Tom: I live in Newport Beach, Costa Mesa. I’ve lived here for the last ten years or so. Before that, I grew up in Seal Beach. I got started into photos and stuff. Just treated my friends. They were top amateurs growing up. There were a lot of surfers around Seal Beach, like really good amateurs and some pros, more like the photo pros back in the day. Just started tagging around with them. Then just one thing led to another, and I was getting real serious about it, and it blossomed from there, I guess.

Envirosurfer: That’s cool. Let’s back up a little bit. Have you’ve always been playing around with the camera since you were real little, or how did you get into photography in general?

Tom: Yes. My mom always shot photos of us, so I was always messing around with her cameras a long time ago. This was 20 years ago probably I started messing around with her SLR and messing around with film. I was just always interested in it. I imagine it all stemmed back from there.

Then one of my friends had one of the first auto focus cameras, like 300 mm. I would just go out on Seal Beach pier or walk out on the actual seawall, which was pretty stupid actually because it’s only a few feet above the water line, and I started getting really good shots my first couple of times out. I was so hooked from that first instant.

Using an auto focus camera and seeing good, crisp, shots and just looking at the magazine and going, I’m not that far off. I think I could do this. If I tried hard enough and got some good equipment, I could definitely be there. I think that’s where it all started. I was probably 12 or 13 years old at the time.

Envirosurfer: Oh wow. Was your mom your main influence, then, do you think?

Tom: My mom was definitely, as far as picking up a camera and having access to one. When you’re young whate

ver you mess with and whoever shows you what’s going on, it’s going to stick with you forever. I think that happened with me. But as far as my biggest influence, I didn’t have too many teachers or anything like that. I was really out on my own. I just loved it so much. I loved just hanging out with my friends and they were good surfers. Besides that, there were really not that many influences. I had guys I looked up to, maybe taught me some stuff, but back in the day no one really wanted to help you out too much. A young guy, they thought I was like the enemy, like someone that’s going to come and take over on their turf. There’s no information super highway, like the Internet or any
of that shit back then. It was like I was on my own.

Envirosurfer: Definitely. I was curious. If you go out on a shoot, just in general, during one session how many pics do you fire off?

Tom: It depends. If there’s a big trip where you have four to six guys and the waves are good, you can shoot in one session a thousand photos easily, if not more. It’s possible if guys are . . .

Envirosurfer: Oh wow. That’s a lot. You have a lot of SD cards, huh?

Tom: Yes. There are a lot of cards, a lot of editing. You don’t want to miss a whole sequence if you’re trying to go for big moves and stuff. Or if you’re swimming in the water, it could be a couple of hundred photos. It all depends on who you’re shooting, how many guys you’re shooting, what you’re shooting, if you’re on
land or in the water. It’s all relevant.

Envirosurfer: I love them. When I was going through your site, I was checking out a lot of infrared shots that you were doing. That was really intriguing to me. What took you down that road and made you want to experiment with that?

Tom: I just saw a couple of guys with that camera. I’m always into getting new gear. You see guys dabble with it, but they don’t get too crazy into it. I thought it was a good opportunity to get one. I knew how to get one made. They are really fun to play with. We go to all these tropical places, and in the middle of the day
the lighting is so bad to shoot a lot of stuff, like when the sun is straight overhead, and that’s the best time for these infrared cameras. It just lights up all the foliage, so everything just starts turning into these deep blacks. The contrast in black and white with these cameras is just unbelievable and it’s really fun to toy with.

Envirosurfer: It’s a different medium than I’ve ever really seen. That’s why I think I was totally drawn to it. It’s totally cool.

Tom: Definitely a different look. Brian Beilman had one, and Dick Meseroll from the East Coast and they had one. It kind of bit their style
or whatever. That’s basically where I got it from.

Envirosurfer: So I was curious. After you go on a big shoot or, do you have your friends or colleagues or anybody critique the stuff that you do before you submit it and try and get it out there, or do you just go with your instincts and your gut?

Tom: I usually just do a loose edit and then try and narrow it down. For me, I have to give it to my photo editor at ‘Surfing,’ Pete Taras. You don’t want them looking over thousand and thousands of photos. You want it to be a good, tight edit. You learn what he likes to see. Then you give a good little edit and send it
in. They all have tools now to view things a lot faster than we used to. Files have gotten bigger. It’s time consuming to go through everything and just start deleting and renaming and keeping track of everything. That’s the hardest part. That’s the least fun you will have in shooting photos is processing all that stuff.

Envirosurfer: I see that being a little bit tedious.

Tom: Definitely.

Envirosurfer: Do you do any other forms of art, other than photography?

Tom: No. I can’t draw. I can’t play an instrument. I just basically golf. I’m into golf and stuff.

Envirosurfer: I know you said you don’t play any instruments, but what are your favorite musical artists or bands? Do they play at all into your work?

Tom: Actually, I feel like they do. It’s hard to express. First I will start with the kind of music I like. I’m into metal. I’m into stoner rock. I’m just into heavy rock, punk rock. Anything that’s fast and louder. I’m definitely not into anything that’s on the radio. Really, nothing that any of the surfers like these days. I go on a trip. I’m just psyching to some louder shit, the shit people are not used to. It makes for a lot more fun. If we’re drinking and like fucking around, I think it’s a lot better sometimes listening to some hard core stuff. People end up liking them too, just bands like even Turbonegro, The Sword, the Melvins. Then bands like Slayer, bands that people have heard of, too. Some of the stuff is a bit more underground. It’s hard to have that show in your work. It’s a little more easier if you’re a videographer I’d say. I try to live like that, like a fast, punkier lifestyle, a little heavier lifestyle. If anything, it shows in the person I am.

