at one point in my life, i really took photography seriously. i bought all the top equipment, i studied day in and day out on the internet and by reading books. i kind of self taught myself. i loved learning how to adjust my camera, get the right angle, and was happy with the results. luckily i have many of friends who are professional photographers so that helped a lot too. after working for many magazines here in hawaii and in japan getting thousands of photos published, i kind of got burnt out after a while. shooting wasn’t 100% for me. it was more like a hobby than work. i went on so many surf photo trips and while i was shooting, i was really wishing i could be surfing instead. but my camera gear is going to be with me forever as i will never sell it. i know someday that i will get the passion to shoot again and when that day comes, i don’t want to spend $30,000 again. as for now, i’ll take side jobs, shoot when i want to, and hope to get the photo bug again.

a few months ago, i was offered a job to shoot 2 surfer girls for Marlon Brand. i took it because it’s been a while since i shot. i had fun, met new people, and enjoyed my job of working on the beach and in the water. they used some of my photos at a big event in tokyo.

“i wish they all could be california girls!” by the beach boys.

and my favorite of course is getting in the water. how do i get photos like this? i paddle out my 9′ longboard, sit on it with my 70-200mm lens and camera in the water housing, wait in the impact zone getting pounded by waves, then when one of the girls take off, i make sure there are no water spots on the lens, i look into the viewer, zoom, focus, take the shot, then get pounded by the waves again. it’s not easy and not fun getting wave after wave on your head paddling a longboard with one arm and holding on to a $5,000 heavy camera with the other. but hey, it’s work and i don’t complain when it comes to work. all i’m concerned about is the results. i love this photo.

and speaking of love. i love my life. i’ve been talking to close friends recently about how short life is. airplanes disappearing, ferries sinking, people getting murdered, radiation, earthquakes, guns, drugs, aids, and war. innocent people in this world are dying by the thousands every single day. i understand that my life could be over in a second so that’s the reason why i live my life the way i do. it’s not about being selfish, it’s not about being wealthy, and it’s not about being free. it’s about enjoying every minute of the day and every breath i take. life is so precious so live it up. and when that day comes when my time is over, i will say the exact thing my grandpa told me before he died, “I HAD A GREAT LIFE!” i hope you can say the same thing too.