More recently, thanks to the documentary project ‘Mountains D’Água’ (Water Mountains), I had the opportunity to get a closer look at Lemos’s extensive portfolio. He’s been living in Hawaii for almost 20 years now, raising a family and earning the respect and friendship of the local community. He’s also one of the fortunate few to carve out a successful career as a pro photographer on the North Shore For those Brazilian surfers who, like many other haoles, make their pilgrimage to this mecca of surfing, Bruno is a bit of a hero.

Not that that’s gone to his head – Bruno’s more than happy to chat about the pleasures and difficulties of life as a surf photographer and filmmaker on the highly competitive North Shore.

How do you rate the 2010 North Shore season?
This season has been incredible. I’ve never seen such consistently good waves, but what’s been most impressive is the number of 20-foot-plus waves. In recent years, this would happen once or twice during the season, but this year we had loads of good sessions in Waimea. Without a doubt it was one of the best seasons of the past 20 years.

What’s your daily routine during the winter season?
It gets a little complicated, because I have a day job that helps me get by throughout the year, and it can be tricky to reconcile that with my photography. It can be very hectic, because I try to shoot early, go to work and then straight to the beach to shoot again.

Sometimes, when the waves are very good, I take a day off to focus on my photography. It’s worth the effort – I’ve captured some amazing moments.

[Jamie O'Brien - Pipeline - 2010]

You’ve been living in Hawaii for almost 20 years – have you seen much change in that time?
I arrived here on the North Shore in 1991, when you could count on your fingers the number of Brazilians in the area. Localism was far more aggressive and the rent was relatively cheap. Now it seems that Portuguese is the second-most-spoken language on the North Shore – even the locals are likely to speak a few words in our language! The rent and house prices are expensive, three times higher than when I got here.

The traffic in the region is absurd, particularly when the waves are on. I think surfing has become so popular that it eventually destroyed that rural vibe the North Shore had. Now we can call it ‘haolewood’!

You have the advantage of working in one of the most photogenic places in the world, but the pay-off must be that the competition is huge and the images will inevitably recur. How do you make your photographs stand out?
Finding new and different angles here on the North Shore is very difficult. I look at shots from the 1970s, and it’s all very similar to what we’re producing today.

Often I just set up my tripod along with several other photographers and start shooting. Sometimes, by chance, I get something really special. When new photographers arrive here they get really carried away and shoot everything, and I think I probably miss out on a lot of good material because I’ve been here so long that everything has become usual. It’s a double-edged sword.

[Jaws - 2010]

What do you think sets surf photography apart from other sport photography?
I think the main thing is the waves, especially those big waves and tubes, which are such beautiful things and represent the main difference between surfing and other sports. The sea is fascinating, whether you’re a surfer or not. And there’s no better place to be than on the beach – everybody loves it!

The colours of the late afternoon waves, the sky, the water, the texture of the waves – these are all things that inspire me to shoot.

What equipment are you currently using?
I’ve never been crazy about buying the most expensive equipment. On the contrary, there was a time that my philosophy was to try to make money with the least possible investment, but after a while I realised that I had to spend a little money! If you want to follow developments in technology you’ll need to replace equipment every six months, but I take a bit more of a relaxed approach.

Today I have three bodies – two Cannon EOS 20D and a Cannon EOS 30D – and a few different housings – one SPL with flash and one from Taro Pascual. In addition to the basic lenses I have 600mm, 70-200mm, 15mm, 28-135mm. I’ve got two HDV1080 video cameras, a bigger Sony HDV1000 for documentaries, and a smaller Cannon VIXIA40 for aquatic images.

[Ross Clarke-Jones - Jaws - 2010]

Any new projects on the horizon?
I have so much on my mind, but everything boils down to time and money! Realistically, I would like to be able to complete a documentary of big waves based around the images I’ve captured over the last decade, and I’d also like improve the quality of my programme Kaunala Road on the Brazilian cable TV channel Woohoo.

It would be nice to publish a book of my work, and also hold an exhibition at some point. I think my biggest problem is that I’m always so busy taking photos that I have little time left to show anything, or to turn the pictures into profit. But I guess that every artists is mostly concerned with the ‘soul’ and forgets about the financial aspect of their work.

Do you still find time to surf? Which are your favourite Hawaiian peaks?
Good question! Sometimes I forget that I’m surfer [Bruno has competed in amateur circuits in Brazil], especially at the height of the season when all the pro surfers are on the North Shore and I turn into a pro photographer. But after two or three months at this pace, I go back to normal and try to surf whenever the waves are good.

