Jay Watson Photography

Jake “Ginger” Jeffers, rider for the Santa Cruz BoardRoom Skate Shop

Steve Caballero, skateboarding Hall of Famer

Board Rescue is a non-profit corporation. They partner with companies within the skateboard industry to supply decks, trucks, wheels and safety equipment to organizations that work with children while targeting low-income and at risk youth. A fund raiser art show to benefit Board Rescue was held at The Santa Cruz Boardroom Skate Shop and turned out to be an incredible event. It not only helped raise money for the organization, but it was a gathering of many Northern California legends, pros, artists, skaters, parents, and groms from within the sport.

Below is a gallery of portraits I photographed of those who were in attendance. I built a fake 8′X8′ background wall inside the space with wood paneling, some heavy duty light stands, and about 10 pony clamps. The wood background was a last minute decision to play off the Board Rescue name. It was well worth the effort. I photographed some friends who I normally skate with, made some new friends, ate Sushi from one of my favorite places, and had a blast while working.

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Included in this gallery: Camillo Arana, Eli Atkins, Rick Blackhart, Don Bostick, Danielle Bostick, Steve Caballero, Terry Campion, Michael Chantry, Chasen Christensen, Mikey Donnelly, Joe Fong, Scott Foss, Joel Gomez, Gary Holl, Andrew Huberman, Jake Jeffers, Jason Jessee, Gary Myall, Keith Meek, Richard Novak, Judi Oyama, Jimbo Philips, Eli Roe, Ray Stevens, Kori Thompson, Ryan Wade, Jay Watson, Cameron Weaver, Mark Whiteley

Jason Jessee, 100% Skateboarder

Thanks to Judi Oyama of Maximum Impact Design and TC of The Santa Cruz Boardroom Skate Shop for inviting me to be part of the event. An extra special thanks to everyone who stepped in front of the camera for a visit. You rule! For more info on Board Rescue or to make a donation visit: www.boardrescue.org

Note: There are too many images to include everyone in the gallery. If you were in attendance send me an email if you don’t see your photo. Also, please help me caption the missing names by leaving a comment if you see someone you know. I missed a few.

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A 6sec exposure of an 8ft+ wave crashing on surfers. Steamer Lane. Santa Cruz, CA

One of the best things about the San Francisco Bay Area is being close to 36° 57′ 18″ N x 122° 1′ 28″ W (Latitude: 36.95521, Longitude: -122.02458). There are many spots to visit in Northern California but none of them quite like Steamer Lane. It’s a great place to watch pros, kooks, hot heads, legends, groms, hippies, Uncles, campers, pirates, paddlers, and seals. That is the magic of SC. It has something for all of us.

After a late evening session at the inside peak earlier this summer, I decided to photograph the moving water instead of the surfers. Due to the slow shutter speed in the last image above, the 5-10 guys scrambling in the water are invisible after being caught by one of the larger 8ft+ sets. You can’t see them, but they are there.

A portrait series of surfers from Santa Cruz, CA photographed for the book titled Cold Water Souls by author Chris Nelson. Outtakes, selections, and archives on Northern California surfing below.

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Zach Wormhoudt, Santa Cruz, CA. Cold Water Souls

Zach Wormhoudt represents Santa Cruz well. His father Ken Wormhoudt, built the legendary Derby skatepark in 1976 that has been featured in classic skate videos and magazines. The park still stands today as a mecca for skaters visiting Santa Cruz and is a landmark to local residents.  Zach is also a humble and well respected surfer in the lineup at Mavericks and has won a Billabong XXL Award for the biggest paddle-in wave one winter.

California skate culture owes a big thanks to the Wormhoudt family. Not just for Derby but for all of the amazing skateparks Wormhoudt Inc has built up and down the state. It has made a huge impact in the lives of skaters young and old with me being one of them. I’ve worn out plenty of shoes, gone through numerous decks and wheels, and had some great times with friends riding these parks. So what do you do when you get to photograph a person who has played a role in your life by building bowls and pools that you previously only dreamed about? You come with gifts, a handshake, and gratitude.

click to enlargeZach Wormhoudt surfing Mavericks Half Moon Bay, CA. Cold Water Souls

• • •

Cold Water Souls, by UK author Chris Nelson is NOW available at select book shops, surf shops, and on Amazon.com

update:
Cold Water Souls (1 of 4)
Cold Water Souls (2 of 4)
Cold Water Souls (3 of 4)

A portrait series of surfers from Santa Cruz, CA photographed for the book titled Cold Water Souls by author Chris Nelson. Outtakes, selections, and archives on Northern California surfing below.

