Jocelyn Mathe – Surf photographer

Baja wave dream, Baja, MexicoI was very excited to have the opportunity to illustrate a surf story about Baja California surfers and our Todos Santos surf community. It is always great for a surf photographer to have his work published. Why? Because when you’re “behind the lens” you’re the witness to such a show, such an unreal picture. Waves are liquid mutants that change shape and color every fraction of a second, always creating a new background. Surfers have to deal with those changes and speed, with balance, self-control, glide, traction, performance, fear.
Some like to get everything under control, others surf loose with abandon and elegance.
On a good day, considering how powerful, steady and rich the light is in Baja California Sur, those guys become like “modern knights” in my viewfinder, they’re my heroes. Most of the Baja Sur waves are raw beauties—well known by surf communities around the world. The blend of the gorgeous Baja light, the magic point breaks and the real Baja surfer at work, are a true visual must.

Jocelyn Mathe, surf photographer, Todos Santos, Baja, MexicoAs a surfer, but also as a photographer,
I feel the need to share this “Art sport form.” For me, “Old Baja surfers” are the best to shoot when it gets big and heavy,
I can feel and read their Baja wave knowledge, the way they line up and charge the best ones, the focus on their faces; they are like War Lords or Poseidon for the ride. When you belong to such a land, such a sport, and your personal lifetime’s challenge has been to deal with liquid mutants, sometime triple overhead you can, perhaps, understand why these local rippers, the Baja surfer expats “glow” when you pass by one of them between the Pemex and the Hotel California. Thanks to the Journal del Pacifico for publishing our surf stories, it’s cool.