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THE WALL – Pat Rawson and Otis Schaper, two musicians in harmony. The 11th surfboard for the 15 Surfboards/15 Shapers project was orchestrated by two musically talented individuals, Pat Rawson, renowned shaper and virtuoso piano player, and Otis Schaper, experienced laminator and lyrical song writer and guitarist. The musical talent of each was unbeknownst to me and surfaced after the board had been completed. Their surfboard building talents preceded them long before I met them. I met Pat Rawson at the 2013 Surf Expo trade show in Orlando, Florida. At the time I was looking to Hawaii for the eleventh… Continue reading
The 15 Surfboards/15 Shapers project recently took me to Hawaii where two more surfboards, #s 11 & 12, were added to the collection. Knowing it should take close to three weeks to complete the boards and that there is idle time while resin cures during the glassing stage, I made plans to shoot personal work during those moments. My shot list included water photography at two famous surf breaks on the North Shore of Oahu, Pipeline and Sunset Beach. It would not be the first time that I swam and photographed at either spot, however I wanted to do it… Continue reading
In mid-May of 2013 I was contacted by the advertising agency SapientNitro in Miami Beach with a job offer to photograph an advertising campaign for the Florida Tourism Board entitled Visit Florida. The opportunity was fantastic, though the timing was terrible! For nearly a year I planned a photo trip to Indonesia and was set to leave on July 3rd. I wasn’t sure if time would permit me to shoot the campaign. The job entailed much traveling and numerous shots that required a great deal of production work. Fortunately M2 Productions, a company with experience in handling large operations, agreed… Continue reading
A board worth traveling for. And travel I did! 2400 miles of sleep inducing, white knuckle steering, city-side, country-side, bridges and tunnels byways, junk food munching, day and night, rain and heat, music and talk shows of all kind, or not, driving. All this for a 5’6″ custom made Spirare Surfboard. Spirare what!? Spirare, the Latin word meaning ‘to breathe’, is the creation of Kevin Cunningham. A graduate from the prestigious Rhode Island School of Design, Kevin resides in Providence, Rhode Island and shapes out of a brick-stone building in the heart of one of the oldest cities in the… Continue reading
As Neil Everett, ESPN’s SportsCenter anchor, likes to say on Top Plays, “She’s a beauty that number nine”. Born in the dead of a Carolina winter, she measures in at 8’6” and has the shape of a mini nose rider. Draped in a vintage photo from the North Shore of Oahu she strikes an alluring pose. Her name, “Legends in the Dark”. Her creator has won six East Coast surfing titles and lives on the OBX of North Carolina. He’s a superb chef, preparing and presenting home cook meals to mouth-watering perfection. He’s married to a charming red-haired beauty—his cooking… Continue reading
It’s fitting to include in the 15 Boards 15 Shapers surfboard art project a surfboard made in Puerto Rico. That is where I dedicated so much time to photography and surfing, the two underlying passions this project is based on. A number of very talented shapers reside on the island, but my desire was to work with Nestor Ramirez of Pelicano Surfboards. Nestor’s reputation for quality workmanship was undeniable and, fortunately for me, he became a willing collaborator on the eighth board in the project.