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California surfer Richard Schmidt

Richard Schmidt has been a dedicated big wave surfer, competitor, professional, and surf instructor for decades. Though most of his time now is focused on his surfing school in Santa Cruz, Richard was a regular in the line up at the North Shore every winter for 15 years. A multi year invitee at the Eddie, many people are not aware of Richard’s role in the history of Mavericks. He too was one of the early pioneers along with Jeff Clark who helped figure out how Half Moon Bay’s behemoth could be ridden. I have a deep respect for Richard and his presence commands attention. This comes from either his heroic stature among Santa Cruz locals or from his reputation and list of accomplishments. However I like to think it comes from his quiet manner that gradually diffuses any preconceived ideas that go along with a legendary status. That to me is cooler than charging monsters and slaying giants.

• • •

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Sunrise over Cowells. Santa Cruz, CA

• • •

Cold Water Souls, by UK author Chris Nelson will be published world-wide January 25, 2011. It will be available at select book shops, surf shops, and on Amazon.com

update:
Cold Water Souls (1 of 4)
Cold Water Souls (2 of 4)
Cold Water Souls (4 of 4)

A portrait series of surfers from Santa Cruz, CA photographed for the book titled Cold Water Souls by Chris Nelson. Outtakes, selections, and archives on Northern California surfing below.

click to enlarge

John Hunter is one of the product designers at O’Neill Wetsuits. In fact he created the exact same wetsuit that I use – the O’Neill Mutant. For that same reason, I can say that John has made a significant contribution to not just me but to many other surfers. He makes the cold stuff much more tolerable. John is extremely dedicated to his job, his love of surfing, his love for Santa Cruz, and he has an insane quiver that I am dying to see.

The O’Neill R&D department is old school and legit! It consists of the Pacific Ocean right in their own back yard. Non surfers see a wetsuit as a weird neoprene monkey suit, but once someone points out all the features they’ll be surprised at how much technology is used just to provide warmth and freedom of movement to surfers. As for genius product design, take a look at the Zen Zip on the O’Neill Psycho wetsuit – yup another Hunter design.

• • •

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Darryl “Flea” Virostko at Mavericks in Half Moon Bay, CA.

Darryl Virostko is a cold water legend. I have not had the privilege of meeting him, but will hopefully someday get the chance. This cat has definitely lived an epic life. There have been some injuries and demons, but the three time winner of Mavericks should never be counted out as long as he is in the line up. This image of Flea was taken at the 2010 Mavericks contest. He took a terrible spill in the first heat, but here he is in the first heat of the semi finals with a few tricks up his sleeve.

• • •

Cold Water Souls, by UK author Chris Nelson will be published world-wide January 25, 2011. It will be available at select book shops, surf shops, and on Amazon.com

update:
Cold Water Souls (1 of 4)
Cold Water Souls (3 of 4)
Cold Water Souls (4 of 4)

I was commissioned by a publisher in the UK to shoot a few portraits of surfers from Santa Cruz, CA for a book titled Cold Water Souls. The publisher also ran a few images from my archive of surfing spots in Northern California including Capitola, Santa Cruz, and the biggest monster of them all – Mavericks!

Cold Water Souls will be published world-wide January 25, 2011 and will be available at select book shops, surf shops, and on Amazon.com

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Outtake from Cold Water Souls. Steamer Lane. Santa Cruz, CA

from www.coldwatersouls.com:
Cold Water Souls: In Search of Surfing’s Cold Water Pioneers is the ultimate journey of discovery. It has seen author Chris Nelson embark on an epic exploration of surfing’s most frigid outposts to track down those pioneering souls who call the world’s coldest and least hospitable line ups ‘home’. From Iceland, Thurso and Hokkaido to Nova Scotia, Alaska and beyond he has journeyed into the heart of surf culture to tell the story of each destination through its surf community, exploring how the landscape and harsh environments have shaped their lifestyles and surfing experiences. Never before seen archive images and photography contributed by some of the world’s leading surf and documentary lensemen, including Brian Nevins, Jeremy Koreski, Jay Watson, Nick LaVecchia, Richie Hopson and Tim Nunn help capture the essence of these regions. In celebrating this underground seam in surfing’s rich culture, Cold Water Souls goes to the very boundaries of modern surfing, exploring waveriding’s final frontiers thorough fresh perspectives and stunning imagery.

British author Chris Nelson was recently interviewed in Huck Magazine. He surfs all the cold stuff and has published several travel books on surfing in Europe. Too bad I didn’t get to shoot Chris or the bearded Wayne Vliet from Vancouver Island. Thanks to Chris and Demi for the gig.

Over the next few days, I will be posting more images and outtakes I shot for the book.

update:
Cold Water Souls (2 of 4)
Cold Water Souls (3 of 4)
Cold Water Souls (4 of 4)

Each day this week I have been posting images from the only summer swell that hit Northern California. This is the final post out of 5 total.