Usually I like to surf next to where I live, so while living in Sunset, I just surfed there, regardless of the conditions. Now I live in V-land and just surf here, in front of my house. Occasionally I head to Sunset or Waimea. These are the three waves of the North Shore that I like to surf the most.

Check out Bruno’s portfolio.

The music’s provided by Luciano’s friend Marcos Garcindo, aka Duotonic.

A Brazilian art director and passionate surfer, Tom’s recent work really reminds me of a mash-up of those iconic London Underground posters commissioned by Frank Pick and modernist travel posters from the 1920s and 30s. However you reference it, they’re refreshingly bold take on surf art. Take a look at the full series on Tom’s website.

◄ Back

Next ►

Picture 1 of 8

“About that article on Brazilian feminine surfing, I must say I disagree with some parts of the content, specially that relation with the “latin macho thing”. My perception and experience is that guys really love when they see girls surfing along with them, and they are usually very supportive of helping them out in the water. In my view, besides the dominating “bikini culture”, girls are more and more fond of practicing sports on the beach than just getting a sun tan!

I believe it is an interesting theme, but in my opinion, despite the author not seeing any girls surfing, we have more and more girls surfing in the Brazilian line-ups everyday, and I do see a few girls surfing here in Florianopolis. Of course there’s still no comparison with the amount of guys and what you see in Australia (where basically everyone surfs!!!)

Anyway, some important facts that were not mentioned is that Brazil has got nowadays a strong feminine professional competitive surfing circuit. Not to mention that in the late 80′s and early 90′s the bodyboarding boom attracted thousands of girls to the ocean, and the Brazilian girls still dominate this sport to this day in the world tour. I’ve also seen pictures of some girls surfing in Ipanema back in the sixties…

In the end of the day, I think the article does recognize that, when it states that what happens in Brazil is not much different than surfing in Britain and the USA, for instance… where feminine surfing is improving but still has a long way to grow…” Luciano Burin, Brazil.

Luciano Burin has got me thinking about women surfing in Brazil again. It’s great to see that the feature I wrote for Drift has triggered a spot of debate and he’s got a point – there were a few things I missed out. There wasn’t room to squeeze in more detail about the female competitive surfing circuit even though it was something Luana Prado and the professional female surfers I spoke to were keen to talk about. And I didn’t get a chance to dig deeper into the Brazilian bodyboarding boom of the late 1980s and why it was such a hit with girls.

With the main thrust of the feature, I wanted to raise questions around the relationship between women surfing and the notion of the ‘Body Beautiful’ as well as look at how ‘Latin machao’, as Lorraine Leu put it, has played a role in the development of Brazilian society on different levels. However, as the article points out, neither of these concepts offer a watertight explanation for why Brazilian line-ups seem decidedly oestrogen free.

And that’s because of one key thing. It might have been possible to belligerently convince myself that the theories of university professors about macho attitudes have some bearing on the number of women paddling out, if it weren’t for the many Brazilian men and women I spoke to that vehemently argued otherwise.

From hostel owners and surf school instructors to professional surfers, everyone I spoke to, before and after my trip, was adamant that there are increasing numbers of women surfing in Brazil and that it is a welcoming place to surf. And now I can add Luciano to the list.

Thing is, I don’t disagree. It is a really welcoming place to surf and I am sure there are plenty of women paddling out every day – as Luciano, Luana and everyone else points out; the evidence is certainly stacked high. It’s just I didn’t see them. No matter how much I wanted to look around and see women in the waves, I didn’t. And no matter how often people tell me there are ‘more and more girls surfing in the Brazilian line-ups everyday,’ I only have my own experience to go on and sadly they weren’t there. I wish they were, but they weren’t. For me personally, that has to be the bottom line.

Here’s hoping I get to go back to Brazil really soon and see things differently.  Any offers?

How did you become a professional surf photographer?
In 1993 I started out as a studio assistant for the advertising agency Almap/BBDO, and did my first job as a pro photographer in 2002. Initially I favoured studio photography, but as time went by, I started losing interest in the advertising industry and working in a studio – it wasn’t really my thing in the end. The challenge of living near the ocean and recording moments from the sea was – and still is – the most important aspect of my life.

