Staring down a decade in Southern Japan, I still find it difficult to believe how beautiful the waves are and how perfect it gets. I suppose then, like any surfer who has picked up a camera, my photography is merely an extension of this predicament. A desire to hold on to each wave well after the spit settles, prolonging each session beyond the limits of another setting sun. Being based on a coastline outside the path of most wandering surfers or surf journalists, (one might say – well outside the imaginative universe of most surfer's figuring); an invisible water-scape protected by a claustrophobic malady of misconceptions and clichés, acts as it's own motivation.

I think the result of working with relatively unknown subjects, a high percentage of my imagery tends towards the panoramic, with lineup shots, water-scapes or illustrative concepts often taking precedence over images of contemporary surfing.

Secondly, in considering myself a surfer who takes photos rather than a photographer who surfs, I am striving for a sense of amalgamation within these two separate identities. The surfer looking out of the barrel and the cameraman looking back in. Of course an image can never replace the sensation of lining up a wave or dropping in behind the boil, but breathing life into a static environment and watching that seed sprout and grow is a very rewarding process. And if nothing else, merely witnessing Japan's accession into the popular imagination of our sport is a very humbling experience.

Finally with any progression I suppose, my photograhy is driven by the knowledge of how far I have yet to travel, each missed session, every blurred image a reminder of the process itself rather than the end result. The journeying over the destination. Being involved with a fluid medium, you aren't really dealing with end results, you are simply attempting to freeze-frame a moment from a montage of whirling images, isolating one beat from a carnival of sound. You can plan all you want, scrutinize every weather chart and surf forecast beyond the limits of decency, but the images always come out at their own pace, governed by the roll of another swell. For me it's more about the sensations we attach to the vision. These questions we adopt, did he make it? Things we ilk from our own experiences, barrels gained barrels lost.

Welcome to a small showcase of my photography so far. May any failures at least illicit a search, and may your losses at dusk contribute movement towards dawn.

Kia-ora koe.

SCOTT BAILEY