John Carter, nicknamed JC, is one of the hardest working people in the world of windsurfing. He is without doubt the most published windsurf photographer in the last 20 years, partly due to his work for the Professional Windsurfers Association (PWA) and the many photo shoots he has done for brands such as Fanatic, Duotone, Starboard and Severne. He is also the in-house photographer and writer for Windsurf UK, editor-in-chief of SUP International and has also produced numerous interviews and stories for surf magazine. Sarah-Quita Offringa sat down with the 57-year-old Brit, this time she asked the questions.
Sarah-Quita Offringa: I can still remember the first pictures JC took of me. I was twelve years old and took part in my first World Cup on Bonaire. The newspaper clippings and magazine pages can be found in one of the many scrapbooks my mum kept for me. In the years that followed, our paths crossed at countless shoots and events all over the world. I got to know him as a gentle and friendly person. Someone who works super hard - the first on the job and the last to leave - but never really reveals himself. Who is JC without his camera and what drives him? I spoke to him on Fuerteventura and Sylt.
Sarah-Quita: JC, what...???
John Carter: You have to press the button on the recorder.
Oh yes, that's right. I'm pressing now. Interview with JC. At the moment I'm calling it "getting to know JC". JC, what do you like most about your job?
I think every day with the camera is a challenge to get the best out of the day, whatever it offers. Whether it's an event, a trip or a photo shoot, I try to do my job as well and efficiently as possible. It's not just about the action shots, it's everything together. Making a whole out of it and showing the people, a country and a place well is a constant challenge and I enjoy that, at least as long as it works.
I also enjoy working with top athletes. Lying in the water while they jump around you or ride a wave gives you a real adrenaline rush. Photographing the top riders from a helicopter on a good day in Hookipa sometimes feels almost like an honour.
How did you get into the world of professional windsurfing?
I have been photographing for the PWA since 2000, but I started taking photos back in 1989. After leaving school, I worked at the post office for about three years. One of my best friends, Nigel Howell, the British windsurfing champion at the time, also worked there and one day decided to quit his job and go to Australia for nine months. I thought, I'm not going to sit here and work while my best friend goes to Australia - I'm going with him. I didn't even know exactly where I was going. It turned out to be Geraldton, a small town five hours north of Perth. All there was to do was windsurf. I also joined a band as a guitarist and partied every night for six months. We were young and carefree, so it was a fun time.
The following year we went on another trip and I thought I'd better have something to do this time, and Nigel needed pictures, so I bought a camera. As part of the round-the-world ticket we had, we went to Australia and then on to Hawaii. I had just bought a water housing and started taking more and more pictures. That's how it started. I haven't stopped photographing or travelling since.
How many days a year are you travelling?
Before Corona, I was away from home for six to eight months a year. The year usually started with a shoot in Australia sometime in January or February. After that, I was usually at home and photographed during the spring storms. Around April I was on Maui, there were sometimes trips where I worked on different photo shoots every day for six weeks. In May, I often travelled to Asia for the PWA and then on to the Costa Brava for the World Cup in June. From July to sometime in August were the Canary Islands events, followed by Turkey or Denmark, then Sylt in September and sometimes New Caledonia and Maui. I also did little trips for the magazine. All in all, it was pretty hectic.
And then came corona.
Yes, and slammed on the brakes. I feel like I've been sitting still for a year. The first year I did a little photo shoot in France that required seven PCR tests and ten days of self-isolation when I came back. Really the complete opposite of the years before.
How did it feel to suddenly no longer be able to travel?
Covid was good and bad. I lost almost all my income for two years. It really was a form of survival - I was earning just enough to pay my bills. At the same time, it was a nice break. It was a bit strange, but I also really enjoyed being at home. My work cost our family a lot of time together. Covid gave us the opportunity to make up for lost time, which I really enjoyed. Apart from worrying about what would happen, whether the world would end, whether I would have enough money to live on - those were obviously not good thoughts. It also felt like a kind of reset, a moment to sort things out. Would you like to travel so much again and be away from your family?
And what was the answer to this question?
If it's no longer 16 big trips a year from now on, I wouldn't mind. As long as I have enough money to make ends meet, I'm fine. If the schedule gets that hectic again, I probably would, but that's because I never actually turn down a job. But I think it would be better if we ended up somewhere in the middle.
You have a wife and two children. How do they feel about you being away so often?
You know that travelling is a part of me. That's me. My wife was always cool with it too. At first she often came with me, but after a while she realised that I was really just working on a trip like this. She had no desire to sit on a windy beach somewhere and watch me work. I mainly work abroad, so I'm away from my family. Most people work 40 hours a week and see their children in the evenings and at weekends. I, on the other hand, am at home four months a year, but then I'm really at home. That's a lot compared to most people. I think it's pretty balanced in the end. And those eight months a year were really the maximum, sometimes it was four or five. And this year it was six weeks! What I mainly hear now is: God, you're at home a lot at the moment, you must be going crazy!(Laughs very loudly.)
What is home for you?
Home is the Isle of Wight, a small, diamond-shaped island off the south coast of England. I live three minutes from the beach and my garden opens out onto a golf course. It sounds posh, but it's a normal house. I've lived on this island all my life. It's annoying because I have to take a hovercraft or a ferry every time I travel, but it's also beautiful. There are just over 140,000 people on Wight and my village has a population of 600. I think that's why I like quiet places, I'm not a city person.