Tell us a little about your favourite jobs so far…
All my work has a special meaning – sometimes those sessions in my backyard are the best. One day I went up a trail here on the island of Florianopolis with my friend and pro-surfer Guga Arruda. We had a good vibe going on, the waves were amazing, the air was fresh. We wandered down an unbeaten track and chatted like friends do – all those things combined to make a memorable day.?Of course, travelling to new places is always exciting – I was lucky enough to bump into the Malloy brothers with Rob Machado and Gerry Lopez on a trip to the Mentawai Islands. That was an amazing shoot that eventually made the cover of Trip magazine.

What are you working on right now?
I’m currently trying to develop my underwater photography skills and expand my database of images of Santa Catarina. I also want to go back to Hawaii – although I lived in Oahu for a while, my dream destination is still the North Shore in season. ?I’m currently also working with a project called BoardInform, a sort of totempole in Florianopolis airport that provides info about the local waves and weather, and also includes a lot of my photographs. We want to expand the idea and put these ‘totems’ in various places all over Brazil.

What are the peculiarities of surfing photography, do you think? What professionals you admire the most?
Shooting surf has a whole special feeling. You give up many things to live a simpler life in total harmony with nature. It isn’t easy to make a living from surfing, contrary to what many people might think – making money from this way of life requires dedication and a great love of what you do. The pleasure of falling in the water and experience the motion of the ocean makes this sport have a very special value to my life. ?I admire the work of various photographers, both in and outside surfing. As much as modern and emerging photographers are going beyond the limits, I would still go for guys like Scott Aichner, who is a master in the water; Aaron Chang, whose sensitivity I admire; Sebastian Rojas, a true master; and Sebastiao Salgado, who has nothing to do with surfing but captures Brazilian culture so powerfully .

You must have experienced some pretty amazing things, all in a day’s work…
Yes, I’ve been lucky to have had some unforgettable experiences! Like my first ever surf/photo trip, driving out of Floripa with big-rider John Capilé all the way to Punta Hermosa, Peru. Our goal was to hit good swell in Pico Alto, but I was blown away by El Gringo in Chile – I’ve never seen waves that size and formation. John got me really pumped and persuaded me to jump into the sea, despite the heavy 8-10 foot sets! I was totally inexperienced, and was hit in the head and lost my camera, but it was the biggest adrenaline rush of my life! Luckily I found my camera floating in front of me in the foam and it all worked out fine. But it was more than the surf that made this trip so memorable – as we descended the Andes we witnessed the devastating power of nature, passing a city that had been destroyed by a tsunami.
Jumping in Pipeline for the first time was also an unforgettable experience. Pipe was 8-feet plus, a real spectacle of nature! I had no idea how to get out of the water [laughs]. I ended up swimming to the nearby shore break where I took a proper beating to get out of the current.

Digital technology has developed and democratised photography. How do you feel it compares to film photography?
Digital photography has innovated and improved the universe of images. Personally, I always liked the process of revelation and the anxiety of traditional film photography. That whole process was a wonderful mystery. ?To be photographer in the days of film, you had to understand light and sensitivity, use the right material, and the margin of error was nonexistent. You would jump in the sea with a 36 exposure film and you HAD to get it right.
Today you can take 300 pictures in high-definition, and digital cameras greatly facilitate the process of capturing images, making everything easier.
Because of this, the photographers of today don’t think much when they’re shooting and usually forget to study and deepen their technical knowledge correctly. Sometimes they take good pictures but they forget to work with depth of field, correct light sensitivity and to capture the most striking angle. ??But digital has its advantages too – you can operate without fear of error, and evaluate your work as you go. Being able to correct your mistakes while you work is one phenomenal advantage to working digitally. ?I think that what makes a great photographer from an average photographer is someone who has a language of their own – a personal style of shooting. The guy who knows how to work with a set of lenses at the right time of day to convey the true charm of perfect light and setting, regardless of his chosen medium, is a great photographer.
Even with all the benefits that digital brings, I still believe that to stay relevant you need to find your own identity.

Where do you love to surf and where would you like to visit?
I like to shoot in Fernando de Noronha (north Brazil), Moçambique (Florianópolis) and a secret spot in Floripa. ?Noronha is one of the most beautiful places I’ve ever seen, if not the best. The unspoiled Moçambique beach is part of my personal history, because it’s where I learned to shoot in the water. I began to love Floripa because of the waves – I always get good photos there. The secret spot in Floripa is also special; it’s a place I go to recharge my energy and that helps me be aware of my eternal search for the best waves and images. ?As far as travelling goes, I want to know so many different parts of the world that I can’t begin to list them all! I like to surf in warm water with sunshine and hollow waves – these are the perfect ingredients for a great experience.

