2021 Surf Art Calendar - Chris Barry

2021 Surf Art Calendar

August

“Laguna Sessions”

By: Chris Barry

STORY BEHIND THE IMAGE

From the Artist: Last summer I bought a new toy, the GoPro Max. Where I thought I would test it out in the clear waters of Laguna Beach. My parents used to take us here, to Crescent Bay, when we were kids. This summer afternoon, after a long day at work, I pulled over to go for a quick bodysurf. It was no different than when I was a kid, clear water, a fun south swell was dumping shore break in 2' of water. This wave was back lit and made for a nice picture, I sent it to Tony and our group of friends. A couple months later, Tony mentioned he wanted to use the picture in his calendar project. I am very honored and glad to be a part of this unique project Tony provides to his clients and friends.

PERSONAL CONNECTION

Aside from being an Arsenal soccer fan, Chris is as solid as they come. Such a great guy, with a beautiful family, whom I’ve known for 20+ years! When Chris sent this photo, it was mid-pandemic and a group of friends from college including Chad Brock, Ryan Whitmore, Brian Stanton and Chris were all on a text chain together sending each other mis-information about the virus, jokes, off-color memes and anything to lighten the mood of the seriousness of the world events at the time and being locked in the house. So, when Chris sent over the image from his day in Laguna, I knew I had to share it for the calendar because it was a timeless moment capturing the power of the ocean, and not reflective of how the world was at the time.

What I really liked about this photo was the lighting and beauty of the barreling wave, similar to something you’d see from famed Hawaiian photographer Clark Little. Also, if you look closely… in the lower righthand corner of the photo, you will see a young child diving in the water trying to get under the wave. It stood out to me that she was scraping to get through it, while Chris was in the safety of having the lip of the wave break over his head as he took the shot, showing the two perspectives of a single wave.

ARTIST BIO

I am Chris Barry, I am President and Co-Owner of Beach Paving, Inc., (www.beachpavinginc.com) an asphalt paving contractor in Southern California. I met Tony as a freshman at Cal Poly SLO in 1997, we've been friends ever since. I have a beautiful wife, Sara, and two daughters, Quinn & Sam. We try to get to the beach as often as possible to enjoy the coast while surfing, fishing, and bodysurfing.