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Patrick Trefz Interview
Beyond that, there are technical processes
plane, train, car or on foot from land.
could only go 10 to 12 knots, which is the
and earn their trust. There are situations
filmmaking is that you can tell the whole
By Margaret Cohen
that provide an extended knowledge of
Does your experience as a surfer help
speed at which large waves travel. There
when it's uncool to break out a camera
story and not be at the mercy of a photo
intricate details. I am still always on the
you anticipate?
were 25 or 30 people on board and I don't
and there are times when it works. There
editor, who may run a few randomly laid-
How did you get into photography?
lookout for old, out of date techniques
Several things play a part. You need
think the captain had ever been out there
are certain places you can't even take
out images in a magazine. That is part of
My Dad was a commercial still life
that someone like Muybridge, Adams
technical knowledge as a photographer
on a big day. Going out wasn't so bad
a camera. That's part of my process,
the reason I got into doing books. I like
photographer and I was raised in a photo
or Strand came up with. It really opens
about how to handle conditions. Knowing
because the tide was still high, but after
going surfing and catching part of it, not
the challenge of the different disciplines
studio. It was attached to the small
up your mind and helps you to be more
the ocean from a surfer's perspective is
we were out there for about a couple of
all of it. Being respectful and keeping
you have to master in filmmaking, from
apartment where we lived when I was
critical of what's out there when
important. So, too, is knowing the surfers
hours, the swell was picking up and the
it low-key can lead you somewhere
conceptualizing the film to script writing,
young. We'd go to the studio and take
you understand the analog process and
who are your subjects, knowing what
tide was dropping out fast. On the way
unexpected. An example would be when
story telling, and cinematography.
funny pictures of me with different per-
the history of photography.
kind of lines they draw.
back, we were riding in between swells,
I was spending time with Greg Noll and
There's linking it all together too:
sonalities, like a rock musician, a bum, or
How would you characterize the photos
Do you have a favorite kind of line
with 20 to 30 foot whitewater closeouts
his son, Jed. He took me to visit Buffalo
editing, creating the soundtrack,
a boxer. When I was twelve, I bought an
in Surfers' Blood?
in surfing?
in front of us, closeouts behind us. It was
Keaulana in Oahu with one of his replica
designing the cover and title credits, and
old Minolta from a second hand shop, an
The photographs are raw, real, and
I think the best surfers draw clean lines;
sketchy. Somehow, we squeezed through.
Olos, the boards of the Hawaiian kings.
so on. Right now, I am in pre-production
old SLR with a 50mm lens. My friends and
unpretentious. A blend of action,
they take a purist approach. It can work
It's funny, thinking back to it… There
We drove over to the West Side, where
for a documentary about Brazil. The
I started to shoot each other skateboar-
oceanscapes, and portraits showcasing
for any kind of surfing, whether it's
were a lot of waves coming through that
we surfed, hung out with the Keaulanas,
focus is on the country's people and
ding in these funny carnival costumes,
the world I live in.
radical aerial surfing, longboarding, or
day that had no takers – big, wide-open,
and were invited to their Luau. Later that
culture, oil, the skyrocketing economy,
launching over quarterpipes we built, as a
What's your approach to action
tube riding; anything from someone
chundering south wind barrels that were
afternoon, I got
and its new crew of competitive surfers
pirate or wearing some silly Sinbad outfit.
photography?
riding a one-foot wave to guys pulling
contorting and twisting on the reef.
the shot of Buff with the Olo.
who are giving the established ASP
It was a hilarious time. The next phase
I like to pull back and show the entire
into Teahupo'o or Maverick's.
Apparently, only a couple of people were
What cameras do you use?
surfers a run for their money.
was traveling and documenting. I took
environment. Pulling back gives the shot
What's it like to shoot a huge wave like
out right before dark when the tide was
I mostly use my trusty Rolleiflex for
That sounds like anthropology.
my first solo trip to Tunisia at 16, taking
a mystical, adventurous quality. You can
Maverick's?
pushing back in, and a 100-foot wave
portraits. It is a twin lens camera that my
I think of this book, too, as anthropology. I
trains and busses cross country, cruising
put yourself in the shot — you just might
You take a boat or jet ski from Half Moon
came through. That's why it's dubbed
dad got in 1966. A lot of times, people are
never went to college, but I always thought
through the souks and shooting a lot. I
be the person in the green, backlit barrel.