André Cortes is a Brazilian artist who best represents the true spirit of surfing through painting, with a sensitivity sharpened by a genuine appreciation for the ways of the sea.

Portraits of a perfect solitary wave breaking, a father teaching his son to stand on a board, and a bodysurfer fitting into a perfect tube are just some of the snapshots of surfing that André incorporates into his work. The resulting pictures capture the art of sliding through the waves.

Here, this artist and university lecturer from Rio de Janeiro – a Grumari beach local surfer known by friends as Cinquentinha – explains a little bit more about his work, influences and the role of art in surfing and education…

How did you come to combine a love of surfing with art??
I am an artist and illustrator by trade – I graduated in industrial design at PUC-Rio University, where I currently teach drawing and design.
My artistic involvement with the ocean and surfing started naturally with the fascination I always had with its movements, colours and symbols. Surfing and painting have always been personal means to seek a deeper connection with the water in physical, mental and spiritual senses. The means of expression I have always favoured is watercolour painting – the water technique.

Where can we see your work?
I’ve produced some designs for Veltra and Art in Surf. I’ve also shown work at the surf art shows sponsored by Alma Surf magazine, created illustrations for the Hang Loose movie ‘Quintal de Casa’, and contributed watercolours to the music video for ‘All Over’ by Brazilian singer Paula Toller (which features Donovan Frankenreiter).

What’s your view of surf culture in Brazil??
I believe that what we call ‘surf culture’ in Brazil is still very much tied to what this concept means in other surfing communities abroad. I still see people having great difficulty making their own identity, instead insisting on following ready-made models. I also believe that the place of art in the education of our young people is still very limited, causing the production and consumption of a culture that is not connected with our true artistic expressions.

What are your artistic influences??
My main references tend to come from the world of art and popular culture. My master, Agria Urian de Souza, a painter form Para ( in the north of Brazil) who’s a great lover of water and black culture is a massive influence on my work, as is Carybé, another important name in a long list of artists who have portrayed our land and our people.

What are your plans for the future??
At the moment I am concentrating on my research into elements of black African culture in Brazil – particularly the richness of Afro-Brazilian religious iconography in popular culture.
I have worked on projects with African-origin communities in Brazil, through partnerships with organisations such as the Quilombo Association in Paraty and Jongo da Serrinha in Madureira, Rio de Janeiro. At some point I would like to produce some paintings for art books, exhibitions, videos, and animations related to this portrayal of our regional culture.

The classic beauty of his longboard and double-fin wooden fish showcased at the event captivated me, and made me think about how difficult it is to pigeonhole surfing as either a sport or an art form.

In theory, the act of gliding on waves can reach the level of art, as each surfer has the freedom to express himself on a board in the same way that a musician is free to compose, play and sing whatever he wants. But in Brazil, things don’t always work that way. You need only take a quick look at the standardisation that prevails on our beaches and you’ll soon be puzzled by questions like: “Who determined that all surfboards should be 6’2 squash-tail thrusters?” “Who decided that all surfboards should be made from polyurethane?” “Why is every surfer trying to perform the same manoeuvres on every wave?”

There’s a real absence of freedom as a result of this standardisation of surfing. What would happen to music if all musicians were obliged to play rock, with only bass, guitar and drums? Or to art if painters could only produce pictures with a limited colour palette?

Fortunately, change is on the horizon, with the advent of new forms of surfing and the revival of old practices, as evidenced by the popularity of tow-in surfing, the SUP phenomenon, and the resurgence of interest in classic boards and alaias. This broad mix of approaches to surfing has freedom of expression on a board as its common denominator.

When I first discovered Siebert Woodcraft Surfboards I thought I had bumped into a vintage California surf brand. But to my surprise, the person responsible for this nostalgia was a 31-year-old fellow here in my hometown Florianopolis who, in 2006, began producing handcrafted hollow-wood style surfboards.

Academically trained in biology and engineering, Felipe is a self-taught shaper who combines a respect for the past with contemporary technology. The results are works of art in their own right, but they also inspire surfers to experiment with new ways of expressing themselves on the waves. To me, Siebert’s work offers a way to escape the sameness and the capitalist stagnation of the surf industry – he combines a respect for the environment with the recovery of ancient forms of shaping.

