I’m pleased to announce that the book launch and exhibition of my Tidal Anatomy portrait series opens at Site 109 in Manhattan on October 21. The images are the result of two years of photographing surfers from an unlikely perspective with my camera placed high above the surfer and beach.
The inspiration for this project came to me while walking along the shore in Montauk, New York on a raw, windy day in the Spring of 2013. An unusually harsh winter had radically altered the beach, leaving behind arresting scenes of strewn rocks, stratified clay, decaying driftwood, driven sand, and man made debris.
As a portrait photographer who has photographed people all over the world for over thirty years, I immediately recognized that these scenes would make the perfect backdrop for portraits of surfers. I had taken up surfing just a few years ago and learned to love the sport while meeting many fascinating people who shared my passion.
Aided by a strong assistant and heavily sandbagged equipment I wrestled the forces of wind, tides, and shifting sands to create the portraits I envisioned that spring day. These photographs reveal something innate within each of my subjects, who are all sculpted by the ocean and illustrate how both life and land are shaped by the forces of nature.
The setup with surfer James Parascandola and myself in Captree, Long Island
Ten surfers in a group portrait from the Rockavilla group in Rockaway, NY.
A triple portrait in Montauk with the Breuer men
Windy day at Captree State Park on Long Island with Rachel Bobis bravely posing on the edge of a 30 ft. cliff