Surfer Clark Little now catches best waves with camera

By Pete Thomas

Clark Little is sometimes called "the accidental artist," but inspection of his work reveals compelling evidence that his destiny all along was to shoot photographs from deep within some of the planet's most powerful, churning waves.

Little, 41, is a former botanical gardens supervisor and big-wave surfer from Hawaii who, because of a peculiar twist of fate, decided three years ago to become a nature photographer.

So began a remarkable rise during which the personable artist has earned international acclaim and, he learned last week, a trip next spring to the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History.

Little was named winner in the "Oceans" category of the prestigious Windland Smith Rice International Awards for 2010; he also was selected as one of six "Highly Honored Photographers" in the "Endangered Species" category, for his images of Hawaiian green sea turtles, called "Honu" in Hawaiian.

Award-winning images from the Winland Smith Rice program will be on display at the Smithsonian for six months beginning next April.

"It's all still a little hard to believe," says Little, who has appeared on network news programs such as Good Morning America and The Today Show. His art has been featured in numerous nature publications, including National Geographic.
Interestingly, he might never have embarked on his extraordinarily unique career had his wife, Sandy, not brought home a store-bought photo of a wave three years ago.

"I said, 'What are you doing buying photos of waves? I'm a surfer. Stop spending money and I'll go out and shoot my own," he recalled.

Little's passion was riding giant waves at fabled Waimea Bay on Oahu's North Shore. His trademark was staying on those offshore waves as they flattened in deep water and reformed close to the beach. Little would then tuck beneath their heaving lips as they crashed thunderously close to and sometimes even onto the sand.

"I always loved getting thrashed around," he says.

This violent shorebreak was where Little produced, with a cheap waterproof camera, a photo for the wall of his home. It's also where he discovered he had a knack for photography -- he has since purchased top-line equipment -- and capturing the essence of the shorebreak, and a new career was launched.

"Surfing was pushed aside," he says. "Once in a blue moon I still go out but I can spend four hours shooting and not even thinking about surfing. It's still just thinking about getting that perfect wave, but as a photographer."

Waimea remains his primary working studio. When a big north swell arrives, wave faces offshore can measure 40 feet or more. Scores of surfing photographers line the beach and train bazooka lenses on distant surfers.

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Photo Clark Little

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