This year has been a whirlwind for sure. Ups and downs, stress and excitement, worry and pure joy. Over the course of this year I had to fight the hardest to stay going since I started shooting full-time four years ago, yet on the other hand 2013 saw my biggest accomplishments. Hard work does pay off!
The most important thing in life is to stay true to yourself, and do what you love. You don’t have to fit into the mold others expect of you. You can make it work by following your dreams. It’s a risk, it’s not going to be easy, but it’ll be the most worthwhile endeavor you take.
With 2013 coming to a close, and parts of the world already celebrating 2014, I’d like to take this time to share with all of you the highlights of my year (in no particular order but that which I found when combing through my hard drives!).
Thank you all for the support. Here’s to an amazing 2014 for us all!
-Ben / Driftwood Photography Studios
Red Bull Illume action sports photo contest finalist image of surfer Bobby Okvist taking flight over The Wedge in Newport Beach, CA, also featured in the inertia.com’s “100 Best Surf Photos of 2013”
Model/actress Alexa Skonieczny as seen in LATER Magazine issue v2.2
Mick Fanning at the 2013 Hurley Pro at Lower Trestles, CA featured by theinertia.com
Over 32,000 “likes” for this sequence of surfer Pat Gudauskas during the 2013 Vans US Open of Surfing featured on the VANS instagram page (BIG thanks to SolSpot.com for helping coordinate this feature!), as well as featured on Surfline.com
Featured by Surfer Magazine, Florida native Jake Kirschenbaum launches to the air on an indian summer afternoon in Newport Beach, CA
Travel photography of Hong Kong featured in LATER Magazine taken while abroad for the 2013 Red Bull Illume action sports photography contest award ceremony
Single frame from a double-page spread of surfer Brad Ettinger’s barrel sequence featured in the 2013 Surfer Magazine Photo Annual and Surfline
One of many beautiful, empty shore break waves taken this year and on sale as prints and phone cases in the www.driftwoodfoto.com store
Featured by Surfline.com and Solspot.com, 2013 Maverick’s Invitational big wave surf contest winner Peter Mel charging a giant wave the day before the contest
Big wave surfer Spencer Pirdy gets caught in the lip and braces for impact in a heavy shorebeak surf session at the Wedge, Newport Beach, CA, featured by Surfline, Surfer Magazine, Solspot.com, and Fluir Magazine
Big wave surfer Benjy Darrow gets sucked over the falls at Maverick’s, featured in Later Magazine and Surf Portugal
Russell Surfboards advertisement in Ghetto Juice Magazine
Surfer Bobby Okvist featured by Surfer Magazine dropping a massive peak at the Wedge
Mehrbod Mohammadi’s unveiling at the finale taping of ABC’s Extreme Weight Loss
Billboard photo for Reichbind Furs of model/athlete/scholar Whitney Hosein
Big wave surfer Spencer Pirdy’s year-end bottom turn in NorCAL has so far received 17.5k “likes” and counting on the Billabong instagram feed