surfing

10 Surf Photography Tips to Take Your Photos to the Next Level

My name is Tom Woods and I'm a full-time commercial and surf photographer who has been in the industry for two decades. In this article, I'm going to share 10 tips for taking your surf photography to the next level.

Chasing the Ultimate Surfing Shot with Teenage Photographer Leroy Bellet

Red Bull TV's video series Chasing the Shot pairs cutting-edge photographers with world-class athletes to show what it takes to capture unparalleled action photography. And for Season One's main episode, they followed teenaged surf photography phenom Leroy Bellet as he set out to capture the surfing photo of a lifetime.

Shooting Flash Photos of Surfers Inside Barrel Waves

16-year-old photographer Leroy Bellet recently turned an idea he had into a series of epic surf photos that landed on the covers of international magazines. He followed behind surfers in giant barrel waves and photographed them in action with a Nikon DSLR and an external flash.

Photos of a Surfer Riding a Giant Wave… While on Fire

How do go about making photos of big wave surfing even more extreme? Here's one way: add fire to the mix. Surfer Jamie O'Brien recently tackled some of the world's heaviest and dangerous waves while wearing a wetsuit that was set on fire. Photographer Tim McKenna was on hand to capture the stunt.

Chris Burkard on the Joy of Photographing Surfers in Freezing Waters

Chris Burkard is a California-based surf photographer who has shot for some of the biggest companies and publications in the world. After years of shooting on popular, sun-soaked beaches and making a living through his "dream job," Burkard began to yearn for beaches that weren't dominated by tourists and the comforts of civilization. So, he began traveling to remote -- and often frigid -- shores around the world for surf photos that are off the beaten path.

A Look Into the Life and Work of Surf Photographer Zak Noyle

Zak Noyle is a surf photographer based out of Oahu, Hawaii who's considered to be one of the best in the business. He became the senior staff photographer of Surfer Magazine when he was just 25 years old, and his work has appeared in numerous magazines (e.g. ESPN, SI, Nat Geo) and advertisements (e.g. Billabong, Chanel).

Filmmaker Takes $235K in Phantom Cameras for a Swim to Capture Gorgeous Slow Mo Surfing Footage

If you've ever used an underwater housing, you know what it feels like to dunk your several thousand dollar DSLR underwater for the very first time. You know it's safe, you double checked everything, you probably already tested the seals, but the moment of truth still frays your nerves.

Imagine, then, how filmmaker Chris Bryan felt when he put his $50K Phantom Flex, $45K Phantom Miro M-320S, and $140K Phantom 4K Flex inside his own custom-built underwater housings and took them out into the waves for the first time?

Video: Photographer Documents the Crazy Adventure of Surfing in the Arctic Circle

If you thought surfing in Texas was absurd, then this little video and accompanying feature will truly blow you away. As part of an original SmugMug Film, Photographer Chris Burkard and professional surfers Patrick Millin, Brett Barley, and Chadd Konig fight through frigid temperatures and rough conditions, all to capture the adventure that is surfing in the Arctic Circle.

An Intro to Adventure Sports Photography: 10 Photographers You Need to Check Out

Adventure Sports Photography often doesn't get a lot of attention in the photography world. While street, portrait, and wedding photography seem to reign supreme, this small genre is usually only appreciated in the respective sports it covers.

Which is really quite sad since it showcases some of the most amazing photographers working today. Not only are they able to compose and capture stunning shots, but they often do so in the worst conditions imaginable.

Lo-Fi Surf Photography with Expired and Cross-Processed Film

San Francisco resident Ryan Tatar is passionate about two things when he's not sitting at his desk at a Silicon Valley tech company: surfing and photography... and usually a combination of the two. He has attracted a good deal of attention in both worlds with his lo-fi photographs of surfers, captured with old analog cameras and expired and/or cross-processed films.

In the short video above, Tatar talks about his love for analog photography and introduces us to what he does.

Momentum: Life as a Top Notch Surf Photographer

If you've ever flipped through a surf magazine and wondered how some of those incredible barrel riding pictures were taken, then this two part Momentum documentary on surf photographer Zak Noyle will be particularly interesting to you.

When you think of underwater photography the first thing that comes to mind is typically colorful fish in deep waters, and a man decked out in scuba gear. That's nothing like the kind of work Noyle does for a living. His kind of photography involves swimming in, under and around massive waves with only a helmet, wetsuit and flippers to help him as he hunts down that perfect shot.