FOAM FETISH
Clark Little's Insane Shorebreak Fixation

Maybe that’s what she wanted in the first place?
No. my wife is just too tight to go to Pictures Plus. Must be her Chinese blood.

Describe your lifestyle on the North Shore, and how this fits in. What I know is you have a beautiful home up Pupukea Road with a beautiful view of the beautiful Kaena point and you have a beautiful wife and a beautiful family and beautiful parents and a beautiful brother with a beautiful wife and life is beautiful. So why this? Some beastliness to go with the beauty?
You are right about all that. I love life and my family. I am comfortable in the water and truly get a high from sitting in large pits - and then going home to take a look at the photos. To be honest, out of all the times I surfed the shorebreak, I never got a water shot. Everyone shot from land. So I want to get that cool shot from the inside. I got a few neat ones but I am still improving day by day.

How dangerous is shooting shorebreak? Is Waimea worse than Ke Iki?
The danger is the camera if you get sucked over. I have been able to avoid the camera so far and hope to continue. I will keep my fingers crossed. Keiki gets thicker but I would say but Waimea can be just as gnarly. Another heavy thing is when a bomb comes in and your lugging the camera out, you want to go faster but you can't. On a couple occasions when I was out of breath I thought about dropping the camera so I could handle dealing with the sets.

What is the procedure? Do you wear fins? Anything different about shooting six feet of gnarl in six inches of water?
I couldn't survive without fins. There are a lot of times when you have to make a decision on whether to go out on a set or swim as fast as you can in. When it is 6 inches deep and you get caught by a bomb, that’s scary. You have no choice but to take it on the chin.

The truth is, you are coming up with something beautiful and different, and that isn't easy these days. Which are your favorite photos?
The odd triple lips, back wash and other powerful wave shots.

You aren't going to try to be a photographer for a living are you? Don't. It doesn’t work anymore.

Fortunately I have an awesome job already and I can shoot for fun. If I make a couple bucks, great. If not, I will still get that heavy shot for our master bedroom.