text by Tim Hain - images by Dustin Humphrey

life through a lens with Dustin Humphrey as he takes us on a surfer's journey through the Indonesian archipelago

Part Two

In the concluding part of our interview with celebrated surf and travel photographer Dustin Humphrey (DHump), we find out more about DHump's love affair with the waves and people of Indonesia. Sessions 73 is a permanent photographic exhibition on the third floor above the flagship Billabong store on Jalan Legian.

Spending his formative years growing up in Huntington Beach, "Surf City USA", with friends like Ryan and Timmy Turner and the person who took him on his first travel adventure to Costa Rica, George Lambert, Humphrey soon became enamored with traveling. He recalls, "When we would go out to study the whales and dolphins, most everybody had cameras to document the experience. So my mom gave me her Minolta SLR and I took a night class to learn how to use it. The next semester I dropped all my marine science classes and took all photography classes!" That's how DHump happened to have camera gear with him on that fateful first Bali trip, and how it turned out to be the pivotal point in his life.

Humphrey has called Bali home now for many years, though he is rarely here for more than a few weeks at a time. But he did take a break recently with his Indonesian wife Mira to enjoy the birth of their son Kelana. To Humphrey, Bali is the epicentre of surfing in Asia and so rich with subject matter that there is no place else he would rather be on those breaks between trips. When asked to what does he attribute his success in the world of surf photography, Humphrey replied "First, I guess what I try to do is to find a different way to shoot.

specially when it comes to surfing, I look outside of the surfing world for my inspiration".

"An example would be Mike Nichols." Humphrey continues, "the famous National Geographic photographer. I've taken a few things from him, like the remote flash thing. Another was putting a camera on the end of a long pole while sitting on a jet ski and shooting the surfer from above with a short lens, something you can do with a helicopter and a long lens but its much more close and personal with the pole. Nichols did it shooting monkeys that lived in a steep cliff to get really intimate shots. So I took it and adapted it to surfing. Also looking to the travel and portrait photography genres for different ways of shooting is inspirational".

And his advice to budding surf photographers? "Something that I heard a long time ago and has always stuck with me is the phrase 'if you find something you really like to do, you'll never work a day in your life.' I've found that by working really hard at my photography and not worrying about the money (as a surf photographer you can't aspire to be rich anyways for sure) that has been the answer for me. You've just got to find something you like to do and get good at it. Look outside the box, shoot everything, learn how to shoot everything, then find the things that you like to shoot the most and get really good at it. But also be able to do everything and try everything. In the end it's about the lifestyle, not the money, for sure."

So if the scorching sun, relentless street hawkers, ankle twisting sidewalks, and painfully distracting taxi horns along Jalan Legian are about to make you kneel and pray for deliverance, point yourself towards the sanctuary of Sessions 73 and escape with Dustin Humphrey on a surfer's journey through the Indonesian archipelago