In Your Shadow by Aaron Hughes

Growing up the son of a surf photographer, surfing was a given and photography came naturally, however combining the two has proved difficult as I love surfing too much not to participate every time it’s pumping. My current status as a roving broadcast camera operator for WSL events, and/or tag-along husband of a surf-commentating wife, has transformed beach boredom into surf photography experimentation, with limited lens options leading me to test the limits of foreground in a surf contest photo.

At a young age, prior to the advent of digital photography, I was bequeathed an SLR in the form of a Nikon FM, a camera that I’ve stuck with, though I’m onto at least my 10th and 11th iteration (now of FM2n’s). I keep two at a time, one loaded with Kodak Ektachrome 100, the other with Kodak Tri-X 400, having long since given up deciding between color and black & white. I’m way too indecisive for that. My indecisiveness also led to years spent traveling with two Polaroid Land Camera 250’s at a time, on top of a digital ensemble and said FM2n’s. Thankfully I’m slowly whittling down the bulk in the backpack as my lower back degrades.

Most photos in my collection have been captured either on the way to a surf, from a surf or whilst on a surf trip, though often only subtle hints would give that away. I’m a massive fan of the early days of surf photography; my father's contributions to most major surf publications meant that subscriptions were free and I lived for the next new mag. Our archives were deep and Stoner, Church, Flame, Divine and Brewer, amongst many others, have fuelled the fire as I slowly delve into what I was always too terrified to miss a wave for...