Bay Harbor, negotiate a shallow channel,
“the 100-foot Wednesday.” The ocean
interested in the camera and it becomes
it would be cool to study anthropology.
was totally fascinated by it all: berbers,
I agree those barrels are dreamy, but in a
and you're a mile out, right next to this
definitely had one up on people that day.
a conversation piece. That breaks the ice.
That makes sense. Surfing is a sport,
mosques, and decapitated goat heads.
pulled-back shot like Cheyne Magnusson
giant wave, looking into the eye of
What effects are you going for in
I also have some Canon equipment that
but as your photos show, it's also an art
I was in my element and at that point,
doing a backflip, I'm in awe before the
the beast.
your portraits?
I use for action. I have analog and digital
form and a consuming lifestyle, with its
I knew exactly what I wanted to do for
drama of the scene.
Your cover shot for Surfers' Blood is
The portraits are straightforward.
bodies and a few lenses: a telephoto lens,
kinships and clans: surfers' blood.
the rest of my life. Then in my early 20s, I
The choice of perspective involves
of Maverick's.
For the subject-centered portraits,
a medium range lens and a wide-angle
That intrigues me about surfing. It's
put in my time in the darkroom learning
balance. I like to compose a dynamic
That was from the “100-foot Wednesday.”
I focus on the facial features and
lens. I try to stay away from a fisheye
this "out there" activity; pretty esoteric
analog techniques. I'm glad I did that.
landscape shot and let the action take
It was raining and there was a south
expressions. Other portraits are
lens; it's too distorted — I also have a
knowledge. I mean, how do you glide on
When I look at kids now who only grew
its course within it.
wind; a spooky, misty day. The outer
environmental; they introduce a sense
couple of medium format cameras, like a
a moving surface of water, on a piece of
up with digital photography, they snap a
How do you handle the fact that you
buoys were reading a big swell with long
of place that tells a back-story.
67 Pentax and a 612 Linhoff. I try to keep
styrofoam? But then, it also opens up a
ton of frames but they don't really know
can't really plan an action shot?
intervals and the tide was going to be
How do you approach the people in
it simple and not get slowed down by
new world. As a surfer, you make friends
what they're going for. It's good to know
You develop knowledge about the
extremely low in the late afternoon. I
your portraits?
having to much equipment.
all over the world and you find things that
the basics. It's good to be restricted.
different conditions of the ocean and
showed up late to wait out the squalls
I worked on an assignment shooting Mos
Where do you see yourself going
aren't in guidebooks. It doesn't have to
Know the technical stuff, and then you
the light so you can anticipate what is
and the boat I usually go on had left
Def and I just let him do his thing in the
from here?
be a surf spot; it could be a swimming
can start experimenting. It's like surfing
to come. It depends what you are going
already. Somehow, I ended up on this
backstage area before and after his gig
Over the past ten years, I've become
hole, food, a winery, or a party. You make
— you've got to learn how to bottom turn
for, but first of all, you have to choose
screwed up party liner, a giant, slow boat
and snapped pictures in his comfort zone
increasingly interested in the moving
lifelong friends and discover great things
before you start doing airs.
your approach, which involves deciding
made for fish n' booze tours. In order to
– a fly on the wall approach. Working
image. I made a few shorts, some
in a lifetime of exploring the world's
By technical things, what do you mean?
if you shoot from the water, swim with a
outrun swells, you need to be able to go
with some underground surf legends
commercials, and two feature-length surf
coastlines. It doesn't really get any better
Aperture, shutter speed, kind of film?
housing, from a kayak, boat, helicopter,
at least 18 or 20 knots, and this boat
is similar. You have to put your time in
documentaries. One thing I like about
then that. Surfers' Blood.
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