Trimble<\/a> about his journey.<\/p>\nMaking a living as a photographer isn\u2019t easy. \u201cThere isn\u2019t a lot of money in the surf world,\u201d says Trimble, who also relies on other gigs. From influencer trips in Ireland and shooting lifestyle brands, to a project with Royal Caribbean and the biggest ship in the world, Trimble stays busy, often shooting from dusk til dawn. \u201cToday I\u2019m up at 7 a.m. and editing a short surf film on Luke Tema for Hurley called Propulsion, which is his transition from the junior team to the senior team after a crazy breakthrough year and making the QS,\u201d says Trimble. \u201cThen I fly to Maui tonight to follow Edo Tanas, last year\u2019s Molokai to Oahu and Triple Crown foil race winner for F-ONE \u2014 a cinematic short film on his journey. Think, small budget Drive to Survive.\u201d <\/p>\n
When he\u2019s not on the road, the day starts before it begins. \u201cIf there\u2019s a Pipe swell, I clean my gear and oil it the night before and pack everything except for batteries. Then usually get up at around 5:30 a.m. and make the drive from Town to the North Shore to beat traffic,\u201d says Trimble. Early bird gets the worm in the North Shore.\u00a0<\/p>\n
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One of Connor\u2019s favorites to shoot, Ivan Florence. Photo: CT<\/p>\n
Upon arrival, he checks the waves from a bird\u2019s eye view \u2014 long enough to burn through a drone battery \u2014 to survey the current, sand, and the angle the waves hit the reef. He shoots for up to 4 hours in the water, gets lunch at Pupukea grill, heads back for another few hours of shooting through sunset, then goes home and edits late into the night.<\/p>\n
\u00a0\u201cIt\u2019s an absolute grind for me when the waves are good, and this past season was absolutely incredible with how good it was, but I think I made the drive 40 times and it was brutal,\u201d says Trimble.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The etiquette for photographers in the lineup isn\u2019t estranged from surfing. \u201cKnow your place. Period,\u201d he says about Pipe. New guys stay in the back, and don\u2019t swim into the bowl unless you know the rhythms of the lineup. \u201cYou\u2019ll get a lot more respect if you hold your own and are respectful on the big days, but don\u2019t rush the process. If someone\u2019s in a better position or it\u2019s clearly their moment, you respect that. And if someone gets worked, you check on them. It\u2019s competitive but also collaborative in a weird way. Everyone\u2019s trying to create something meaningful, but there\u2019s an unspoken code of respect that keeps things flowing.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
All of that, and then it\u2019s time to actually capture a surfer in their element. Some surfers happen to sync well with shooters. For Trimble, Ivan Florence is way up there. \u201cWe naturally sync in the lineup because he likes to go for the waves that line up with where I like to be,\u201d he says. \u201cHe\u2019s got this calm confidence and effortless flow that\u2019s so fun to shoot. He\u2019s not trying to force anything, he\u2019s just doing his thing, and it always translates beautifully on camera.\u201d Other surfers are more elusive, \u201cFor whatever reason I really never line up with John John\u2026 which I\u2019ve always thought was funny.\u201d<\/p>\n
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Insane photo of Mr. Kemper. But Connor got absolutely worked taking it. Photo: CT<\/p>\n
Of course, there\u2019s guts behind the glory too. Photographers navigate currents, duckdive with bulky equipment, read the surfers and the natural lighting. Or as Trimble puts it, \u201cYou\u2019re constantly putting yourself in the exact wrong place at the exact right time. You\u2019re not trying to get the wave of the day, you\u2019re trying to get run over by it. Safely.\u201d One lapse in judgment and you\u2019re getting detonated on dry reef with $10K-plus in gear strapped to your wrist. \u201cWith slabs and shallow reef breaks, if you\u2019re out of position, even by a few feet, you\u2019re toast.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
But sometimes you have to risk it for the biscuit \u2014 or, where risk tolerance meets composure and creativity. \u201cThe scariest beat down I\u2019ve ever gotten is at Back Door. What people don\u2019t realize is that when it\u2019s really big, you get sucked around like crazy because there really isn\u2019t a channel,\u201d says Trimble. \u201cIt was maxing Back Door, proper 10 feet-plus and I had been shooting for three hours. I pushed it too far in to try and get a shot on the first wave of the set and that sucked me towards the impact zone, and most shallow part of the reef. I shot the second wave and got sucked another 15 yards closer and the third wave of the set ended up being the biggest and I was in 3-4 feet. of water with a 12-foot wave about to land on my head. I got slammed so hard and drug across the reef. Then another wave came and picked me up somehow and slammed me again and landed on my butt.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
The results from the session? An epic shot of big-wave legend Billy Kemper.<\/p>\n
In the end, it\u2019s all worth it, says Trimble. \u201cWhen it all clicks, that moment when nature, light, and human expression align: it\u2019s worth everything. That\u2019s the feeling I chase and why I keep showing up.\u201d<\/p>\n
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