The Four Passions: Photography Family Surfing Foreign Travel
Surf travel; what’s not to love? Going to a foreign country with warm water, uncrowded surf conditions, and a different culture. Taking a break from regular life; changing focus. Having a fitness goal to train for. Fresh photographic subject matter to explore. And sharing the experience with my family. In the last few years have I been able to introduce them to surfing in the Maldives, Costa Rica, mainland Mexico, and Hawaii.
This spring the crew of Steve Smith Photography embarked on the first company-sponsored surf trip. The destination was El Salvador’s “East” coast near the fishing village of El Cuco. about three hours drive from the capitol city of San Salvador.
We joined 16 other friends, ages 23-60, for a week to dream about.
Highlights included:
6 days surfing twice a day
beautiful compound on the beach,
surf out front.
boat trips to other breaks
visit to a local school to donate supplies, clothing, new computer
day trip visit to a coffee plantation and lake in a volcano crater
daily massages
unexpectedly great food
attentive staff
truly memorable group
No one is ever ready to come back, but it’s incentive to start planning the next trip.
What gear I take: I take less than for an assignment, but enough to shoot stock and personal images. It’s important to be able to carry on all your camera and electronic gear to avoid the possibility of airline delay or theft. We also carry on enough clothing to be able to get wet if bags are delayed: board shorts, rash guard, flip flops, sunscreen.
Photo Gear:
Kata camera backpack
2 Canon 1DsMk2 bodies
Canon 24-70 f. 2.8 zoom
Canon 70-200 f 2.8 zoom
Canon 1.4x Teleconverter
Camera Charger
extra camera battery
3 extra Sandisk 8 GB cards
Gitzo monopod with Quick Release
Gitzo carbon-fiber travel tripod
Lowe chest pack
warm polarizing filter
Olympus waterproof point ‘n’ shoot
camera & access.
Macbook Pro laptop & access.
Surf Gear:
Board coffin
2 boards
reg + xtra fins
allen wrench for fins
swiss army knife
2 leashes
tropical wax
2 rash guards
2 board shorts
2 water hats
surf glasses
2 sunscreens
rack set
waterproof daypack
