Kolohe Andino, big love at imperfect Salt Creek, CA

Though it’s hard to tell by looking at this shot, according to photographer Quinn Matthews: “I went shooting with Kolohe this morning, and got kinda skunked. We got up really early to check the beachbreaks in front of Kolohe’s house and around San Clemente but to our misfortune it was a bad case of morning sickness. The tide was a bit too high, the wind was a bit too strong, and the sun was nowhere to be seen. To make it even more interesting, both of us were feeling a bit under the weather as well, after spending all week in the relatively cold Cali water, with Niquil hangovers slowing down our morning. After giving up on San Clemente we headed a bit north to Salt Creek where we were greeted by currents, riptides, and cross shore winds. Not really ideal conditions for shooting, but determined, we gave it a shot anyways. The focus didn’t last long though – we headed in a little over 30 minutes later. Not many waves came through and even though we had first pick with no one else out, nearly every set was walled. We did manage to line up on a few in the short affair though, which Kolohe lit up.”