Irish charger Finn Richardson isn’t in it for the likes. He doesn’t need external validation, and whilst he’ll get good waves at headline sessions when a large swell lights up the west coast of Ireland, he’s more often than not off at other less well known spots or searching out new slabs and getting just as good waves under the radar.
The same goes for his photos and film clips, as for his surfing.
Last summer Finn and his surf partner Callum got themselves a jetski, and Finn also got his hands on a vintage Nikonos V underwater camera that’s older than he is. A year later he got the first roll of film developed. The photos he got back are a completely different and fresh perspective on some famous sessions at well-known waves, shot from the back of his ski in between waves.
“I'd always kind of had an interest in surf photography. My dad had a really big collection of old surf mags, like Tonnta, an Irish surf magazine. It was a massive collection, so I always pored over the images in those magazines.”
“I started off buying a half-frame film camera and taking a couple of shots on that, then I ended up getting a couple of point-and-shoot film cameras. My knowledge was very basic at that time. I didn't really do any digging, if you get me. I knew there were different scales of film cameras, but I was just like, "Oh yeah, a point-and-shoot is the most simple one, I'll just get that." It was all a learning curve. I'm lucky I had good mates with good knowledge, like Peter Laing, who I could ask about aperture and film stocks and stuff like that.”
“I got looking into surf film photography, and that led me to the Nikonos. I'd been looking for ages, and I understood that Japan is the place to buy old film cameras for the best value. I sat on online auctions for a couple of weeks and eventually got a good deal on a Nikonos V. I pulled the plug and ended up getting a fairly decent one that I didn't have to fix or anything. Then, when I got it, I realised you can't buy the batteries for it here!”
“I've just been messing around when I get the chance. It's more for my own enjoyment, making my own memories, and I don't take it too seriously.”
"These shots are from two different sessions, one at Mullaghmore and one at Riley's. They were actually shot on the same roll of Ilford HP5 35mm film."
"The Mully session was in August. It was a summer swell, which is super rare, and it was pretty big. The weather was great, it got super busy and lots of people flew in for it. It was actually the day my mate Callum [Curtin] and I got our ski, and that was the first session I shot with the camera. I took those shots from the back of the ski. I remember it being super busy, and it was one of those days when I didn't really get any good waves. Sometimes you go out and get into the flow straight away. You feel confident you're in the right place and picking the good waves. Other times it just takes a while. So I like to paddle back into the channel, sit there and watch, because I know who's getting the good ones. I watch those guys and see where they're positioning themselves and which ones they're going for."
"Callum and I were pretty much taking turns. One of us would paddle for a while, try to get a wave or two, then swap onto the ski for a break. When I was taking those shots, [Callum] was driving the ski, but he was chilling, eating a sandwich, and I was playing around with the camera. I'd never really taken any shots with it before. So those are actually some of the crispiest shots I took, the most in focus, because I had a bit of time to play around with the aperture and stuff. They're quite far away, and 35mm doesn't really do it justice, but it was f***ing pretty big that day."
"The Riley's session was totally different. It was huge that day, and it was super rough. It was a tough day. There was only a small, solid crew of us down there: me, Callum, Ollie O'Flaherty, Conor Maguire, Gearóid McDaid, Nathan Florence, Kai Lenny, Ben Larg and Andrew Cotton. I might be missing one or two other guys. It was one of those days that was borderline unsurfable. Peter Conroy was down there on safety, and luckily he was. One of the boys, Ben, ended up getting in a bit of a jiffy, hit his head and knocked himself out. Luckily he was okay, but that was a pretty crazy session."
"I wasn't planning on bringing the camera out with me. I had it in the car and, last minute, I remembered I had it and just stuck it in the front of the ski. I was actually driving the ski when I took those shots. There's so little space in the channel when it's that big, because you have another slab on your right. The wave is a left, but you're in a bit of a gully, and there's a massive right as well when it's that big. On a smaller day the right doesn't really break. When it's 15 foot and heavy, it's a totally different setup down there.
With those, I didn't have time to set the aperture or anything because it was so quick. The session went down in the space of about 30 minutes, I'd say, and then Ben got hurt and we were out of there."
"It was massive and messy. There were definitely some diamonds in the rough, but it was just crazy. It was some of the craziest stuff I've ever seen with my own eyes. I saw Kai Lenny getting towed in, switchfoot, on a 15-foot death slab that looks like it's breaking in five foot of water. The guys got some super sick waves. It was an insane session. I'll never forget it."
"I got the film developed months later, so I can't remember which surfers are in which shots. I have a couple of shots of some surfers: it could be Nathan, it could be Callum, it could be Ben. There's one where I took the shot and I was like, “I think I've got the cover of Surfer Magazine!" Then you get them developed and you're like, "F***, the focus was off." But that's the beauty of it: you never know until you get them developed."
"At most of the top waves around here, when it gets good, there are loads of photographers, whether they're on land or in the water. I understand that most of them are there to try and make a living, whether they're travelling from other countries or they're local photographers. They're trying to get shots of surfers who have sponsors that want to pay for the shots. That's how they make money, and I understand and respect that. I really do. Then there's another element to it, where footage gets shared instantly on different magazines' and brands’ Instagram accounts and stuff like that. That is what it is. There's no controlling it; it's just what comes with it. And it's not just Ireland. You look at Pipeline in Hawaii and other waves, and it's the same really."
"I respect those photographers. They're putting their bodies on the line if they're in the water, f***ing duck-diving massive sets. They're just as driven as the surfers. They've got to wake up just as early and be just as focused. I respect what they do."
"As for me, I'm shooting film because I'm not trying to make money out of it. I'm not a professional photographer. I'm just trying to get a few shots to look back on in years to come, and make good memories. Maybe I'll share a few on the 'gram or whatever. That's why I’ve leaned more towards film: it doesn't need to be instantaneous. I don't need to take the shots from a session, get them edited straight away and post them for the likes, do you know what I'm saying? Even if I'm surfing the session, I can take a few photos when I get out. I have the memories from the session, and then I get them developed in a couple of months, or whenever. I'm in no rush. I just enjoy being able to look back at the shots once I get them developed."
"I don't take a large amount of photos of surfing. So far I'm quite happy with what I've got. I don't even know if we'll ever see a session like that at Riley's again, where it's being surfed like that. That was pushing the boundaries of what I even thought was possible down there. It was pretty much borderline unsurfable. There were so many closeouts, but the guys were sending it, fair play to them. I just wish I'd had it more in focus, in hindsight, but what can you do? I'm not a pro photographer."
All photos @finnnbob
