Earlier this year, Los Angeles-based photographer Eric J. Smith was able to capture the incredibly rare moment of a surfacing humpback whale just a foot or so away from a sailboat. The photograph, covered by global publications like The Telegraph, The Huffington Post, and ABC News, went viral, it's popularity based on its message rather than the endangered species itself. Sitting on the nearby boat is a man so engaged by what's happening on his cell phone screen that he's entirely oblivious to the whale. Smith posted the image on Instagram with the caption, "A sign of the times." The photograph was able to start a worldwide dialogue about our dependency on technology.
Smith, an award-winning director, designer, and photographer, is able to tell a story through a single photograph. Over the past 20 years, he's traveled the world and worked with everyone from Oprah Winfrey to James Cameron and created a signature style in his documentary images. Recognized by National Geographic, Smith was invited to participate in their "View From Above" Exhibition at O'Hare Airport. Presently, Smith serves as the Vice President/Creative Director of EcoMedia.
We asked Smith to explore the idea of putting a new spin on a traditional way of life and apply it to the culture he experiences in Los Angeles, and were thrilled when he agreed. To Smith, these atypical black and white surf shots taken from the Pier in Manhattan Beach, California, truly reimagine tradition.
"Here in Southern California, the tradition of surfing is in the DNA. Throughout the years, the romance of catching waves has captured the imagination of people all over the world. From my office on Manhattan Beach, spotting surfers in the ocean is a daily occurrence. In the past year I have been enamored with freezing the moment when surfers and the ocean become one."
"Traditional surf photography focuses on the the perfect barrel and the size of waves as related to to the people who tame them. I see things a bit differently. I have always been influenced by artist Robert Longo’s Men in the Cities series which depicted men and women frozen in various states of contorted emotion.
"Expanding on those images, I find that the energy in the human form as it interacts with the rush of the Pacific is very alluring. Those moments, photographed from unique vantage points, create very dynamic compositions. For this series I have created black and white surf imagery taken from the Pier in Manhattan Beach, California. Not your typical surf shots, these images truly reimagine tradition."
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ABSTRACT/EARTH: The Photograph of Eric J. Smith is currently exhibiting at Hermosa Design (Hermosa Beach, CA) through July 1.
Follow Eric on Instagram or view his online portfolio
