magazine called Deep. It had seemed a little bit ironic.  The publication was based on one begun in Goleta originally and called Wetsand Magazine. It was soon absorbed by the News Press and was called Blue Edge. As the News Press version tailspun in response to business issues, Deep sprung up, and many if not all of the contributors began to throw in

Swell Five and the Marathon Man

It was o dark thirty on the second day of swell event number five on the Gold Coast, in the middle of the El Nino 2009-2010 season. I was gingerly working my way down the spiral stairway which leads down from the aerie which is the loft bedroom that overlooks one of the beaches I shoot all of the time. Under my left arm was my Macbook Pro. In my right hand my cel phone. Quietly, carefully, I padded down the bamboo shod steps, and my right hand exploded in song. Deftly I snapped the cel phone open. Chuck Patterson

Rinse and Repeat

I have had to watch weather a bit more closely than I usually would this season, because Garrett MacNamara, K38 Rescue, and a few other pals of mine are involved in big wave events and have sort of sucked me into the preparation that goes into being in the right place on the right day. We are in the midst of an El Nino season. No doubt about that now. So when the murmers about a potential swell maker began to filter through, I forced myself to take a close look at available weather telemetry and began my process of

A Fall Fantasy

Nothing deep to share. Or is there? The past weeks have allowed me a lot of time and effort to delve into what many consider to be my forte, which is shooting surfing, nature,  beach culture and lifestyle. So this blog is devoted to showing a few of the sights seen this last several weeks of Fall. It is a teensy sampling of over 1200 final images collected. The culmination of a huge number of commercial, editorial and personal interest projects. Thanks to the beautiful place that I live in, and all my wonderful friends, commercial clients and publications for

Texture

I like to listen to things. Sound is life. People think that because I am a photographer, I am all about light. But light and color are merely indicators of a signature flowing through creation that is sound. So I listen and try to decipher, to hear, comprehend, move forward. Certain things that I hear create textures that eventually comprise threads which in turn weave the tapestry of life. You all get to see that, as I photograph those instants. It is Fall here in Ventura California. The voices in my life burst forth in a timbre that in turn,

Categories

A Day at the Beach

My parents moved to California when I was four. It was at that time when I saw my first surfer gliding to shore on the South Side of the Manhatten Pier. We lived in a walk up a couple blocks

Sea Within

I once met a man who inspired me greatly. At his encouragement, I went on to accomplish all manner of things in the ocean. Of course it was not by his urging alone, but for some reason, he was my

Three

The third in a series on Loves. Surfers. Yes, those who ride weather, water and wave. I love them. The rapid thunk thunk thunk of footsteps atop the wooden stairs that led up to the flat I had rented that

Surfing is for Everybody

William Orbit gets it. Click on this link if you want a  soundtrack for this blog Had a gal come by yesterday who was working on a College thesis at Syracuse, and had asked if she could interview me about

Modus: Light and Water

“How many shots did it take to acquire this one?” It is a good question. I hear it a lot. Here is how it works… Learn your craft. Buy the right camera and lens setup. Build-acquire the housing. Figure out

Deep

Some of us may have thought that it was an oxymoron to call our locally produced little magazine, Deep. I mean as paper publishing began to spiral, here were a bunch of us doing a locally based magazine called Deep.

Swell Five and the Marathon Man

It was o dark thirty on the second day of swell event number five on the Gold Coast, in the middle of the El Nino 2009-2010 season. I was gingerly working my way down the spiral stairway which leads down

Rinse and Repeat

I have had to watch weather a bit more closely than I usually would this season, because Garrett MacNamara, K38 Rescue, and a few other pals of mine are involved in big wave events and have sort of sucked me

A Fall Fantasy

Nothing deep to share. Or is there? The past weeks have allowed me a lot of time and effort to delve into what many consider to be my forte, which is shooting surfing, nature,  beach culture and lifestyle. So this

Texture

I like to listen to things. Sound is life. People think that because I am a photographer, I am all about light. But light and color are merely indicators of a signature flowing through creation that is sound. So I