Beach Breaks and Vintage Aesthetics

Photography By Ezequiel Rivero

Surf photographer Ezequiel Rivero discusses the challenge of making normal photos interesting, not worrying about having the most expensive camera, and creating your own experiences.

Santa Teresa, Costa Rica

How did you begin your journey as a photographer?

Always loved the medium, but I did nothing with it really until I was in Taghazout, Morocco about 5 years ago, and this guy who owned a camera asked me if I could take photos of him and his friend surfing in exchange for a little money. That’s when the lightbulb went on. I realized I could pair my love of surfing and photography. So i went on with it and invested some of my savings into gear, and jumped right into it.

What are some things you have learned along the way?

“The gear you use is not the way there”. Wish I understood earlier that the most expensive and newest camera/lens is not really necessary for the job. After all, I keep working against my gear: Making the lens dirty on purpose, destroying image quality, avoiding auto focus when possible, etc. pretty much going against all the qualities you look for in your expensive gear. I get a lot of people asking me what camera I use, and of course everybody gets tempted into buying the latest shit out there, I know I’ve fallen for it, but the reality is, it’s not that important.

It’s like David Gilmour, guitarist for Pink Floyd once said, “I can walk into any guitar shop, pick up a basic guitar off the rack and sound just like myself”

500$ camera or 5000$ camera, the photos you take are gonna be what you make of them, not the camera you use.

Now I know.

Why is surfing important to you? Why do you enjoy photographing surfers and surf culture?

Well, surfing is just plain fun, but why is it important to me? I guess because it’s the healthiest thing I do. Before working full time with photography, I was really into music, guitars 60’s and 70’s rock n roll, and I worked in bars for many years, so…smoking, drinking, not the healthiest lifestyle.

But now, out in the heavy surf with only a pair of fins and a 15 pound camera in one hand, you really want to be in the best possible shape you can. It can get pretty sketchy and challenging out there, it’s not as easy as most people imagine it to be, especially on beach breaks.

It’s not just about the surf in particular. I guess it’s about the ocean. Working, taking photos of people, and surfing is great for me because it means that when I’m working I’m in the water, and when I’m back home editing, I’m still “working with water” so to speak, and I’d like to keep that connection as long as i can.

To me, it’s just the combination of work, fun, and health. Even if I’m having a terrible session, I know that my body is thankful for it.

How would you describe your style? What makes you different and unique from other surf photographers?

My style? I leave that label to you.

I always had a thing for surfing, since i was a little kid, trying to stand up in choppy waves on crappy styrofoam boogie boards. It wasn’t until 2008 that a good German friend, Axel, took me to Costa Rica for the first time and threw over my head a bunch of old Surfer’s Journal and Surfer Magazines. I guess those magazines and my love of vintage aesthetics have a big influence in my style.

Also, after taking thousands of photos of blue waters with blue skies, well…it gets fucking boring. So I try to see how I can make a normal photo look a little bit more interesting. By now, we’ve all seen photos of every single maneuver in surfing a million times or more, so in order for me to keep my own interest alive, I need to make something else out of it.

I feel really lucky that so many people show appreciation for my style and like what I do with colors. Would that be any different I would have to go get a different job haha.

You grew up in Buenos Aires, Argentina. How did growing up here influence your work?

It hasn’t really..haha I always had a restless feeling when I was back home, like i was missing out on stuff, cool stuff. Every movie, every photo, every piece of music or art that caught my attention was from a foreign country. So I guess you can call that influence? The need to get out of where you are and go chase other cultures and ideas somewhere else.

You traveled the world for 12 years. Which countries have been your favorite to photograph? What did you learn during your travels?

WIthout a doubt Morocco and Indonesia have been the most interesting places i’ve seen. Unfortunately when I was there, i didn’t have a camera with me, so I owe it to myself to go back soon and get some photos done.

What did I learn?

Don’t share your goals and ideas with everyone, and if you do, don’t take their opinion or advice to heart. Try it for yourself, get your own experience. Go ahead and do it. Because truth is, people don’t know shit, only what happened to them with their own experiences. So go make your own way.

You now live in Santa Teresa, Costa Rica. Why did you decide to settle there? How does it inspire you?

I came here initially for a month, and then Covid hit so I’ve been here ever since.

Not my favorite place in Costa Rica though, it’s developing pretty fast, rents are out of this world, and it’s getting a bit hectic. Unfortunately a lot of people here are only driven by money. Exploiting the natural beauty of the place for a profit without giving anything back, Building “Eco” Villas one on top of the other, cutting down trees, destroying the mountain and polluting the waters. It’s a sad reality that the seasonal tourist fails to see, or just plainly don’t give a fuck about. Guess that happens with nice places all around the world…

But yes, warm waters, waves, palm trees... Could be worse.

Work wise it is a challenging place. It’s a beach break so it gets pretty wild out there. You get dragged around all over by the strong riptides, while surfers come at you from left and right. It demands a lot from you. It’s not like shooting on a point break, where you know what the wave will do 80% of the times, and from which direction the boards will come flying to your head.

It’s pretty chaotic. Also the place doesn’t hold up when big swells come, it a big close out and makes shooting here really hard. So I’m pretty excited to go shoot somewhere else where I can put my attention more in the photos I want to take than in looking over my shoulder to dodge the occasional kook who drops in someone else’s wave and goes in the wrong direction.

What's next for you?

I’ve yet to try the European surf, so im planning on spending Summer 2023 over at French, Spanish, and Portuguese waters. Throw a wetsuit and cold temperatures in the mix, and bitch about it an hour later.