Photographers » Steve Fitzpatrick

Bio

Arguably the most widely published photographer working out of the Caribbean, Steve Fitzpatrick’s passion for capturing the very genuine surf culture of the island of Puerto Rico has been unrivaled over the past two decades.  His dynamic watershots, alluring lineups, revealing portraits, and straightforward lifestyle images have made his name synonymous with exceptional surf imagery coming from the island, and have illustrated the pages of most of the world’s major surf media publications, both in print and online.  His singular pursuit of the A-list surf image has taken him all over Puerto Rico, the Caribbean, and the globe, and has garnered him a reputation as one of the world’s top working surf photographers.

Steve has been an member of the A-Frame stable of surf photographers since 2002, and since 1995 he has been represented by the Masterfile Stock Image Library, the largest privately owned stock agency in North America, where his imagery is regularly licensed for commercial, advertising, and editorial use.

In January of 2009 Steve was voted “Photographer of the Year” for 2008 by Eastern Surf Magazine for his death defying coverage of that year’s Swell of the Century when he captured images of island locals riding massive 40 foot waves at Tres Palmas while negotiating the lineup on an Uli inflatable surfboard.  He narrowly escaped death when, after surviving being caught inside by a massive set, he was run over by an irresponsibly operated jet ski suffering a traumatic brain injury and a head wound requiring 35 stitches.

Surf Caribe (www.surfcaribe.com), Steve’s online magazine covering Caribbean surf culture, was launched in the fall of 2008 with his partner, IT Specialist, and Art Director, Alberto Vincenti, and has since become the source for top quality editorial content about the Caribbean surf scene.  His photography, editing, and writing skills are the core of the site, which is brought to life by Vincenti’s contemporary knowledge of internet technology and cutting edge graphic design and art direction.

Steve’s online portfolio is available at www.stevefitzpatrick.com and his prints can be purchased at www.stevefitzpatrick.printroom.com, www.waveridersgallery.net/catalog2/surfphotographer-steve-fitzpatrick-c-23_84.html, or by contacting Steve directly with your request at steve@stevefitzpatrick.com.

Steve is a master digital image processor and captures his images in the highest quality and most archival format available to photographers today.  He regularly takes discs of images friends bring from their surf trips, edits them down to a reasonable selection of keepers, and tunes those images to such an extent that the people in them are blown away with the difference between what they brought home on their discs and the distilled and optimized edit of images that Steve delivers.

“Coming straight out of the camera, digital images are inherently flawed,” commented Fitzpatrick. “They need a lot of help to look good, and that’s where the science of image processing comes into play.  Modern camera technology has made capturing the images so easy that most of the magic is no longer in the capture, but rather in what you do with the image in post-production,” he concluded.

If you’re planning a trip to Puerto Rico, the Caribbean, or anywhere else in the world for that matter, and are going to spend big bucks on getting quality surf, why count on a local amateur or the boat’s “photographer” when you can have one of the world’s top working surf photographers document your trip?  Moreover, in Puerto Rico specifically, Steve is likely to take you places you probably won’t find on your own where the waves are as good as anywhere and crowds are nil.

“I love the challenge of documenting any sporting event, but surfing presents special circumstances that make it an even more dynamic endeavor,” explained Steve.  “Likewise, documenting special moments in peoples’ lives is one of the more rewarding experiences a photographer can have, and we all know how special surf trips to foreign countries can be for any wave riding enthusiast.”

Because the bottom line is that you deserve to have the best waves of your life documented for posterity, and when it comes to surf photographers available for such an assignment you won’t do much better than Steve Fitzpatrick.