PHOTOGRAPHY BY CARLOS SANTANA
so much because I was friendly and would just paddle up to someone, like, ‘Hey, how’s it going?’ Now, it’s so welcoming! Everybody I meet is so nice. I don’t get the stink eye or whatever. I never have any problems in the water. There’s this shorebreak wave by my house called The Wedge and it’s different from anything in this area. It gets so heavy and at times, really photogenic too. Occasionally you would see someone taking pictures on the sand or in the water, but there weren’t many. One day, when I was about eighteen, I borrowed my friend’s camera on the beach and I started taking pictures. I didn’t want to stop! I liked shooting on the sand, but I loved being in the water, and when I finally combined the two, it was so much fun. I wasn’t riding the wave but I was experiencing it. I was feeling the ocean, feeling its power, and I was able to capture those moments. I only knew a couple of things about photography, but I took a big leap; I just went for it. It was never like, ‘Oh I wanna be a surf photographer.’ I barely knew what that was. A couple of years later, I was still at community college and I felt like, ‘What am I doing here?’ I had a passion, but it wasn't in the books. I couldn't really afford photography school, but I knew people who worked at publications and they told me, ‘If they like your photos, they like your photos.’ So I decided to just pursue it. SURFING Magazine has a foundation grant called ‘Follow The
Light’ and I made that my goal. I began shooting as much as possible to submit a portfolio last year and ended up being chosen as one of five finalists, out of fifty people in the world. I couldn’t believe my work was judged by Aaron Cheng, one of the most legendary surf photographers there is. He really inspired me and told me not to give up, even if things are hard. I guess there should be more diversity in the surf industry in this area. It’s mostly white people, I would say, and I think it would be good to add more cultures. But that’s just this area. Surfing’s so big now, there are so many different types of people involved. I don’t even know what I’d do if I’d never discovered surfing. It truly shaped me as an individual. Maybe I would be going to school, but I don’t know what I’d do there. I feel like people around here get so bored because they don't venture out to do or see other things. The great thing about my photography is that every time I pick up my camera and go shoot it’s like a little adventure, a little getaway. It takes a lot of stress off me. I have a lot of time to think. I get to come home with these memories and be able to express myself. If I didn’t have this, I don’t really know what I’d be doing. CARLOS SANTANA carlos-santana.tumblr.com korduroy.tv/makers/carlos-santana
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