North of Nowhere
north east surfers
de Gabe Holm
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À propos du livre
This work is a documentation of surfers from the south coast of Massachusetts. They are passionate about the sport and have devoted their lives to it. Each person I have photographed is involved with the sport at a different level. First, there’s Pat the high school student who surfs competitively. Then there is Erik, a college student who chose to go to a school based on proximity to good waves. Hoyt is the local surf shop owner. Shawn is a former pro surfer who now makes surfboards, and Larry the church pastor who has been surfing most of his life and runs youth groups to recruit young people into the sport.
It takes experience and patience to surf the waters here. Although there will be some rideable days during the summer, more common are extended periods of no waves. The coasts are often rocky and the water cold. The most consistent heavy hitting swells come throughout the winter along with freezing water temperatures. It puts an interesting spin on the idea of tropical surf that typically comes to mind when most people think about the sport. These surfers, however, adapt to their environment. Suited up in full rubber neoprene wetsuits with gloves, boots and hoods, they transform into amphibious creatures that will, in midst of a blizzard, tromp across a snow-covered beach to the water and paddle out into a bitterly cold ocean to ride waves.
Surfing is something new to me. As a child it was something I wanted to do but growing up in western Massachusetts, I never had an opportunity to try. Attending college on the southern coast of Massachusetts, finally I got a chance. On my first day even though the waves were small, standing up and riding a wave in was exciting. The amount of work it took to paddle out, wait for good sets of waves, then trying to catch them at the right point, made it a rewarding experience. Since that day I’ve developed a great appreciation for the sport. It constitutes a battle between human physical limitations and the ever-present power of the ocean.
Massachusetts is not known for surfing. It’s rather unique to the south coast and something I wanted to photograph. I also enjoy being near the ocean. I find the ocean to be very comforting, enlightening and magnificent. The ocean is power, mystery, peace, and energy. It’s ever changing and has a life of its own.
The people I have photographed possess some of the most interesting personalities I’ve encountered. Each person has different interests and is at a different stage in life, yet they all share this common bond of surfing. It’s something that they are truly committed to; constantly they watch the weather, fixating on swell patterns, and when waves do come, they will drop any activity to get out in the water.
Secrecy and surfing go hand in hand along with severe localism. Infact, surfers use verbal or physical threats to discourage people from surfing certain spots that are unknown to the public. This territorialism is supported by the idea that fewer people at a surf break mean more waves per surfer. When I started shooting these photographs I immediately experienced this. Almost every time I was photographing I would be warned by at least one surfer not to post the pictures or tell anyone about these locations. I heard stories and rumors of other surf photographers getting their car windows smashed or tires slashed and luckily haven’t experienced anything like that. “North of nowhere” is a phrase used to keep a surf spot secret. The better surf breaks are often located within private communities without public beach access. To get to them one often has to park illegally and walk through someone’s yard. The residents aren’t always welcoming.
Bundled up in winter attire with my camera inside a waterproof bag I followed these south coast surfers through rain, snow, and sun to the better surf spots at all different times of the day. I found it interesting that many of these people also express themselves creatively. When they aren’t surfing they are often drawing, painting, making surfboards, or creating music. Their homes are full of such personal possessions and I want to include this in the portraits I made of them. Twelve 13x19 photographs present a view of them at home with family and at the ocean, surfing.
Through video interviews I hope to describe what surfing means to different individuals and their perceptions of their sport. In my photo book The Shaper I have documented Shawn Vecchione making a surfboard from start to finish. In a second photo book North of Nowhere are additional surf shots, portraits, and outtakes that give a more in-depth, personal look at the life of a surfer in New England.
This body of work was all shot between October and March, somewhere in Massachusetts, just North of Nowhere.
It takes experience and patience to surf the waters here. Although there will be some rideable days during the summer, more common are extended periods of no waves. The coasts are often rocky and the water cold. The most consistent heavy hitting swells come throughout the winter along with freezing water temperatures. It puts an interesting spin on the idea of tropical surf that typically comes to mind when most people think about the sport. These surfers, however, adapt to their environment. Suited up in full rubber neoprene wetsuits with gloves, boots and hoods, they transform into amphibious creatures that will, in midst of a blizzard, tromp across a snow-covered beach to the water and paddle out into a bitterly cold ocean to ride waves.
Surfing is something new to me. As a child it was something I wanted to do but growing up in western Massachusetts, I never had an opportunity to try. Attending college on the southern coast of Massachusetts, finally I got a chance. On my first day even though the waves were small, standing up and riding a wave in was exciting. The amount of work it took to paddle out, wait for good sets of waves, then trying to catch them at the right point, made it a rewarding experience. Since that day I’ve developed a great appreciation for the sport. It constitutes a battle between human physical limitations and the ever-present power of the ocean.
Massachusetts is not known for surfing. It’s rather unique to the south coast and something I wanted to photograph. I also enjoy being near the ocean. I find the ocean to be very comforting, enlightening and magnificent. The ocean is power, mystery, peace, and energy. It’s ever changing and has a life of its own.
The people I have photographed possess some of the most interesting personalities I’ve encountered. Each person has different interests and is at a different stage in life, yet they all share this common bond of surfing. It’s something that they are truly committed to; constantly they watch the weather, fixating on swell patterns, and when waves do come, they will drop any activity to get out in the water.
Secrecy and surfing go hand in hand along with severe localism. Infact, surfers use verbal or physical threats to discourage people from surfing certain spots that are unknown to the public. This territorialism is supported by the idea that fewer people at a surf break mean more waves per surfer. When I started shooting these photographs I immediately experienced this. Almost every time I was photographing I would be warned by at least one surfer not to post the pictures or tell anyone about these locations. I heard stories and rumors of other surf photographers getting their car windows smashed or tires slashed and luckily haven’t experienced anything like that. “North of nowhere” is a phrase used to keep a surf spot secret. The better surf breaks are often located within private communities without public beach access. To get to them one often has to park illegally and walk through someone’s yard. The residents aren’t always welcoming.
Bundled up in winter attire with my camera inside a waterproof bag I followed these south coast surfers through rain, snow, and sun to the better surf spots at all different times of the day. I found it interesting that many of these people also express themselves creatively. When they aren’t surfing they are often drawing, painting, making surfboards, or creating music. Their homes are full of such personal possessions and I want to include this in the portraits I made of them. Twelve 13x19 photographs present a view of them at home with family and at the ocean, surfing.
Through video interviews I hope to describe what surfing means to different individuals and their perceptions of their sport. In my photo book The Shaper I have documented Shawn Vecchione making a surfboard from start to finish. In a second photo book North of Nowhere are additional surf shots, portraits, and outtakes that give a more in-depth, personal look at the life of a surfer in New England.
This body of work was all shot between October and March, somewhere in Massachusetts, just North of Nowhere.
Caractéristiques et détails
- Catégorie principale: Livres d'art et de photographie
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Format choisi: Format paysage, 25×20 cm
# de pages: 120 - Date de publication: avril 12, 2010
- Mots-clés new england, gabe holm, shawn vecchione, surf, surfing, esm, shaper
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À propos du créateur
Gabe Holm
Boston, MA, USA
Gabe Holm is a Massachusetts born and based artist currently pursuing a Bachelor of Fine Arts with emphasis in Photography at The University of Massachusetts Dartmouth.