Around The World in 80 Frames

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Soul Surfer

When I was teenager I lived in J-Bay. Every winter all the top pros would converge for the Billabong Pro Classic. I met Kelly Slater and host of other ‘surf Gods’ and yet the surfer who made the biggest impression on me wasn’t a Pro it was a chilled out local with a klapped out old van and a simple life. His long blonde hair a talisman to his dedication, he lived to surf and had the skills to turn Pro but he didn’t enter contests he surfed for one reason only…the love of it!

Surfers call these types “soul surfers”

Competitive surfing is very different, competition has an edge to it and surfers are judged on wave selective, technical merits and length of ride. Like all sport there is a standard judging criteria but surfing has artistic elements to it is which are influenced by the judges personal taste https://www.surfertoday.com/surfing/all-you-need-to-know-about-surf-judging-criteria

“Surf contests are a dice game. The best surfer doesn’t always come out with the trophy because there are too many variables at stake. Judges are a key variable…”

Photo competitions I find are the same, you’re judged on image selection and technical merit, and it’s subjective because photography is art. I remember going to my first camera club meeting in Cape Town (back when HDR was starting to trend) the judge, an elderly gentleman, on seeing an HDR image, emphasized how much he hated this ‘new fad’ and awarded the photographer a zero rating on an excellent photo. I never went back.

Photo Contests (even of the highest order) often leave you with that same sense of huh? When you look at the winning image and compare it to the others but that’s the nature of photography, everyone is subject to the same subjectivity. But here’s the thing contests and clubs alike, I’m not in competition with anyone, one of the things I love most about photography is you can do it solo and the only person you’re competing against is yourself.

And it made me think of that J-Bay surfer, he wasn’t interesting in awards, accolades or fame, he just wanted to surf…

In 2016 I entered the world’s most prestigious travel contest ‘The Travel Photographer of the Year’ and two of my images made it as finalists, in 2018 12 were selected as finalists. As a finalist I had to print each image and post it to the UK along with raw files and a write up per image. A significant expense in both time and money.

It was fun and I felt proud but I wasn’t awarded. And it made me re-consider my reasoning for entering. Of course its obvious – validation of skill and public recognition that comes with a winning image that is likely to attract more work. As important as this is, it would mean changing my style (see images below) and to that I say I’d rather be a soul surfer, and focus my energy on producing work that will beautify homes, hotels and public spaces. And of course teaching others photography 🙂