It brings me great sadness to let you know that I didn’t get to surf during this swell. That’s right man. Our Only Summer Swell came and went while I was busy working which explains why so many surfers ditch work when the waves are good. The ocean is fickle and good conditions in Northern California during the summer do not last very long. This brings up a lesson in life for surfers and non surfers. Live life while you can and don’t wait until tomorrow. If you miss an opportunity, don’t kick yourself. Grab your board and get ready for the next set of waves. There will always be more so enjoy your next ride!

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Summer Swell, Capitola, CA. © Jay Watson Photography.

Summer Swell, Steamer’s Lane. © Jay Watson Photography.

Summer Swell, The Hook. © Jay Watson Photography.

Summer Swell, Steamer’s Lane. © Jay Watson Photography.

Summer Swell, Capitola, CA. © Jay Watson Photography.

Summer Swell, Capitola, CA. © Jay Watson Photography.

“Surfing Sucks! Don’t Try It. You’ll Hate It.”

• • • • •

UPDATE: Select images from the series “Our Only Summer Swell” won an honorable mention at the 2010 International Photography Awards under the category of people lifestyle.

Each day this week I will be posting images from the only summer swell that hit Northern California. This is the 4th post out of 5 scheduled.

One of the more unique elements about skateboarding and surfing compared to any other sport is that you can be standing on the deck or sitting in the lineup right next to a pro. When the waves are good in Santa Cruz people come out of the woodwork who you have never seen before. They are like sleeping giants who wait for swells worthy of their arm strength. “Our Only Summer Swell” rolled in on Thursday July 23rd and by Saturday morning the heavies were already resting and drying out their wetsuits. By the time I was shooting there were still a few scrappers left in the water. At the tail end of the swell, parts of California’s northern coast were perfect for long boarding until early Wednesday July 29th. That gave the log riders 4 more extra days of stoke.

All of the images from this series show a diversity of surfers, a variety of boards, and each spot is within a short drive of each other. This makes Santa Cruz, CA a very special place on the US map.

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Summer Swell, Steamer’s Lane, CA. © Jay Watson Photography.

Summer Swell, Steamer’s Lane, CA. © Jay Watson Photography.

Summer Swell, Steamer’s Lane, CA. © Jay Watson Photography.

Summer Swell, Steamer’s Lane, CA. © Jay Watson Photography.

Summer Swell, Steamer’s Lane, CA. © Jay Watson Photography.

Each day this week I will be posting images from the only summer swell that hit Northern California. This is the third post out of 5 scheduled.

This entire group of images is from Steamer’s Lane in Santa Cruz, CA. This wave is a legendary point break gem that rises with a decent southern swell and holds when northern exposed spots close out. No matter how cold the water temperature is at Steamer’s, there is always some hothead out there who needs to be cooled off.  This day was no different. I saw a knucklehead in the lineup try to punch another surfer. The ocean responded and sent the knucklehead into a well deserved wipe out a few waves later. Bruce Brown would have made a nice voice over on that one.

Surfers avoid the long paddle out from the beach by jumping off a nearby cliff and paddling out to the lineup. The veterans take the easy access route by walking on the cliff that runs past the break. They slip past the barking seals, and then make the short free fall into the ocean. The younger groms must not like the longer walk. This cuts into their surf time. They practice their rock climbing skills with crab-like maneuvers, and use their grommet toes to scale the wall closest to the break.

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Summer Swell, Steamer’s Lane, CA. © Jay Watson Photography.

Summer Swell, Steamer’s Lane, CA. © Jay Watson Photography.

Summer Swell, Steamer’s Lane, CA. © Jay Watson Photography.

Summer Swell, Steamer’s Lane, CA. © Jay Watson Photography.

Summer Swell, Steamer’s Lane, CA. © Jay Watson Photography.

Summer Swell, Steamer’s Lane, CA. © Jay Watson Photography.

Each day this week I will be posting images from the only summer swell that hit Northern California. This is the second post out of 5 scheduled. People talked about this swell for days online. We heard it was coming and it sounded good by the time it hit Southern California. Unfortunately it was so good there was a death at the Wedge in Newport Beach, CA. You can get a sense of the size in this video clip here. Santa Cruz got the best of this swell up north, but the legendary longboard spot of Cowell’s remained dormant. Due to the swell direction, it missed Ocean Beach in San Francisco altogether, leaving one northern friend online to say “So much for this over hyped southern swell.”

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Summer Swell, Steamer’s Lane, CA. © Jay Watson Photography.

Summer Swell, Capitola, CA © Jay Watson Photography.

Summer Swell, Capitola, CA © Jay Watson Photography.

Summer Swell, The Hook. © Jay Watson Photography.

Summer Swell, Capitola, CA © Jay Watson Photography.