Nate Tall ducks into the wave as the barrel closes in over his head. The 13-year old Aptos native sticks out his GoPro, snapping shots as quickly as he can. The light reflects off the water in Santa Cruz, his camera capturing the blue and green hues of the water, and he hopes he is getting a great photo.
A surfer, body boarder, and passionate ocean swimmer, Nate discovered taking wave photos a little over a year ago when he borrowed his dad’s GoPro for the day. He found that he had the artistic eye and an ocean enthusiast’s understanding to take outstanding wave photos. He is inspired by Hawaiian wave photographer, Clark Little. Now he has his own GoPro Hero 5 that he uses with a GoPole Evo, a long pole mount. He likes the pole mount because it allows his camera to be in the wave even when his body is out the back. Nate spends hours in the water at local beaches like Its, Seabright, and 26th Ave., getting as many images as he can in one session – usually in the early morning light of dawn or afternoon sunset. When he returns home, he edits the photos using Lightroom on his iPhone.
Now Nate is using his skill to help fund his 8th grade school trip to Washington DC. Nate has created greeting cards and metal prints with his wave photo images and selling them to earn money for his trip. In less than a month, he has sold 485 greetings cards and several 16”x20” metal prints of his wave images.
Each 5” x 7” card is printed on thick paper and is packaged in a protective plastic sleeve. Nate researched several vendors to find just the right one that could print his art. Art Supplies, Ink in Aptos is supporting his efforts by selling the young photographer’s cards. Nate is encouraged and inspired by the response and is hopeful that he can sell 2,500 cards – the amount he needs to fully pay for his school’s 8th grade Washington DC trip in March 2017.
“I am really excited about it,” Nate says. “Being in the water is soothing to my soul and I work really hard to capture that feeling in a photo. And I love coming home and looking at all my images, finding the one amazing shot, and editing it to perfection. It is cool to think that I can take my passion for the ocean and maybe turn it into something more.”
Nate posts most of his finished photos on his Instagram account @n8tall. His cards are available for viewing and sale at Art Supplies, Ink. Nate is grateful to owners Rich and Sandy Kowslowski for encouraging him. He is also selling his cards in packs of 5; each set is $15. If he can sell 250 more sets he will have paid for his Washington DC trip! Email [email protected] for more information.