You have to know how to read surf forecasts, be willing to get up at the crack of dawn when the light is just right, and stand on the sand or be battered by waves for hours.
But if you have a passion and talent for taking surf photos, it could pay off.
The Surfing Heritage and Culture Center in San Clemente announced this week the launch of the 2020 Follow the Light Surf Photography Grant Program, a worldwide contest that pays tribute to legendary photographer Larry “Flame” Moore while looking for the next up-and-coming surf photographer.
Moore was known for his near-obsessive love for nature and capturing moments in the water, as well as helping to propel the careers of surfers along the Southern California coastline, most notably at Salt Creek Beach in Dana Point in the ’70s and ’80s.
Moore, who grew up in Whittier and moved to Belmont Shore with his father while attending Cal State Long Beach, first got a camera in his hands because of a debt owed by a friend who didn’t have the $100 to pay him.
Moore’s photography career began as he followed college friends during their surf sessions at locations such as Seal Beach, where Harbour Surf Shop founder Rich Harbour helped him build the first water housing for his camera, so he could shoot from the surf, according to author Nick Carroll in the book “30 years of Flame: California’s legendary surf photographer.”
He eventually moved to Dana Point, finding Salt Creek a perfect canvas, his tack-sharp images catching the eye of photo editors at Surfing Magazine.
Salt Creek through the ’70s and ’80s became the epicenter of the Southern California surf scene, not far from where Surfing Magazine — which folded in 2017 — was published at the time.
It wasn’t just the hottest surfers being documented, but also the shifting landscape, as the coastline became developed with multimillion-dollar homes and upscale resorts.
Moore was meticulous, with strong organizational skills, traits that served him well after he became photo editor at Surfing Magazine, where he was a mentor to photographers who shared in his passion.
His images would define the era, capturing moments of surfers such as Kelly Slater and Tom Curran as they shot to stardom.
Moore died in 2005, at 57, from brain cancer. A year later, the Follow the Light Foundation was created in his honor, to provide grants and recognition to rising surf photographers.
The grant awards program ran for about a decade. Its first winner was San Luis Obispo’s Chris Burkard, now a renowned outdoors photographer.
The contest was put on hiatus in 2015, until Moore’s wife, Candace, and sister, Celeste Maureaux, deeded the Follow the Light Foundation – along with Moore’s photo archives – to the Surfing Heritage and Culture Center.
Its revival in 2019 drew nearly 100 submissions from 12 countries, from photographers ages 16 to 25.
“It’s not easy to make a living as a surf photographer today, but it’s vitally important to our sport and culture that it continues to be documented and celebrated through photography,” said Shawn Parkin, photo editor of The Surfer’s Journal, and former Follow the Light grant winner, in a news announcement about this year’s contest. “It’s exciting to see Follow the Light continue as a platform for young photographers to showcase their work and be recognized for it.”
The winner gets a $5,000 grant and a chance to work some of the globe’s biggest surf events; last year’s award included a paid gig shooting the Vans Triple Crown in Hawaii.
All finalists get at least $1,000 in grant funds.
Last year’s winner was Nick Green, from Tasmania, who said the contest victory helped him follow his surf photography dreams.
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“I’ve had doors open that I didn’t even know existed, and the support and encouragement I’ve gotten has made me even more committed to doing this thing that I love,” he said in a news announcement.
Submissions will be accepted April 1 through May 31, with the award ceremony Sept. 10 at the Ocean Institute in Dana Point.
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