Newport, Rhode Island Surfing in Winter | Featured Photographer Jason Evans

Featured photographer Jason Evans shares a collection of images celebrating Newport, Rhode Island surfing in winter.

DESCRIBE YOUR CONNECTION TO NEW ENGLAND.

For the most part, I grew up in a wooded part of Massachusetts with a love of being in the water, usually a pool. I spent a few formative years in the desert and mountains of El Paso, TX. I moved to Rhode Island in my early 20s to assist a photographer living in Tiverton. I’ve been living in Rhode Island for about 18 years, which still does not make me a local. I spend a good deal of time traveling around the U.S. and the world, which makes me appreciate the quiet calm and beauty I’m surrounded by at home. I live near Newport, RI, and my favorite time to be out and about taking pictures is during the late fall and winter, after the crowds are gone and as the seasonal changes bring amazing cloud and light variations. I started surfing late in life and this brought me to begin shooting on the water. Some of the most amazing visuals I’ve seen are out of the water. Unfortunately, the light changes can happen quickly and some of the best moments are captured in my mind but not with a camera. As I am near the ocean and I spend lots time surfing, the images I shoot gravitate towards the water and especially surfing and sunrise over the water.

DESCRIBE YOUR EQUIPMENT.

Though I started in photography with film cameras, it was at the beginning of the digital age. I loved the process of shooting film, but the immediate feedback of digital was extremely valuable when learning. I shoot lots of action and fast-moving sports, so I mostly stick with Canon cameras because of their fast autofocusing and low-light capabilities. I have a 1Dx Mark II and a 5d Mark IV. I’ve got everything covered lens-wise, from a 14mm to a 400mm f2.8. My favorite lenses lately are the fast prime lenses. It’s hard to beat the look of f1.4 when the focus is dead on.

WHAT INSPIRES YOU?

I love being outside in nature and away from computers. With so much calling for attention everyday, I have to find moments to clear my head and focus on one thing. I think nature—and the ocean in particular—are what clear my head and open my mind to new ideas and inspiration. I’m also inspired by photographs and art that I see. It is fun to see something new and different and know that it will marinate in the back of my head and inspire or affect the next picture that I take, or the one after that. I love to shoot with available light and I am constantly amazed by how the light can change quickly and dramatically to produce something I’ve never seen before. I have the luxury of returning to the same pretty great places at different times and capturing the changes which occur at different times of day and different conditions. To see more of Jason’s work please visit jasonevansimagery.com

FEATURED PHOTOGRAPHER JASON EVANS | NEWPORT, RHODE ISLAND SURFING IN WINTER

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