I'm not a surfer (not even a good swimmer) but I have great respect for the sport and it doesn't hurt that the guys that do it are all so damn hot:). It's the ultimate activity that requires perfect physical, spiritual and environmental synergy. So when dear friends of mine asked if I would shoot some stills for" The Endless Stoke" a documentary about the history of Surfing on the "Jersey" shore I was psyched to focus my lens on these athletes.
Oh what fun to shoot a bunch of Surfer dudes @ daybreak on some of the most classic Jersey beaches. I was thrilled and honored that Jeff and Ed gave me this assignment. I didn't realize my subjects wouldn't be my idea of the Stud-ly Surfer dude but instead grown men, Surf veterans, all a bit older then me. Not being a Jersey girl or a surfer, their names and reputation meant nothing to me and I really didn't know what to expect. I just had grand ideas of how I wanted to shoot these portraits.
I showed up the first day of shooting on the Asbury Boardwalk and there they were. Carl "Tinker" West who was Owner of Challenger Eastern Surfboards and helped define the era of Surfing in the 60’s, Vince Troniec, the owner of the legendary Islanders Surf Shop and , Les Reitman, and Cecil Lear. Each one responsible for the a bit of surfing history that made the "Jersey Shore" rock, long before it was decimated by Snookie and The Situation. I made these men, my father's age, schlep to the top of the jetty with their boards, pose in the middle of Ocean avenue with Tink's Ole Woody so it blocked traffic and huddle under the Paramount for the sake of art.
The second shoot was with the next generation that continued the surf legacy in Seaside Heights. Gregory"Grog"Mesanko the ring leader and owner of "Grog's Surf Palace", his brother Chris, Kevin Casey, Richard Luthringer and Gary Clayton. We met early morning before the parking meters even asked for coins and again I had these Veterans of Surfing History posing under the piers as the waves crashed the shore and lining up in that classic 60"s fashion with their surf boards behind them. It was an awesome experience to see their camaraderie and ease with one another as I pushed to find that perfect light to frame these legends.
Shooting all these iconic gents was an awesome experience but not at all what I thought the assignment would be. It was much more enlightening then just creating images for hire because of the conversations and introspective I got from meeting these legends a bit past their prime. After the images are edited and chosen I usually archive them away. Sometimes pulling a few images for my portfolio and web site. I always make a few new friends with each assignment but this time was different. I realized that I was part of a bigger story then just preserving history for an individual family; these shoots were capturing stills of Men that shaped an era. "The Endless Stoke" is a documentary about how it all began but even more important, it's about how this sport gives a vibrancy to one's life that carries on, long after you catch the final wave.
