Every year, I make it a point to get out to Hawaii and take a few pics. It is, as anyone who has ever been there claims, quite a special place. The vibe, hospitality and overall aura of awesomeness translates though most any image you see from that stretch of beach. I consider myself extremely fortunate to have met the people I have and for them to have shown me that amazing place they call home.
This past trip I didn’t get to spend that much time out on the shore as I usually do. I was doing a few other projects that were dry and I didn’t have a terribly vast amount of time to shoot what I wanted, so with what time I had, I gathered a few faces. In no particular order, I find these people quite unique; big wave chargers and pioneers–Shawn Dollar, Ian Walsh, Shane Dorian, Greg Long; 2X women’s longboard world champ- Kelia Moniz, local legends Daniel and Mikala Jones, Jesse Merle-Jones (no relation) and a transplant, progressive shaper Ryan Burch were some of the people I rounded up.
I wanted to create an image of someone who wasn’t in a shaping bay or in the water. I wanted every bit of intimate attention directed into the very essence of each of these icons. A portrait can be daunting because it is honest. You can learn something from each if you take the time.
The remainder of fun water shots were gathered on one fun afternoon with a bunch of great folks in the water.
See more of Ricky Lesser’s work on his website.