Envirosurfer: Right. That makes a lot of sense.

Tom: I’m not like a very mellow person. I like to drink beers and I like
to listen to loud music and be loud.

Envirosurfer: Tom, out of all the places you mentioned earlier, obviously you’re traveling to a lot of the tropical places. Out of all the travels that you have done, what would be the one spot that people might not think of when they first think of surf that you’ve been really impressed by, when you have been out there?

Tom: When they don’t think of surf? Gosh. I just got back from Ireland. People were really baffled when we were in Dublin and they saw surf boards.

Tom: Yeah, I’d say Ireland. I was in Dublin, and we were packing up boards and everything. Everywhere we went in Ireland, we were seeing people really tripping out that we were surfing. I think it’s relatively a pretty new sport over there. The waves got really good. There was a lot of wind and weather. There were a lot of swells as well. They’re die-hard surfers over there, the ones that do go surfing. It’s pretty cool to see that. The waves aren’t amazing, but they do get good. We had a good time. That would be a good instance of where people don’t think of much surf.

Envirosurfer: Was that an editorial trip that we can look forward to in an upcoming issue?

Tom: That just happened in October, so hopefully something comes out. They will make their way out eventually here.

Envirosurfer: On that same note, has there ever been not necessarily like a lesser known surfer, but a surfer where you had to watch them in person to either appreciate how good they really are, or you were just blown away where you’re like, I can’t believe this guy is not a bigger name than he is?

Tom: There are definitely a lot of guys like that. I’d say Ozzie Wright is one of those guys that you see him in person and you see the waves that he’s dealing with a lot of times. He just surfs circles around everyone. It’s a joke. From ten foot looking Tavarua to two foot slop whenever he’s surfing, Newport or something, he catches more waves than anyone. He just surfs circles around people. He’s a good barrel rider. The guy’s amazing. He just surfs different. That’s his style. He
definitely has more fun than anyone. He’s, to me, probably one of the most underrated surfers in the world, even though he’s well known. Then there are other guys,
like Nate Tyler, maybe. Pretty unknown. He’s starting to get a lot more recognition lately. He’s one of the most stylish, radical surfers there is. It’s taken him a long time to really break through.

Envirosurfer: Do you think part of that, at least in Nate’s case, is he seems from the outside like he’s a pretty quiet character and not as big of a self-promoter, maybe as much as you would need to be to make a living as a photo pro. Do you think that’s what’s taken him so long? Like you said, he’s been blowing up lately.

Tom: I agree, but I think he’s done it right. If you just let yourself out too much, no one’s going to want to see you anymore. You’ve got to space yourself out. Nate goes on a lot of trips, and he has in the past. He’s just now starting to be a little more selective now that he’s got a better name for himself and he’s starting to be in some of these videos and stuff. He’s had it hard. I don’t know what the reason is. Maybe from being from central Cal or something. He’s improved a lot the last couple of years. He’s been right there along with so many guys. He’s just maybe been a late bloomer, which is all right.

Envirosurfer: Yeah, for sure. So lastly, I think just to wrap it up. What would be your most iconic photo? What would be the one photo you would not necessarily want to be remembered by, but one photo that you are most proud of? Like a moment that you have captured.

Tom: I’ve got one of Bruce at the shore break, pulling in on the eddy that I’ve always liked. Just because no one else had it, and I thought it was iconic. It was during the film days, and I don’t think anyone will ever recreate that.

Envirosurfer: That was crazy, that photo. I can only imagine what it would have been like to have been there. Everyone was cheering him into that shore break, and no one thought he was going to do it.

Tom: It just hasn’t really been done in so long. Now everything is so photographed, and no one misses anything these days. Everyone missed that, and I was the only one just by default where I was sitting in the bay. I was kind of deep. I woke up late. Hard to find a position. But it worked out and I got it. It was sheer luck. That would be for me one of the most timeless, iconic photos

Other than that, I really don’t have any. I always want to do better and I always want to keep working. If I start looking at one photo too much and seeing it over and over while I’m editing or doing whatever it is, like going through stuff for my website, guys get sick of things so quickly. So I just like to have things fresh. I’d rather have a big body of work and be versatile. Just work hard and let my work speak for itself and instead of a couple of photos.

I’m not a very timeless photographer. There are a lot of guys that have a lot more pulled back nature where they’re shooting lineups or shooting more beautiful shots I’d say. It’s hard for someone like me. I’m doing a job for Volcom where I’m an advertising photographer, and trying to work for a magazine as well. That’s a tough gig. You’re trying to do two different styles always of shooting. You got to balance them both. I don’t know. It’s a tough thing.

Envirosurfer: Cool. We don’t want to take up too much more of your time. Thanks so much, Tom. We really appreciate it.

Tom: All right. Thanks guys.

Credits:
Tom Carey: http://www.tomcareyphoto.com
Envirosurfer: http://www.greensurfshop.com