As the title suggests, the pictures are taken from Derek’s point of view which, more often than not, comes from a shallower section of Gisborne’s surf breaks.
This is illustrated on the front cover (pictured right).
A surfer drives down the line as Derek, positioned a metre on their blind side, raises his camera, shoots, then dives under the wave moments before the lip comes down on top of him.
“I chose that picture because it is from my perspective. That is what I see a lot of when I am in the water and to me, it sums up what I do.”
Derek developed a passion for the ocean after his family moved to Wainui from town and into a near-beach-front house in the 80s.
In his teens, he experimented with his mum’s film camera but nothing really came of it. He was more interested in surfing.
Now, in his 40s, he hardly surfs and usually spends about three hours a day taking pictures of other people surfing.
“I still go out every now and again . . . but I get just as much, if not more enjoyment out of shooting as I do surfing.
“Once you start taking photos, you start thinking of specific shots you want to get and so every day you push yourself to get that shot list ticked off.
“It is addictive . . . you want to get those shots, you want to get that particular one and you try and try again.”
Followers from all over NZDerek started posting his photos on Facebook two years ago, and has since attracted a following of people from all over the country. He updates the page almost every day to provide a consistent insight into Gisborne’s surf conditions.
“When I was working as a sales rep, I did a lot of travelling and I always wanted to know what was happening in Gisborne.
“You would see guys taking photos but they would only take photos when the conditions were really big or the sun was out and the lighting was perfect.
“They were not taking shots day-to-day. So I was always wondering what was happening in between those swells.
“That is why I do it on a day-to-day basis so people can see ‘Hey look Gisborne, pumping’.”
Derek can do this because he does not have a full-time job. His six-year-old son has autism, so he spends a lot of time looking after him outside of school hours.
“While he is at school I am out taking photos and when he gets home I catch up with him and get into the editing.”
Editing photos requires a lot of his time, sometimes eight hours a day.
“It takes ages to get the shot cleaned up, tidied up and to the point where I am happy with the final product. What you see there does not come out of the camera like that, it is all post-processed.”
When shooting in the water, he uses a waterproof housing and an 18 to 35 millimetre wide angle lens so he can get close to the wave and surfer, and still capture the entirety of the scene.
This is a precarious form of photography and Derek will often take a beating in the process, along with his camera gear. He has flooded two cameras.
“It is all about trying to get that shot in that instance — sometimes it pays off, sometimes it does not.”
From land, a 55 to 200mm zoom lens combined with the camera’s 1.3x crop sensor, enable him to take line-up shots and frame the surfers on bigger days.
Derek is the most prominent, if not the only surf photographer who takes shots from the land and the ocean in Gisborne.
Adapting to the ocean's variablesThrough trial and error, and some professional advice from wedding photographer Phil Yeo, he has learnt to adapt to the variable conditions associated with the ocean, such as light and framing.
“From the beginning, I picked up some bad habits. But when you have got these pros who give you hints, it is a big help.”
Some surf photographers are less willing to share their secrets, he said.
“But you can tag along behind them and see how they shoot and try to get an idea of how they are framing a shot.”
Photography has a gradual learning curve.
“My photography is always evolving and it is something you can keep progressing at.”
Derek’s favourite place to shoot is Wainui’s Stock Route because it is “hollow and mean”. “There are a lot of photo opportunities, from empty barrel shots right through to people getting pitted or destroyed.”
Combined with big smiles and good vibes, you have Derek’s ideal photographic scenario.
“I want to shoot the person who is having the most fun. It comes across in the pictures and looks good too.”
In Perspective, Derek has attempted to represent a wide range of members of Gisborne’s surfing community at Makorori, Wainui, Sponge Bay, Tuamotu Island, and Midway Beach.
“It does not just focus on the best of the best, but amateurs as well. I tried to make it as universal as possible. I tried to put everyone in there that you would see in a line-up.”
Numerous people have said they are keen to feature in a later edition.
“People who missed out on this one put their hands up and said next one please. I could do another edition later on, if I am happy with the images and the content.”
It will be released on December 11 and pre-sales have been “through the roof”.
“I did not expect it to be so well-received.
“It has been amazing really, people from Christchurch, Auckland and even overseas have been in contact trying to get a copy.”
He will not release bulk copies, however.
“I do not want them sitting on a shelf somewhere and gathering dust.
“I would like them to be in people’s hands and out there for people to enjoy.”
