Surf photography

Those of you who follow us on Instagram will know that one of my other passions (alongside getting in the water!) is photography, with a particular focus on surf and wildlife photography. I've been taking photos for a long time, but it's only since moving to Cornwall that I've been able shoot the surf scene more regularly. I certainly wouldn't call myself a 'surf photographer' specifically, I'm just another person with a camera who loves the peacefulness of capturing images of the world in front of me.

To surf or to shoot?

When the surf is good, I face the eternal question: should I get in the water and surf, or get the camera out and shoot? If I'm honest, it's usually a pretty easy answer - I get in the water and surf. Without wanting to sound like Johnny Utah, I'm drawn to it...or something...

I normally choose to surf based on the promise to myself that I'll have a quick session and then get out whilst the light is still good for photography. Of course, we all know how easily a 'quick' session slips into 'one more wave' and suddenly the good light has disappeared behind a cloud or slipped below the horizon. One day I'll justify buying a water-housing so there's a third choice for my indecisive mind to agonise over. In the meantime, I just capture what I can when time and conditions allow and the mood takes me!

What's in my camera bag?

Up until 2020, I shot on an old Pentax K5 APS-C camera. It was an amazing camera to get me into the world of DSLRs. It travelled to Morocco with me on several trips, and I shot some images of Anchor Point that I still love to this day:

In 2020 I decided to upgrade, choosing to move over to the Sony ecosystem with a Sony a7IV, my first mirrorless camera. To say it was a sea-change is an understatement! Initially I paired it with the following lenses:

• Sony FE 70-200mm f/2.8 GM II
• Sigma 85mm f/1.4 DG DN Art
• Sigma 24-70mm f/2.8 DG DN Art

All of the above lenses are great, but the 70-200 is probably the lens (of those three) which I use most for surf photography. It's a great lens to capture the action when you can get close to the line-up, or when you want to include a bit of the surrounding scene to give your image a bit of context. What it's not so great for is super-cropped-in action shots, or capturing those spots which break a little further out!

That's where I settled on buying an even longer lens, the Sony FE 200-600mm f5.6-6.3 G. It's an absolute beast of a lens, but it does the job of getting you close to the action!

Other than that, I also carry spare SD cards, spare batteries, a handful of filters and a little camping mat to sit on when the ground is wet!

What's NOT in my bag?

Just as importantly as what is in my bag is what I don't tend to take with me when I'm shooting surf. Whilst I've got a tripod at home, I don't tend to take it out with me most of the time. Every now and then I'll take it out to get some video, but it usually stays at home.

Similarly, I don't take (or currently own) a monopod. I've never really felt the need for one, though the more time I spend with the 200-600 the more I feel like it might be a good investment!

What's my style?

I'm not sure I have a particular style when it comes to surf photography. A lot depends on the spot, weather, surf conditions, who I'm with and how I'm feeling. More often than not I'm a bit of an opportunist when it comes to shooting surf and surfers, simply because I've usually prioritised surfing first, so the shots I get are somewhat dictated by where I've chosen to surf and what the conditions are like after I've had my share of the waves!

It's not all just chance though, every now and then I'll set out with a particular shot in mind, or a particular view I want to capture. Those are the photos I tend to be the happiest with (assuming everything comes together the way I'd pictured!).

Genearally speaking, I'm probably happiest when I'm shooting something with a bit of context / surroundings rather than something too tightly cropped in.

When I first got into photography, my main interest was street photography - primarily because each shot was a fleeting moment that nobody else could ever capture in exactly the same way. I guess there are some parallels with surf photography in that every wave is different to the last, but it can still be a challenge to capture something that draws the eye.

Breaking down the shot

I'm going to aim (without making any promises) to write up a couple of blog posts over the coming months, breaking down some of the shots I've been really happy with over the years. These won't be particularly long or in-depth, just a little bit of information about how the shot came to be, what I like about it, what my settings were and maybe a little bit about the post-processing that went into the final image. Keep an eye on the blog page for these posts.

Thanks for reading, and let me know in the comments if you have any questions!