10 years ago, i would pull up to rocky point on a day like yesterday and have to weave my way through a hundred of photographers to get to the beach. traffic everywhere, lots of people on the beach as the worlds best show their stuff. everybody all hungry trying to catch a wave so they could get a photo in the magazine. trying to catch a set was like trying to steal a piece of meat from a tiger. the arguments, the fights, and the rest of the dramas unfolded right in front of your eyes.
so walking down to the same beach yesterday with only 5 photographers (including my sister and i), and just a hand of known surfers and the rest i haven’t seen in my life before was sad. surfing has changed. it’s almost like the hype is all but gone. since professional photographers don’t make money shooting photos anymore, they don’t even take the time to show up. and the leftover guys shooting on the beach are finding it hard to even make $10/photo now a days. the glory days of making $5,000/photo are finished. but the days of making 5,000 people happy on a blog aren’t. i’ll keep shooting as long as i can and it’s the responsibility of us to keep surfing moving in the right direction. never give up!
i love this angle at rocky point. it feels like you’re riding the wave too. Isaiah Moniz.
Smile Isaiah!
i’m so stoked to see the level of surfing so high. but i’m bummed to see no japanese surfers out anymore. where the heck is everybody?
Keoni Yan is the coolest kid out of tahiti. he has the tahitian boys backing him up and i can see why. good surfer and good kid means good support.
this is the first surfer i’ve seen surfing rocky point with a short sleeve full suit. this photo looks more like california or something.
well, after looking at the 800 photos i took yesterday, i feel like shooting again. see you in the water!
