Oceanside by Tanner Olthoff

My name is Tanner Olthoff and I am 24 years old. I was born and raised in Oceanside, California, a lesser-known gem in San Diego County. I got into photography after I stopped playing college baseball after my sophomore year. Growing up I loved traveling, skateboarding, and surfing, which inspired me to capture those moments through photography. I taught myself photography simply by going out and shooting, and have been shooting for about 4 years now. Although pairing photography with travel and surf is my biggest passion, I am still realistic with myself and knew it wouldn’t be able to pay the bills to live in Oceanside the rest of my life. I graduated college with a Bachelor degree in Finance and got a job in the industry while still shooting and traveling as much as possible. Due to the recent corona virus pandemic I was laid off and will be trying to do more photo work during the down time. Before graduating I was able to travel the entire country of Iceland for 2 weeks in a camper van, which was a life changing experience to say the least. The trip furthered my obsession with traveling to remote locations and being alone in nature. That trip inspired other van trips in Yosemite and Oregon, and travels to Montana, Utah, Oahu, Kauai, and the rest of California. My favorite photographers and inspirations include Chris Burkard, who inspired my Iceland trip, Elli Thor (Icelandic surf pioneer), and Russell Holliday. My favorite thing to shoot is any type of surfing, especially Oceanside locals/friends, and long boarding. I also love simply capturing moments from my trips that allow me to look back and feel like I am there again. My photo style is also simple. I try to keep every image natural as if it were directly from my eye sight. My favorite photos are big landscapes and scenes in nature, with small subjects, which I try to incorporate into my surf photography as well. I would love to be able to make photography my career, but ultimately it is just what I love doing for fun.

@tannerolthoff