San O’ Tableau 1937

“The rain had started to come down and this guy was just leaving,” said Craig of the surf check north of Santa Cruz. “I’m not sure if he had just finished the surf of his life or had just checked the waves only to return to his car still dry. I would have asked but he made it fairly clear that he wasn’t stoked on me shooting photos. That was about all he had to say.” Thus lies one of the essential challenges of the surf photographer: doing honor to the experience without fouling the nest. This issue’s portfolio subject does a respectable job of letting sleeping dogs lie—but that doesn’t mean he’s not holding.