Everything but the kitchen sink

Gear I brought with me to Hawaii in my Pelican Case:
10 lenses, 4 camera bodies, & 1 flash
Not pictured (600mm, tripod, 3 waterhousings, computer, external hard drive).
And I’ve shocked myself by inadvertently using every piece of gear within the first 10 days. Happy Thanksgiving!

John John Florence, Backdoor

Wave of the Week

This is a tilt-shift photo of Windansea. A tilt-shift lens has bizarre effects ranging from warped horizons, selective focusing, and amazing tonalities. It's a unique look, you either love it or hate it. I've been using it a lot in Hawaii this winter in an effort to get a different look from the hordes of other photographers on the beach. More to come...


Also, here's a very interesting site that compiles magazines that have died each week. The list was larger than I thought, and some of the bigger titles surprised me! Probably one of the funnier ones was Playgirl. Their readership was no longer that of women and they didn't have any advertisers that would publicly back them.
http://www.magazinedeathpool.com/magazine_death_pool/

Rain & The Monster

Nearly out the door to shoot photos, and a huge rain squall let loose upon the North Shore. Oh yea, I forgot to mention I'm in Hawaii for the next 2 months. But right before my departure, I got some film developed.
I can't even count how many times I've hovered over Chad Stickney's shoulder late at night covered in plexi/fiberglass shavings, giddy at his new waterhousing creations. I can't thank Chad enough for all of my "experiments" he's put up with. He's a great friend and an amazing craftsman.
http://hcwhousings.freehomepage.com/
Laguna Beach- 11:45 pm
Chad Stickney working on Project Vertigo aka "The Monster" w/me hovering again. She's ready...

Ilford 3200 film

Wave of the Week

During the last pulse of South swell I hiked down to Black's for some head high to overhead bowls. The horizon was clear and that meant that the sunset was going to reflect off of the rocks to provide some crazy colors in the water. Such a beautiful afternoon, albeit the random nudists running around the hike back up the cliff. Well I'm off to Hawaii for two months; I'll be posting updates my entire trip, check back soon.

ESPN Zoom Gallery

I've been doing some work with ESPN the past couple months, they're probably one of my favorite clients. They feature some of the best action sports photography including BMX, snowboarding, skateboarding, and of course surfing. This is John Maher from my last trip to Puerto Escondido, Mexico. It was shot with fisheye and an external flash on a cloudy morning. We both got tossed around during this session, but it was all in good fun. See my photo and others at this link:
http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/flash/zoomGallery?section=expn&photoGalleryId=3697852

Subtext/MIAO

Lately I’ve been visiting a ton of art galleries and absorbing different forms of art and thought a vinyl toy show at Subtext Gallery could be really interesting. It’s great talking with other artists outside of my genre for their perspectives on style, aesthetics, and business. This particular show was based around a Zakkamoto figure called MIAO. It’s produced in matte white and the selected artists interpret how to paint it based on their particular style. Each one was incredibly different and unique; solid turnout and great to see the SD art scene begin to thrive.

SLR Killer

A while ago I wrote a blog about how I wanted my technologies separate, video and stills should not be combined in a single unit like on the Canon 5DII. However…when you can pull hi-res stills OFF OF the video…now we’re talking!!!
RED Scarlet FF35 camera. Full frame, 24 MP (6000x4000 pixels), 30fps $12,000 for the body, Canon mount for the 15mm fisheye...balmy…
http://www.red.com/epic_scarlet/
Sounds ideal, but the price is kind of prohibitive for most people. By 2012 when the prices drop...behold, the SLR Killer...

PYT Photo Shoot

My friend Mindy from UCLA is a big-time jeweler now with her company called Pretty Young Thing (PYT). I was flattered that she wanted me to take photos of her new laser-engraved acrylic necklaces. I don’t do favors with my camera for many people, but I'm a sucker for lasagna and brunettes. People in LA are starting to swarm over these, and the photos show the quality of the pieces. Get some before Christmas because I can see the prices skyrocketing in the near future.
http://themindy.com/menu.html
Speaking of the holidays…I’ve been getting a mountain of print orders, but I’ll be in Hawaii through January... So from now through then, Waveriders Gallery let me know that they will help fulfill all of your print needs. (massive sigh of relief!)
http://www.waveridersgallery.net/catalog2/surfphotographer-ben-decamp-c-23_88.html

Unveiling the Colors of Puerto

Just got an entire online gallery at Surfer Magazine from my nearly two-month stint in Mexico. Of course, the best were saved for print... Have a look!
http://surfermag.com/photos/flash/puerto-escondido-decamp/

Wave of the Week

This is a reef break near my house. I love how the sun is melting into the horizon like a scoop of orange sorbet. Oh yea, and if Noah Hamilton (photographer friend) is reading this, I shot it on Manual settings just for you! Check out his portfolio, he does a lot of great work on Oahu and Kauai.
http://www.noahhamiltonphoto.com

PhotoExpoWest/Douglas Kirkland

Aside from schmoozing with the Canon, Nikon, and Mamiya reps I attended a seminar at PhotoExpoWest this weekend, presented by Douglas Kirkland called “Photography: A 50-Year Love Affair.” For those unfamiliar with his work, he’s photographed almost every major motion picture. He did the cover art for Out of Africa, the stills from the Titanic sinking, and spent tons of hours with celebrities in their taxis and hotel rooms. It’s interesting listening to someone in a field entirely different from mine, portraiture v. landscape/action. He had some great insights, about having fun and approaching everyday with a ton of energy even at the ripe age of 73. I was surprised he remembered the celebrities’ names he photographed after all these years.
He also made me realize I want to avoid shooting subject matter that could become dated. There’s a big difference between dated and classic. A good example is seeing Jeff Divine’s photos of surfers hanging out on the beach at sunset. A classic. Seeing neon wetsuit tube photos with old school logos...not good. Dated.

Everybody Loves Junk Mail

Below is my new self-promo mailer, it consists of 1000 postcards. I targeted an entire list of creative/art directors, outdoor magazines, and galleries in LA and SoHo/NYC. I'm eager to see the response, especially if the person receiving the cards is recently divorced (which is very likely these days).
Email me with your address if you'd like a card.

Magazines...RIP?

Seeing my photo "published" on a website, never gives me that giddy feeling like cracking open a magazine and seeing it in print. It’s bizarre to see magazines going out of business. Today, the rumor mill says that Water and Longboard Magazine called it quits.
The economy is tough these days; a lot of freelancers are struggling really hard to make a buck. This winter in Hawaii will be one of the hardest for a lot of shooters, not only are companies not going to be purchasing a lot of ads, there is an even greater influx of digital photographers. I suppose we’ll see how it all pans out…
I just love holding my photos. That tangible essence whether it’s on my desk, airplane folding tray, or hung from my wall… it’s just better. And when the Internet shrivels up and goes away, so will this blog. But I might stumble across my images in a magazine being used for toilet paper in a Panamanian jungle surf camp.

Surfer Magazine December 2008

Wave of the Week

Crisp cool morning light, reminds me of Fall weather on the East coast. Love how the flowers on the bush turned into blurred out circles.

Well it's that time again...

...for new business cards!

Looks like a good art exhibition this week.