Blog | Jakob Berr Photography

After the memorial on Wednesday, I went up on the pier to try and get some pictures of the surfers. I had this idea of a top-down shot with a longer shutter speed that I hope to do when I photograph Terry surfing, and I wanted to try it out. I really like what’s happening with the water and the motion in these images, and I hope that I will get a chance to photograph Terry like this. There are two shots that I’m torn between – in the first one, I like the second person in the upper right corner and the tension of the surfer, but it’s also a lot more blurry. In the second one, I like the light on the wave and the reflection on the wet suit. Hopefully, it’ll all come together when it counts…

Matteson Morey, of San Clemente, Calif., surfs near the San Clemente Pier, May 11, 2011.

On Wednesday, we went down to the pier after work. There was a paddle-out memorial for Jeff Kargola, a star in the freestyle motocross scene who recently died after a crash. The memorial was mostly over when we got there, and there were only few people left on the beach. I got one shot that I liked:

People gather at the San Clemente beach after a paddle-out memorial for Jeff "Ox" Kargola, a young motocross driver who died last April, May 11, 2011.

While I’m at it, I might as well put up some of the other pictures that I’ve shot recently and never posted. Last week, my cousin Max was at a conference in San Francisco and – without knowing that I live in the suburbs of L.A. – decided to rent a Harley with matte-black finish and ride it down to Los Angeles. He jokingly told me to drive the 2,000 miles or so from Missouri to come and see him, and was quite surprised when I told him that I was already there.

We used the opportunity to get together for the first time in about three years and went on a camping trip to Joshua Tree National Park. I should probably mention that Max is somewhat crazy – he is one of those guys who jump off 100-feet cliffs on their skis. He also loves to be photographed, especially when he chews tooth picks on his Harley. And since I like taking pictures, I ended up hanging out of the window of my car taking pictures of Max while Beth was driving all the way to Joshua Tree.

Photographing a moving object from another moving object was new to me and quite a lot of fun. I ended up taking about 1,000 pictures of Max over the two days that we were out there (ridiculous, I know), but the two photos in set below are the ones that stood out most to me.

National Park Boulevard in Joshua Tree National Park, Calif., May 7, 2011.

Max rides his Harley Davidson on the I-10 near Palm Desert, Calif., May 5, 2011.

Taking a break at the Lookout Road House on the Ortega Highway near Lake Elsinore, Calif., May 5, 2011.

A Joshua Tree stands in front of some of the granite formations that are the hallmark of Joshua Tree National Park.

Max rides his Harley Davidson down Pinto Basin Road toward the Cholla Cactus Garden at Joshua Tree National Park, Calif., May 6, 2011.

I know it’s a little late for these, but I still wanted to put these pictures up. On May 2, Terry asked me over to his shop for his birthday party. He had some friends over, who brought a cake for the “princess,” and I had a great time meeting all of them. I also used the opportunity to work on some of the shots that I still wanted to get from his shop.

Terry Senate lights the candles on his birthday cake with his friends at his surf shop in San Clemente, Calif., May 2, 2011.

Terry clinks glasses with his friends on his birthday at his surf shop.

Terry touches up a surfboard that one of his friends shaped and brought in his shop to show him.

Tommy Witt, of San Clemente, Calif., picks up his new board at Terry's surf shop.

Terry takes a picture on his new smart phone of Brianna Coleman, of San Clemente, Calif., holding her boyfriend Tommy Witt's newly shaped board in his workshop.

Terry and his friends celebrate his birthday at his surf shop.