Scotty's Favorites
Water/Light/Energy
Water/Light/Energy
Scotty Carter was immediately drawn to the ocean and its magnificent waves after moving from the Los Angeles area to Laguna Niguel as a child. He began his journey and career path as a wave rider testing his skills in the unforgiving shore breaks and reefs of South Laguna. As a student of the diverse coves, reefs and sand bars in this pristine stretch of Southern California Coastline he learned the intricacies of the hydrodynamic processes and coastal bathymetries that gave each location a distinct character and personality to its waves.
It was an addiction of sorts to be in the water and be a part of its raw energy. His fascination with waves and his love of the wave riding community in South Laguna Beach led to his balancing time between videoing his fellow riders and riding himself. After producing 5 movies based on wave riding he was slowly being pulled a different direction. Feeling like he needed to make a change, his intrigue and adoration for waves evolved into a desire to make the waves themselves his focus. While Scotty and his water video camera had been almost inseparable, he made a conscious decision to apply himself to photographing waves. With the influence of his father and the inspiration he found in the work of the late Larry “Flame” Moore, Scotty’s passion became surf photography.
By this time, Scotty was a seasoned waterman having traveled all over the world and experiencing some of the most challenging ocean and wave conditions in the world. With this new direction Scotty was free to capture and display waves in their true form…raw and un-ridden. As he developed his skills as a water photographer he realized that natural lighting played a vital role in how a wave would display in photographs. He carefully studied South Laguna area beaches and the effects of sun angle, time of day and cloud cover on the quality of the images that came from the impact zone of breaking waves. What he discovered about optimal lighting conditions and sun reflectivity, combined with an expertise in local swell direction, wave heights, tides and wind conditions, forever changed him. He also studied the effects of sand, reefs and headlands on South Laguna Beach waves at various wave heights swell directions, and tides. There is so much depth to his knowledge of South Laguna Beach and how all of the elements shape the waves that he may be considered a scientific expert in addition to being an incredible surf photographer. Since the early ‘90’s Scotty has taken hundreds of thousands of shots from the water along this amazing stretch of coastline applying everything that he has learned to create his mesmerizing wave imagery.
Today, Scotty’s work is a celebration of water, light and energy. His 2012 collection is the result of years of time and energy dedicated to displaying the natural beauty of the ocean and its waves in all of their glory. He approaches each shoot with the enthusiasm of a young boy, the imagination of a dreamer, the technical eye of a photographer and the creativity of an artist. His belief in natural mysticism and his determination to expand his craft has given way to a new dimension of his imagery that positions him as one of the most unique fine art water photographers of his generation. His new offering is a reflection of letting go to the creative process and allowing imagination to deliver this incredible new work.
It was an addiction of sorts to be in the water and be a part of its raw energy. His fascination with waves and his love of the wave riding community in South Laguna Beach led to his balancing time between videoing his fellow riders and riding himself. After producing 5 movies based on wave riding he was slowly being pulled a different direction. Feeling like he needed to make a change, his intrigue and adoration for waves evolved into a desire to make the waves themselves his focus. While Scotty and his water video camera had been almost inseparable, he made a conscious decision to apply himself to photographing waves. With the influence of his father and the inspiration he found in the work of the late Larry “Flame” Moore, Scotty’s passion became surf photography.
By this time, Scotty was a seasoned waterman having traveled all over the world and experiencing some of the most challenging ocean and wave conditions in the world. With this new direction Scotty was free to capture and display waves in their true form…raw and un-ridden. As he developed his skills as a water photographer he realized that natural lighting played a vital role in how a wave would display in photographs. He carefully studied South Laguna area beaches and the effects of sun angle, time of day and cloud cover on the quality of the images that came from the impact zone of breaking waves. What he discovered about optimal lighting conditions and sun reflectivity, combined with an expertise in local swell direction, wave heights, tides and wind conditions, forever changed him. He also studied the effects of sand, reefs and headlands on South Laguna Beach waves at various wave heights swell directions, and tides. There is so much depth to his knowledge of South Laguna Beach and how all of the elements shape the waves that he may be considered a scientific expert in addition to being an incredible surf photographer. Since the early ‘90’s Scotty has taken hundreds of thousands of shots from the water along this amazing stretch of coastline applying everything that he has learned to create his mesmerizing wave imagery.
Today, Scotty’s work is a celebration of water, light and energy. His 2012 collection is the result of years of time and energy dedicated to displaying the natural beauty of the ocean and its waves in all of their glory. He approaches each shoot with the enthusiasm of a young boy, the imagination of a dreamer, the technical eye of a photographer and the creativity of an artist. His belief in natural mysticism and his determination to expand his craft has given way to a new dimension of his imagery that positions him as one of the most unique fine art water photographers of his generation. His new offering is a reflection of letting go to the creative process and allowing imagination to deliver this incredible new work.
Scotty Carter is pleased to present his Celebration Of Water, Light and Energy!
