Legends

Anyone who has ever grown up in a small town knows that everyone knows everyone. Whether you want to or not. That is exactly how the whole state of Hawai'i is. This is even more true of the surfing community. My whole family surfs including my mom. Needless to say I have had Hawaiian surfing culture instilled in me since I was born. Professional surfers in Hawai'i are the equivalent to celebrities here on the mainland. Even if you are the best surfer in your town, everyone gives you respect and in Hawai'i it's all about respect. No one cares what kind of car you drive, where you live, or how much money make... Especially if you surf well.

Derek and Michael Ho are brothers from Oahu. They are both legendary in the surf world. I had a chance to meet them and hang out with them (thanks to my older brother Keone) the last time I was home. My brother asked me to take a couple of shots of Derek and some of his boards that he had drew on. We met at Gavin Beschen's house across from Rocky's and used his yard to snap the photos. I asked if I could take some individual portraits of everyone there, and these were the favorites.

Derek Ho

Michael Ho

Da Boys

Keone Law

Gavin Beschen

More

This chick was just ripping.

Contest Entry

'Tis the season for contest entries, and tons 'o work, too. Getting ready to take a couple days off, but not before working incessantly for a couple weeks first. Hey, you do what you've gotta do, right?

Been going through a bunch of negs in preparation for this years Billboard Photo Contest. Normally we'd never shoot live music, but from time to time, when our friends are playing a show at a good venue, we'll bust out the Hassy and some high speed film to get a little nuts. This one was Pepper and friends at the Greek Theater in Berkeley... and nuts it was.

Last night was somewhat sleepless, so I figured I'd jump on the scanner and take care of some business-- until 4:30 AM. This shot is the first of a few we will try to get posted. . . lots of smiles. Smiles make us happy. We hope they make you happy, too.

Enjoy.