How would you define the spirit of surfing?
This is a very complex issue. Nowadays it is fashionable to be a surfer, but surfing’s roots are as an underground culture – from its birth in California in the 1950s and 60s to the beginning’s of its popularity in Brazil a little later, it was a mark of rebellion against society. So I believe the true spirit of surfing is to get something creative and different – the opposite of what happens today, where almost everyone wants to be Kelly Slater. If it were possible for us all to be Slater, it would be interesting, but that is certainly not the case.
Avelino Bastos of Tropical Brasil (one of the top shapers in Brazil) said recently: “If our strange desire to surf like everybody else went away, I think the future of design would be much better.” I couldn’t have put it better…

What’s the market for classic and longboards like in Brazil?
The longboard scene here is regionalised, being concentrated in Rio de Janeiro, Santos, and Balneario Camboriu. Here in Florianópolis this culture doesn’t exist – surfers here think longboards are for beginners or surfers who lack the physical prowess to use short boards.
Even though in California, Australia and Europe alternative models like hollow-wood longboards complete a surfer’s quiver, here even surfers with little ability insist on only surfing with the same board they see a WCT pro-surfer use. They forget that we don’t have three-foot plus, offshore clean waves everyday, and that they will eventually spend most of the summer struggling to ride their thin shortboards on the inside section.

How do you see Brazil’s surf culture evolving in relation to the traditional centres of California, Hawaii and Australia?
In California, where classic longboard is big, championships are completely ignored. I follow several websites and magazines and never hear the names of some longboard world champions such as the Hawaiian Bonga Perkins and Brazilian Phil Rajzman, surfers with a more progressive (modern) style.
Outside Brazil it seems that surf culture has split into two camps. There’s one set of people who worship the stereotypical surfer of the 1990s: bright, baggy boardies, waxed blonde hair, logo’d-up with all the major brands that sponsor the World Tour. Then there’s this new perspective, with a focus on surfing’s art and culture, which began in Hawaii and was nurtured in California from the 1950s, and has been distorted and developed over these last decades. This new segment emphasises the small and important things in surfing. The surf shops that follow this new trend value local products that can’t be found in other stores; products with soul, for want of a better word, designed by individuals, as opposed to the industrial products manufactured in China by large corporations. This enhances and develops a singular style of surfing, peculiar to each region.
In my experience, though, the majority of people lack the personality to follow their own line, and instead want to be like everyone else. It is easier to go with the crowd than to challenge yourself.

What or who inspires your work?
One of the things that excites me is to discover more about boards both past and present, and I love the movies and everything else to do with classic surf culture. Films like ‘One California Day’, ‘Sprout’, ‘Lines From a Poem’. I find inspiration in books like ‘Greg Noll: The Art of the Surfboard’, ‘Leroy Grannis’, ‘Stoked’, ‘Eddie Would Go’. There are so many incredible shapers that influence me: Tom Wegener, Greg Noll, Bing Copeland, Rich Harbor, Hobie Alter, Dale Velzy, Hap Jacobs, Dewey Weber, Gordon & Smith. And the new generation of shapers too, like Robbie Kegel (Gato Heroi), Dave Allee, Paulo Jacinto, Michel Junod, who are marrying functionality and classic style. Then there’s the surfers, like Alex Knost, Tom Wegener, Rasta, Joel Tudor, Tyler Warren, Jimmy Gamboa, CJ Nelson, Dane Perlee, among many others.

You’re one of the pioneers in the manufacture of wooden boards in Brazil; what are your plans for the future?
Actually, I’m only a pioneer – or one of them – if you consider the ‘post-foam’ generation. In Brazil, even before the arrival of PU boards, we already had wooden models called Madeirite and hollow boards based on designs developed by Tom Blake.
This past year we have had a huge number of orders for boards. We’re also creating a new line of skateboards that should be ready for release in a couple of months.
We’re currently testing some lamination techniques that utilise less-harmful materials as an alternative to resin and woven fibreglass, but I suspect it will be some time before we can stop using the ordinary resins completely. In order for us to use these new materials on a large scale, we must be certain that they have strength and quality that’s at least equal to the materials already in use.
I believe that our path will be defined by the choices customers make when they invest in a new board. New techniques and materials invariably come at a higher cost to the consumer – but hopefully many people will be willing to invest in a clean material as long as it performs as well as those already on the market.

Felipe has recently collaborated with American artists Jesse Ledoux and Dustin Ortiz, and Brazilian artist (and Drift US blogger) Jair Bortoleto to release a limited-edition surfboard – it’s the first collaboration between an shaper and an artist in Brazil to create an artist signature model. Find out more here.

www.siebertsurfboards.com
www.surfecult.blogspot.com