Chris Burkard travels to remote, risky and often icy locations to capture stunning images that turn traditional surf photography on its head.
Why you should listen
For most people, surfing evokes sunny sand and warm, blue water in tropical locales. In his book Distant Shores, self-taught photographer Chris Burkard detours to the coastlines of Norway, Iceland and Alaska, shooting surfers as they ride waves on icy beaches that have rarely been photographed -- let alone surfed.
Traveling to often dangerous extremes to discover unknown landscapes, Burkard composes images that transcend the simple action shots of action photography, placing nature at the center of his compositions.
What others say
While most surf photographers stick to popular warm-water paradises, SURFER Photographer Chris Burkard has taken a different path. By focusing on eccentric landscapes mixed with surf action, Burkard’s images of wild, remote, and often cold-water destinations don’t fit the standard mold, and they always stun the viewer.
Chris Burkard’s TED Talk
More news and ideas from Chris Burkard
Film
Chris Burkard’s quest for the perfect Arctic surf
April 19, 2017
Along the remote, frozen coast of Hornstrandir National Park, photographer Chris Burkard (TED Talk: The Joy of Surfing in Ice-Cold Water) and his team were in search of the Shangri-La of ice-cold surfing. Instead, they encountered Iceland’s biggest storm to hit land in 25 years. The challenges and hardships that transpired over those few days, […]
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A new map of the Peruvian Amazon, the race to explore the deep ocean, and a rock album reimagined
March 10, 2017
As usual, the TED community has lots of news to share this week. Below, some highlights. A map to guide conservation. After almost eight years of airborne laser-guided imaging spectroscopy, Greg Asner has finally mapped all 300,000 square miles of the Peruvian Amazon. Highlighting forest types that are reasonably safe and those which are in […]
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One TED speaker adorns the walls of the New York City subway, another the walls of a building in Dubai…
January 13, 2017
As usual, the TED community has lots of news to share this week. Below, some highlights. A subway line with museum-worthy art. After 45 years of construction and $4.5 billion spent, the first section of New York City’s Second Avenue subway line opened on January 1 with four stations. Maybe the best feature of the […]
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