Surf Portraits – Photographing J on Fuji 400H Film

A fellow surf sister poses for Surf Portraits with Fuji 400H pro

Photographing Surf Portraits of people from the lineup has to be one of my most favourite things. The surf lineup is a truly wonderful place; it’s diverse, supportive and friendly. It’s the kind of place where people from all walks of life have one amazing thing in common – Surfing!

It doesn’t matter if you’re a corporate lawyer, a pathologist for the CDC, an artist, a nomad or unemployed. It doesn’t matter if you’re old, young, male, female or otherwise and it doesn’t care where you’re from. If you can surf a wave, that’s the only thing that matters. That’s why I love shooting surf portraits.

Meeting J

I first met J at a charity wine tasting event on the roof of the famous Kilimanjaro Hotel AKA The Hyatt. I was introduced to J through a mutual friend. She’s bright, friendly, wordly and exudes the kind of energy that people just want to be near. Bonding straight away over our love of surfing, I couldn’t believe I hadn’t even seen her in the lineup before. However, once we got to talking, we realised we actually knew a lot of the same people.

After this, it wasn’t long before I would start seeing J’s gorgeous face paddling into the lineup. When she expressed her love of being photographed, it was almost fate that she would do a session of Surf Portraits with me. We had initially struggled to find a time we were both available so when we finally did, it was excellent.

Photographing J

Michael, the head Maasai who looks after our belongings when we surf came along with us. He’s very good as a bodygaurd and he even managed to slide into a few photos himself at one stage. His presence increases our safety, and helps to deter any would be thieves tempted to rob us. Thankfully, we are somewhat well known in the area with the locals and didn’t have any issues.

J is originally a California girl so we wanted to portray a little of that mixed in with her Tanzania days. We used a couple of different boards, including her gorgeous minimal “Sea Foam”, a blue shortboard and a traditional 9.6″ longboard. We also wanted to capture a bit of what it’s like on the beach and the reef that creates the waves.

Surfing in East Africa

The reef is a mix of soft coral and sand. It’s home to quite a bit of marine life like fish and octopus, but it’s also riddled with sea urchins. The walk out past the reef at low tide to get to the break can be hazardous without reef shoes. The water is never cold and you never need a wetsuit. This part of town is its own little paradise in the middle of the city. The sun rises up over the water to create beautiful sunrises, and the is a constant stream of birds that fly overhead.

Practical Information

If you are considering a Portrait Photography session abroad and would like to know more, please contact me on hello(@)cjeklund.com or directly through the Contact section of this site, located in the top right corner of the main menu.

To see other Portrait photography sessions photographed with Fuji 400H pro you can visit this link.