David Royal Photography » surf

Surfers

Royal — Thu, 28 Jul 2011 05:57:31 +0000

I spent some time with Seaside-based artist Mike Garnero while working on my portrait series of Monterey County surfers.Mike told me some great stories about how as a kid he used to hitch rides to surf on the old Del Monte Express train. He would jump on as it passed Custom House Plaza and then jump off at Lover’s Point in Pacific Grove. Mike is another vault of surf stories and I plan on presenting this project as a mix of images and interviews.

Buoy 59

Royal — Mon, 20 Jun 2011 17:09:33 +0000

I went to see Buoy 59 live at Jose’s Underground near Cannery Row in Monterey last Saturday. The Monterey-based band swaggered through a set, swapping between punk and reggae in a jarring paradox reminiscent of the Bad Brains. The band is made up of surfers and their name is a tribute to a Buoy far off the coast of Northern California that gave a snapshot of the incoming swell twelve hours before before it hit. The buoy broke free from it’s mooring some time ago and no longer gives a report.

Bryce Hall, left, Paul Wetterau and Brian Gorrell rock out as random, stand in trumpeter, solos through a reggae jam at Jose’s Underground in Monterey, Calif. on June 18, 2011.

Surfers

Royal — Thu, 24 Jun 2010 04:59:26 +0000

Here is another shot from my series on Monterey County surfers.

Barney in his workshop in Sand City, Calif. on May 27, 2010. He shapes boards, and builds art from metal, wood and other things.

New Dawn Amongst the Rubble

Royal — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 14:54:00 +0000

As I finally make a move to update my website I have begun scouring my dusty collection of DVDs and other files that have accumulated on my hard drive. I’m looking for images that might make it to my new site. In this process I have started to uncover a few gems that had have been hidden amongst the rubble… I have also come across quite a bit of “almost there” images… frames that were good at the time, but merely just a step in the learning process. And one of the biggest things I’ve come to realize I am in need of some serious organization. So I even bought a hard drive to help me make some sense of these things. So here goes! Ugh! I hope to have this together by next Christmas.

new project

Royal — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 05:55:00 +0000

Here is a portrait I shot today of surfer and concrete worker Ken Donahue. The image is a kick off on a project that I have been meaning to start for way too long! More images to come soon.

from the attic

Royal — Wed, 03 Jun 2009 04:20:00 +0000

I came across this photo of my friends Geoff Welch and his son Nate in front of a broken board shrine in their front yard in Pacific Grove, California. It took me some time to find it and I figure I’d better post it before I loose it again.