Surf photography with a change of perspective
Ever since she went to the Quiksilver Pro in France Charlie had fallen in love with surf photography. However, the pictures she usually took were taken from the beach. She either used a big lens and a tripod or she would take a few steps into the water and shoot from there – as long as the camera wouldn’t get wet.
It was a Thursday afternoon at the end of November when Frankie, Noah and Sabina mentioned the studio of a surf photographer they wanted to check out. Charlie’s interest was sparked. That would be exciting. She always enjoys an exchange with other photographers and see their work. She joined.
It’s only water
The studio of It’s Only Wateris on the outskirts of Conil de la Frontera in a converted warehouse. It was a 20-minute drive from the surf hostel in Conil. In front of the house is a little cactus garden and a BBQ place. Charlie recognized immediately that this was the place of somebody highly creative. She was greeted very warmly by Coke, the owner of It’s Only Water, and his dog called Enero.
Whilst Noah and Sabina checked out the branded clothes collection, Charlie admired the photography prints – digital and Polaroid. She liked what she saw. It was surf photography with a creative touch. In some photos, the photographer had been playing with light and reflections, others were taken under water or half under water.
It’s Only Water offers to take photos during surf lessons and runs workshops in longboarding technique and water photography. That’s where Charlie’s eyes paused.
When Charlie was at the surf competition in France, she saw some media professionals entering the water with a camera in a waterproof case. Ever since, she wanted to try it but that type of equipment isn’t the cheapest. That was her chance now! She signed up for the workshop with It’s Only Water.
Introduction to Water photography
The workshops are for up to 3 people. The two others had cancelled last minute, and Charlie got a workshop just for herself and she fully enjoyed it.
As with anything surf related, it all depends on the conditions in the water. You could take photos in the water at almost any time (as long as it’s safe), but for surf photography, you want surfers to be there. Therefore, they met at 8 a.m. in the morning at the studio. The conditions would drop at around 11 a.m. They did one hour of theory about water photography and Coke explained some techniques and recommended books to draw inspiration from or learn about the history of water photography.
Then, they put the cameras in their waterproof cases and Coke shared a few tips and tricks that might also be useful for Charlie when shooting in rainy conditions in London. After all, you wouldn’t want the lens to steam up!
The course does not include the basics of photography and you don’t need them. You can fully enjoy the course without knowing what happens inside the camera.
Shooting from inside the water
As soon as the equipment was ready, they drove to Caños de Meca where Charlie had been a few weeks before with Alberto and Tamara. The surf would be good there that day and Coke had lined up a few of his friends who would be surfing at that time.
They all changed into their wetsuits – if you don’t have one, you can rent it at Take Hostel or many of the other surf schools in the area – grabbed the camera and flippers and walked from the parking down to the beach.
After a quick warm up and stretch on the beach, they were off into the waves. Coke had given some tips on technique as it was the first time for Charlie to swim with flippers. Whilst they were in the water, Coke gave tips on where to position yourself and how to breathe when shooting. Charlie fully enjoyed it. There are no surf schools in Caños de Meca and it is a point break that you can only paddle to. That means that all the surfers were locals and quite advanced. They also all seemed to know each other and had fun catching the same waves. It felt a bit like a little surf family. Charlie liked that.
They were also lucky that day with the weather as the sun peaked through the clouds at some points before it started raining heavily. Those weather effects make for a much better photo than blue skies. The water was pretty chilly in December. Next time, Charlie will bring her neoprene socks for inside the flippers.
It helped that Charlie knew a bit about waves and surfing. It makes it much easier to get a good shot but if you don’t have that experience, Coke is going to help you. There is no prior experience needed. You should be able to swim though! Other than that, just enjoy!