Clark, Shorebreaks are not places where "normal" people stay longer than necessary. How long does it take you to get the sand out of all your orifices after a day's work?
(laughs) Well, someone seems to know their stuff! Yes, you pick up quite a lot. When I'm lying in bed at home after a day in the water, little shells, sand and small stones come out of all kinds of orifices. My bed is always full of sand that comes out of my nose and my wife hates it, but ultimately she's partly to blame. (laughs)
In what way?
In a way, she was the one who got the ball rolling. I've always been fascinated by waves and surfing, even as a young boy I read all the surf magazines available - from cover to cover and then from cover to cover again. Nevertheless, I never thought I would ever become a professional photographer and earn a living from it. That only changed when my wife came home one day with a picture she had bought and wanted to hang it up in the bedroom. It was of the Waimea Bay shorebreak. I said to her: "Honey, no way! Please bring it back, I can make you a better one." She actually did and I was in charge, so off I went, bought a cheap water housing for my cheap compact camera and plunged into the waves. I wanted a close-up shot from a breaking wave, and after a while it was great fun. When I got home I was surprised that I actually got some good shots. Since that moment, I haven't wanted to do anything else.
I assume you no longer use the cheap camera from the past.
No, not really. Today I use a Nikon D4 with a 10.5 mm fisheye, water housing, flippers and - the biggest part of my secret - a cup of good coffee. (laughs) I can't do anything without coffee!
You have won numerous prizes with your photos, exhibited in Tokyo, Montreal and New York and the "collectors edition" of your book "SHOREBREAK" costs 250 dollars. What do you do differently from many other photographers?
To be honest, I can't say what my secret is. I just go out and do what I enjoy. If you put your heart into it, everything else that's necessary - patience, for example - comes naturally. I think you can tell from my photos that I put my heart and soul into my photography. My experience as a surfer also helps me. I've spent so much time in the Waimea shorebreak before, riding waves and often taking a beating. Now, of course, I know exactly where to go and can hold my breath for a long time without panicking. For me, it feels just as good as going surfing myself.
As a layman, you always think that professional photographers only take great pictures. How many shots do you need to get that one special shot?
Phew, it's hard to say, it's completely different. In a session lasting two to three hours, I take around 300 photos, sometimes more, sometimes less. I might manage a shot like the one in this photo series every tenth session, so I have to take around 3,000 pictures to get a special one where everything is just right. But I've also had days when I manage three or four perfect shots, then nothing at all for weeks on end. A lot of the work is done on the computer anyway, after all you have to sift through and sort everything first.
What needs to be right for a perfect photo?
Surprisingly, it has nothing to do with the size of the waves, often small days have beautiful waves. I'm not picky about that! Of course, I always want calm winds and clear water, sun, perfect sand and constant swell and - above all - no people. This list shows that almost everything never comes together, and if one factor is missing, it's usually not a good photo. What I've learnt over the years, however, is that you don't know beforehand whether it's going to be a good day or not. I've been out so many times and thought the wind was too strong when it suddenly stopped, or the cloud cover that suddenly opened up for a few minutes, creating colour and dramatic atmosphere. It's sometimes crazy how quickly everything changes and the passion often makes me hold out a little longer, even though I've long since thought: "Clark, go home!" And sometimes you are rewarded for it.
What was the biggest challenge for you as a photographer?
The toughest conditions for a shoot are the big days on the North Shore, Keiki Beach. It's the biggest shorebreak I've ever seen. The current is strong and the wave is extremely powerful because there is no outer reef further out to slow down or weaken the waves - it breaks in just a few centimetres of water, almost directly onto the beach. You have to concentrate and make the right decisions in a split second. Another milestone was definitely a shoot for Apple Computer in Teahupoo (Tahiti, the ed.). They wanted to shoot a commercial to promote their new Retina display and they wanted me to take photos for it. I didn't know the advert and to be honest, it was the first reef wave that looked like a shorebreak - incredibly thick and powerful, I was really scared of getting hurt. The reef is sharp and the nearest hospital is a long way away.
Have you been caught out more than once? How dangerous is your job?
Luckily nothing really serious so far, but a few times it was really close! A few years ago, I blew out my shoulder joint because a wave threw me onto the dry sand. It took a few weeks to recover, but I was back in the water after just two weeks, albeit with some restrictions. (laughs)
Another factor is the really big waves that keep you down for a long time. Once I got washed, couldn't get up between two big waves and had to stay underwater for the duration of two waves. I had no more air, it was getting dark and I realised I was almost going to pass out. Many thoughts were running through my head - my family, my wife, the children. I came up just in time. It's not a good feeling to be so close to the edge and that day was a lesson to me. I've become a lot more careful since then.
Isn't the camera sometimes a problem too?
Exactly, the camera is also dangerous in small waves. It's not exactly light, and I've had it hit me a few times when a wave has washed over me. The result was a lot of bruises and wounds. Everyone who was in the water with me told me to sneak back to shore. They were probably afraid that I would attract the sharks. (laughs) I can only advise anyone who wants to start photographing waves to try it with small waves first. You can always improve and it's different swimming around with camera equipment than with a surfboard.
- Book by Clark Little: The Art of Waves >> available here
- Postcard box: Clark Little: The Art of Waves Postcards >> available here
- Documentation:Shorebreak - The perfect wave - Clark Little >> available here
This interview first appeared in surf 9/2014
