Keeping it simple was a principle I worked by for a long time. Shoot from the hip, always have a camera ready to capture the unrehearsed. But when my peers began experimenting with gimmicks and gadgets, I found myself introducing lights and poles and radio transmitters to add flair to my work. I lost control. I couldn't pick up a camera and shoot without trying to enhance my initial ideas. So I toned things down again, I went back to basics and the images satisfied me (most of the time).
Making this issue however, hovering over a south coast reef in a helicopter piloted by a cowboy, I couldn't help but think that my curiosity has prevailed again as I look for that edge in my work. The results didn't meet my expectations and the wallet is significantly lighter, but it's a fresh angle and far from boring. I also collaborated with photographer Jem Cresswell to make a board camera mount, convinced that we would change the game. It failed, nearly breaking the rider and the spirit of all involved. Now it lives beneath some cardboard boxes in the corner of our studio until I can forgive it and retry after a major design overhaul.
There's a lot of variety in these pages. Panoramic surfscapes on 35mm film via the cult classic Hasselblad Xpan, flamboyant photo-shoots in city hotel rooms and everything in between.
Tomorrow is another day and I know one thing is assured: the simple pleasure of riding a wave can still be enjoyed worldwide, and that is one luxury we can all live with until we inevitably fuck ourselves over. -Phil Gallagher
