Riding the Waves With Photography
Surfwear maker Hurley has a roster of artists it sponsors to keep the creative powers working.
One of the more outstanding is Clark Little, a former pro surfer turned photographer. Little’s specialty is capturing the incredible wave formations that tumble down onto the Hawaiian beaches. He daringly positions himself on the sand or in the waves to snap the arc and bend and varying colors that turn his photos into art. His camera is a wide-angle-lens Nikon secured inside a durable fiber-glass shell casing.
“I started doing this more than two years ago when my wife wanted a photo for the house,” the Hawaii resident said at a recent showing of his photography at Michiko Jewelry Design Gallery in Seal Beach, Calif. “I said, ’I can do that.’”
He’s been doing it ever since. The Hurley sponsorship, which keeps him on a monthly retainer and supplied with Hurley gear, has helped keep his business going. There is even talk, Clark said, of Hurley using some of his wave images for its T-shirts.
The colors and scenes Clark captures remind you that the ocean is a daunting force. At the gallery, Clark showed a video of him at work. More often than not, he ended up being slammed by a crushing wave with streams of sand cascading from his body suit. One of his more humorous photos was of surfing pet rats that some boys bring to the beach for a little water action.
In the span of only a few years, Clark’s photography has garnered him interviews on “Good Morning America” and “Inside Edition” and articles in countless international magazines and newspapers. Currently he is working on a photo book that should be coming out in October.
Clark’s next exhibit is Aug. 6 at the Sasha Gallery in Laguna Beach, Calif.
For more vistas of his stellar photography, visit www.clarklittlephotography.com.
