Living

Sunday, Aug. 17, 2008

A fluid medium

Pismo Beach surf photographer is making waves of his own through the viewfinder of his camera

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Chris Burkard is being hailed as a major up-and-coming surf photographer along the California coast, but his range reaches much farther.

Burkard’s work, “Unearth,” on exhibit at Firefly Gallery through August, was mostly shot during his travels to Thailand, Indonesia, Dubai, Iceland and Canada.

“It’s kind of an eclectic group of images,” said Burkard, whose photos are published in hundreds of national and international surf magazines.

A blur of activity

He’s made so many trips in the last two years, Burkard has trouble counting, figuring seven or eight, all for assignments. In spite of the exotic locations, the Pismo Beach resident said he often wondered why he didn’t stay home with his wife, Breanne, enjoying the beauty and simple lifestyle of the Central Coast.

And it wasn’t all fun and games, either.

“I was lugging around thousands of pounds of camera equipment,” Burkard said. Or at least the Canon digitals, with various bodies and lenses, and waterproof housings felt that heavy.

A quick study

Now 22, Burkard took up photography three years ago. A year later, he won the inaugural $5,000 Follow the Light Grant, honoring the late surf photographer Larry “Flame” Moore. Burkard’s proposal for a book called “The California Surf Project” also impressed the judges. Chronicle Books is expected to publish it next spring.

Born in San Luis Obispo and raised in South County, Burkard taught himself, save for a black-and-white photography class at Cuesta College.

“You kind of just take yourself to school by trial and error,” he said. “You kind of learn to experiment. That’s what really elevates you.”

Accidents often develop into good fortune, like when the flash fails and the sunlight magnifies the wave’s froth, creating a feathery effect. Burkard’s experiments include coating some prints with resin and heating the finish with a blow torch.

“That, by itself, is like a work of art,” he said.

Patience, perseverance

A surfer since since his midteens, Burkard now concentrates on swimming, to build up his endurance. “I spend a lot of time shooting in the water,” he said, often shivering and waiting. His patience usually pays off.

Some of his favorite shots are what Burkard calls “empty waves,” with no surfers present.

He often aims to capture the quiet times between the action, a surfer walking with his board, softly out of focus, the grasses in the foreground the dominant feature. Silhouettes are also big on his list, not only for the mood, but for the timeless quality, with no logos visible on the wet suits or boards.

And although Burkard photographs digitally 90 percent of the time, he also has a Leica camera, as his first love is film.

“It’s more honest,” he said. “Digital manipulation is something I try to stay away from,” he said, and he usually avoids cropping, staying true to what he frames in the lens. His focus is the light, the mood, the composition.

“Composition is key,” Burkard said.

Reach freelance writer Lee Sutter at