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Picture Perfect: Surf Photography

A Solid North Swell
Photo By Mark Johnson

By Anna Goforth

Shoot It, Send It

Submit your best San Diego shots to [email protected].

Date of Photo:

January 16, 2015

Location:

Torrey Pines State Beach

Camera:

Canon 1D-X, Canon EF 15mm f/2.8 lens, SPL water housing. 1/1000 sec, f/6.3, 100 ISO.

San Diego native Mark Johnson got behind his first camera for the Pacific Beach Junior High school newspaper in the late 1970s. “Since I loved to surf, combining photography and surfing just came naturally,” he says. Before digital cameras, he had to swim in and change his film after every 36 photos. Today, he protects his Canon with an SPL water housing made in San Diego. Johnson says this photo of a 5-foot wave looks bigger than it is, thanks to his fisheye lens. For those hoping to break into surf photography, his advice is simple: “Start with a GoPro before you step up to an SLR. Invest in a good pair of swim fins and get out there at sunrise for that deep, saturated light.”

Photo MARK JOHNSON/IRONSTRING. Torrey Pines State Beach, San Diego, California. January 16, 2015.

Photo By Mark Johnson

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