CALOUNDRA STREET FAIR
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MIXING METEOROLOGY AND ART Local surf photographer Karl Angell always has one eye on the e weather, looking for the perfect conditions to capture his next shot. urrimundi surf photographer Karl Angell is part artist, part meteorologist.
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He studies wind direction, tide swells, moon and sun positions, and beach locations after hours and on weekends, before capturing mother nature in all her glory on a Canon 7D DSLR with SPL water housing and a Tokina 10-17mm fisheye lens.
dream comes into play.
How did it all start?
“I would love to open my gallery cafe at either Bulcock or Moffat Beach in a few years’ time,” Karl says.
At the ripe old age of 16 years Karl moved from Maleny to Moreton Island, where he landed a dream job photographing dolphin feeding, dugongs and humpback whales, as well as helicopter tours, at the Tangalooma Resort.
“Friends and family, like my elderly grandmother Erla, often give me vintage cameras to display.
Karl’s photos evoke a sense of wonder, similar to how you might feel when you watch fireworks go up into the night sky.
“I also go to garage sales and swap meets to buy them, so my café camera collection is expanding all the time.”
Weather certainly has a huge impact on his life. Whether Karl is shooting adrenaline-pumping surf photos in the ocean, serving customers at The Caloundra Street Fair markets or working in his landscape gardening business, he always keeps an eye on the horizon.
The challenges of being a surf photographer
This first-time dad recently welcomed his baby daughter in January on the hottest day of the summer, when the mercury soared to 44.6 degrees in the shade. “I hope my daughter, Lily Nerida, who was born at the pinnacle of the summer heat wave, shares my passion for catching waves in the surf and on camera when she grows up,” he says.
Karl’s gallery café dream Currently in the pipeline is Karl’s dream to combine his passion for surf photography with his eclectic vintage camera collection and love of caffeine in one location – a gallery café. He hopes to build on his fan base from the Sunday Caloundra Street Fair market stall when this
Karl was part of a team of nine photographers who captured photos of resort guests and printed them as souvenirs of family holidays.
During the past decade there have been some physical challenges for surf photographer Karl.
His photographic journey continued when he landed a gig at Australia Zoo, where he met his lovely wife Gina. For three years, Karl took photos on whale-spotting boats and of tourists patting tortoises and turtles.
“I have dislocated my shoulder shooting photos inside the tube of a wave, that was about four metres high, during Cyclone Hamish in Noosa in 2012,” says Karl.
“Being a good photographer is a mix of creativity and technical skills – you need to determine the exact timing for the best light and the angle to get the best result,” he says.
“Apart from the threat of being dumped by a wave, there is the risk of sharks and stingrays to consider.
“However, sometimes photography is about good luck – being in the right place at the right time!”
“I was stabbed in the leg by a stingray a few years ago, so now I wear reef boots and a wet suit for protection.” Apart from his main lens focus – surf photos – Karl is always looking for a shot of the perfect storm. He says his wife Gina encourages and supports him to take surf photos but his Mum and Dad, Annette and Peter, still get worried when he shoots photos in the eye of a cyclone.
You can see Karl’s collection of surf, sunset, nature and storm photos every Sunday from 8am to 1pm at The Caloundra Street Fair, in Bulcock Street. www.caloundrachamber.com.au
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