Articles

Photographer of the Week – Chris DeLorenzo

By Lia Barrett, October 15, 2015 @ 06:00 AM (EST)

Local girl, Anna Erghot, taking a break one afternoon in Malibu

Looking at Chris DeLorenzo’s thoughtfully crafted, deliberately shot compositions, it is difficult to believe that our Photographer of the Week is a mere 20 years old. Where many of us spend eons developing a style that mixes both technical aspects with mood and feeling, Chris’ images exude a maturity not commonly found in such an unseasoned shooter. But it seems that ambition and willpower have gotten Chris a long way in his two decades on Earth. Instead of putting weight into the U.S. university process, he apprenticed as a furniture photographer, where he garnered an understanding of light, a most important part of shooting, and arguably, one of the most difficult to learn. Afterwards, he headed for the beckoning shores of the West Coast, landing directly amidst the mayhem of the surf world.

But what I like about Chris’ work is that he seems to create sense out of chaos, and arguably makes beautiful that which is at risk of being boring. Whether it’s a simple horizon, the undercurrent of a wave, or the surface of the water, Chris’ images display that soul-searching quality often present in surf imagery—an evocative feeling, stoke, lifestyle, whatever you want to call it. In short, his photographs make me want to hop aboard and float on top of the ocean for a while, just to experience a fresh perspective of the world.

The calmness of the water in this image is pretty misleading, for it was a pretty turbulent ocean that day. Catching these little moments of solitude is what Chris strives for