Cinthol – Relish the Challenge

There’s no stylist fixing the model’s hair, there are no blown lights, no heckling by the models and definitely I am not in the comfort of well-equipped studios. It’s just me, surfers, waves, and water all around me.

But there are fiberglass boards rocketing towards me at an incredible speed, the waves are constantly rolling by. Depending on the size it could be pretty intimidating at times. Well, of course, I can’t ignore some incredible creatures like shark, jellyfish, and reefs around me and worry about getting myself shredded by them.

Surf photography is definitely one of the most daring and extremes genres in photography, it is an extreme activity of its own, and even with fitness, knowledge of the ocean and years of experience, it can still be heavy. And one should never be in a situation where they can’t handle it, one needs to build up to it or it may be fatal.

I have been around the surfing scene in India for a long time, I started as a surfer and I loved surfing, but as a photographer, my greatest passion was to shoot surf and my friends surfing. Since India didn’t have any surf photographers or much background with surfing at all, it was a real challenge for me to learn the art of surf photography all by myself, not that I have mastered the art or an expert already, but I have accepted the challenge of learning all about the ocean, currents, waves, reading swells and specific equipment to be used for surf photography and all the risks involved in being a surf photographer. It’s been my life’s biggest learning experience and a process where I am interacting and working with some of the world’s best surf photographers to improve upon my skills and it’s been an ‘Alive is Awesome‘ experience for me.

Right now, I am thoroughly relishing the challenge of being India’s first and only surf photographer. Today my work is widely regarded in both national and international magazines, I am being regularly interviewed and featured across many platforms. I have worked with likes of Craig Anderson, Jonty Rhodes, and few other talented surfers India is producing in a short span of time.

“Every man and his dog can shoot land these days, I would rather get one good shot from the water than 1000 land shots any day”. As quoted by one of my favorite surf photographers, Russel Ord.

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