The Barrel Junkie by Chae Donahue

Raised by the warm Hawaiian water of the fabled north shores of Oahu, I began my professional career 6 years ago. I have always had a camera from the time I was a grom, I could remember my dad always giving me a camera on our family trips and me always having a finger over the lens, needless to say I've gotten a lot better. why you ask did it take me till just six years ago to take this seriously, well my dad is your typical asian, who thinks being a photographer isn't a real job and would never support a family and in my youth I accepted that and did what most do and listen to there fathers. It wasn't till he was diagnosed with double lung cancer and the doctors gave him a year to live, I was still taking photos just not for a career and I will never forget me sitting at his bedside and him telling me, how proud of my work he was and that he wished he would have told me earlier, I will never forget that joy, its the same joy as I get from being in they ocean something indescribable if you don't have the love. After that conversation all I did was focus and work really hard to make my passion a career and to ask make him proud, one year later I had my photo of a honu coming up for air  at sunset time, published in national geographic and from that point on, I knew I had to keep working harder and never stop living my dream. I currently work all over the world now as a surf photographer,  traveling with my camera and being in they ocean is the most important thing in my life, the feeling is indescribable, I always tell my girlfriend she is my second love and the ocean is my first and always will be! mahalos for giving this a read and I encourage everyone to chase there dreams, cause you never know when those dreams will become your reality.

For more work by Chae, check his insta here: @barrel_junkie