What do you do when you're not working?
I like running. At home, I go running almost every day to keep fit or hit a few golf balls.
I heard you also like horse racing ...
I really like horse racing. I like watching them, it's something I do a bit on the side.
But do you also bet? Or do you just like to watch?
(Laughs) I got that from my father, betting was really his thing. I still do it now and again, but I prefer not to publicise it.
What would you do if you won five million pounds in a horse race?
Wow, good question. I would certainly work less. But I'm not really interested in money. I haven't raised my prices for photo shoots since 2000. I'm one of those people who just go with the flow. My only concern is that I make enough money to take care of my wife and kids, pay the bills and hopefully one day retire and do fun things. Five million would take away all those worries.
Would you still continue to take photos?
I would probably be more selective. No more travelling eight months a year and rushing from event to event.
Are there any unfulfilled photographer wishes or a place you would like to photograph?
I have a list of things I want to photograph. I would like to go to Teahupoo and on a good day to Nazaré (legendary waves in Tahiti and Portugal, editor's note). And I would like to photograph Jaws from a boat or helicopter. I still have some work to do. I want to have the reputation of being a photographer who has taken great pictures of mega waves or the best day ever. To do that, you have to be very dedicated and fly around the world in the blink of an eye. If you have five million in the bank, you can do something like that just for fun.
But you've already done something like that, haven't you?
(Laughs.) That's right. The phone rang and it was Scotty McKercher: "JC, we're going to Fiji tomorrow, are you in?" I had to make the decision at that moment. Of course you want to go, but you also know it's hard for your family. I said: I can't make this decision on my own, it's up to my family. They thought I shouldn't miss out on it, so I packed up and flew to Fiji.
But in England you often go on last-minute trips like this, don't you?
It often happens that I get a text message from Timo Mullen at 10pm on a Friday night: "Are you coming to Cork Island tomorrow? Then you have to leave now!" These days I often think: Shit, I wish I hadn't seen that. It makes me feel like I'm missing out if I'm not there, but if I go I'm away from my family - it's a moral dilemma really.
The problem with windsurfing is that everything happens at the last minute and can't really be planned. Especially back home in the UK. Then suddenly a swell pops up on the north-east coast and you have to drive another six hours that night to get there on time. Now that my work is a bit less hectic, I don't mind doing trips like that - it's usually nice to see all those old friends again too.
What about that trip to Patagonia you once told me about?
That was with Marco Lang and Gonzalo Costa Hoevel. A crazy trip on which we drove 9,000 kilometres in a fortnight. That's another side of my bucket list - the scenic destinations. The counterpart to the big waves: Find a fantastic location and take beautiful surf photos there! Patagonia was beautiful, but it was quite an endeavour to get there. Well, you know how it is, you've been to Iceland. It looks great when you see it in the magazines, but it takes an extreme amount of effort to do a story like that yourself. Foiling has made this much easier: now the riders can fly over the water at five knots and you can take great photos. You no longer have to wait forever for a lot of wind.
How many photos do you think you've taken in your life?
Pff - that really runs into the millions. I've been travelling as a photographer for 33 years now. I think if you add it all up, I've spent at least three years in Maui, a couple of years in Australia and more than a year in the Canary Islands. And I've probably spent half a year of my life in taxis and more than a year in aeroplanes!
How do you like taking water shots in places where there are lots of sharks? I sometimes worry about you in Australia.
There are some places that are really scary. Australia, but also South Africa. Sometimes you swim between seaweed and seals. You know there are sharks, so it's definitely in your head. But in the end, it's just fingers crossed and off you go.
I found it more exciting that I almost crashed in a helicopter a few times. Once before Hookipa it really was like something out of a film. We were flying backwards and the pilot lost control. We started to turn and the tail of the helicopter touched the water. Just before we crashed, the pilot got the helicopter back under control and we climbed back up. He took us to a thousand feet and there we sat in silence thinking about how close that was. A little later we got on with the shoot - a helicopter costs 1,000 euros an hour, so you have to keep going. But it really felt like my heart stopped for a moment.
Wow! Apart from staying calm when your heli almost crashes, is there another secret to a good windsurfing photo?
The challenge for me is to give a photo that little bit extra. Anyone can take an action shot, but for a really good shot you need a bit more imagination, apart from being in the right place at the right time. Windsurfing photography has a lot to do with looking ahead. I've become pretty good at predicting what a rider is going to do, which helps. And a photo should be exciting. To achieve this, I'm actually always out and about. For example, I like to use a ladder in the water to make it look a bit different, or a camera on a stick to get a different angle. The more effort you put into it, the better your photos will be.
What does a working day in the life of JC look like?
At an event, I usually start at seven in the morning and shoot all day until it gets dark. Then I go back to the hotel, get something to eat quickly and go to my room to download all the memory cards. I look through the 3000 or so photos I've taken and make a selection, which I edit, add captions and then upload to the PWA website and social networks. Then I rename the photos for the gallery, which goes online for the media and riders at the end of the event. This "administrative" part usually takes another three hours and is not my favourite part of the job. It's nice to see what you've photographed, but the work afterwards sometimes really makes me feel like a machine; like I have two jobs.
Can you actually windsurf yourself?
Yes, but I just don't have much time for it, so my level isn't that high. I have freeride equipment at home that I sometimes ride in summer, but I spend most of my time in the water taking photos, which I enjoy just as much in many ways.
