~~CLARK LITTLE~~
Born in Napa, California in 1968 to a photographer father, the family moved to the North Shore in the 1970s where Clark Little still lives today. Prior to becoming a professional photographer in 2006, Clark Little worked at Wahiawa Botanical Garden as a supervisor overseeing 17 acres (69,000 m2) of beautiful native and tropical plants.
His career path changed lanes when his wife wanted a photograph for their house of some local water. Putting his knowledge of the ocean and his love for surfing to good use, Clark Little traded in his surf board for a camera and began documenting waves in such a spectacular manner as to draw attention world wide.
His work has been exhibited on the mainland of the USA, Brazil, Canada, Japan and featured in magazines, newspapers, television and radio the world over.
Clark Little is pretty well known today as the foremost shorebreak art photographer (his art has been seen on “Good Morning America“, and featured in a number of glossy magazines all over the world).
But as much as we like the fantastic shots of various wave’ innards, we are even more impressed to see him pitched against dangerous, massive amounts of water – violent waves, where you only have a moment to make that shot and to get out of the harm’s way.
- 95,100 followers on Google+
- Clark Little is a critically acclaimed photographer living and working on the North Shore of Oahu, Hawaii. Wikipedia
- Born: 1968, Napa, CA
- New Clark Little coffee table book “Shorebreak” released! 10″x10″, 160-pages w/ shots from Hawaii, California, Japan & Tahiti.
~~INTERVIEW WITH SHOREBRAKE PHOTOGRAPHER CLARK LITTLE~~
Full credit goes to: PETAPIXEL
PetaPixel: Can you tell us about yourself and how you got started in photography?
Clark Little: In the late 80′s and early 90′s I was known in the surfing world for catching big hopeless shorebreak waves on my surfboard at a famous surf spot called Waimea Bay. Back in those days, Waimea Bay was the epicenter of the big wave surfing world.
The surfing magazines published these shots since many were of wipeouts and situations where people would think that person got seriously injured.
Then I got married, had two wonderful kids and got into a career. Surfing went to the background.
Then one day, the photography started when my wife wanted a picture of the ocean to hang on our bedroom wall. She actually went to a local gallery and bought a photo of a wave at Waimea Bay.
I took a look at it and told her I could get something better and more interesting. I made her return the purchase. I went out and bought a cheap digital point and shoot camera and found a waterhousing for it on Amazon. I was playing with this on the weekends. The results were good and I saw the potential. My family and friends were complimenting the shots.
Within a few months, I upgraded to professional level equipment and have been fully addicted ever since.
PP: How would you describe your photography to someone who has never seen it?
CL: My work is called “Shorebreak Photography”. I put myself and my camera into a critical section of a breaking shorebreak wave, and capture the view looking out or looking in from the “tube”. A tube is formed when the water from a wave throws itself over and creates a pocket of air before it collapses.
I love interesting lighting, colors, backdrops (palm trees, sunsets / sunrise, white sand beaches), water texture (or lack of texture) and lots of action and power. All of my shots contain some or all of these components.
I live and shoot on the North Shore of Oahu, Hawaii where some very large waves break in shallow water. It is an area very famous for surfing. I love it when the ocean conditions turn extreme, and I am out there capturing these views that most people will never be able to see up close.
PP: Are you entirely self-taught in photography?
CL: I have only been shooting for 6 years and hadn’t taken any classes on photography before I started or after. When I started shooting, I already had 30 years of experience in the ocean, so that was the key. All of those years of surfing paid off with knowledge of how waves move, where to position oneself and how to survive in critical situations.
When I was upgrading to professional equipment, an established surf photographer named Brian Bielmann shared his thoughts on equipment and settings. That was a big help. After that I went through the school of hard knocks … litterally.
A funny side note is that my father was a professor of photography here in Hawaii for 22 years. I would play in the darkroom when I was a kid, but never got the bug until a few years after he retired. Maybe it is in our DNA?
What is wisdom? I feel like a droplet of spray which proudly poised for a moment on the crest of a wave, undertakes to analyze the sea.”
~~Will Durant~~
PP: What kind of risks have you faced in pursuit of your shots?
CL: When the waves are big, you might risk drowning or getting seriously hurt. There are tons of water coming down on or in front of you, sometimes in shallow water less than a feet deep. If your timing is off a bit, the consequences can be serious.
At the beaches on the North Shore where I shoot, every year a few people drown, break their neck, or get seriously hurt. I think the number of serious medical emergencies performed by the lifeguards on the North Shore is over 150 each year. Knowing the risks keeps me focused.
For full article, read: http://petapixel.com/2013/04/05/interview-with-shorebreak-photographer-clark-little/
GoPro HD Clark Little Photography in Hawaii
Uploaded on Nov 26, 2010
This is shorebreak photographer Clark Little videoed by his friend Freddy Booth behind him on the shoot with a GoPro HD camera and my footage of Clark from the beach edited with footage that Clark shot himself with a GoPro HD camera on his housing too. To see Clark’s incredible work go to http://www.clarklittlephotography.com. For more GoPro HD clips please subscribe to my Hodgson Hawaii channel.
Related articles:
1. http://www.clarklittlephotography.com/
2. http://www.darkroastedblend.com/2010/06/inside-wave-epic-photography-by-clark.html
3. http://www.webdesignerdepot.com/2009/06/the-fantastic-photography-of-clark-little/
4. https://www.facebook.com/clarklittlephotography
5. http://petapixel.com/2013/04/05/interview-with-shorebreak-photographer-clark-little/
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