Art Brewer has been capturing the world of Surfing through his eyes and various camera lenses for over 40 years. When he was approached by Malcolm Lightner, Director of Photography at SVA, over 6 years ago to be enlisted as an instructor of their Arts Abroad program, he did not know how to react. After milling over the thought of teaching his trade secrets to hungry students, it began to grow ON him. Over the last 6 years, the program has began to grown WITH him. Starting in Puerto Rico with only one brave soul, JP VanSwae of Surfer Magazine, his workshops have grown to a staff of 6 and we are now traveling the world and leaving beautiful images behind. This summer lead to our 1st workshop in Bali, Indonesia.
Flying into Denpasar was like stepping off a Space Ship. The culture and people that occupied world famous surf spots, only read about by our students, enticed them and the creative juices were flowing! Please enjoy the images captured by the 2014 Class of SVA Arts Abroad and experience it first hand through the words of one of our students, John Law... Over the past twenty days, twelve intrepid and enthusiastic students from The School of Visual Arts joined Art Brewer and his team for an Action Surf Photography workshop in the Bukit of Bali, Indonesia. Students arrived with a range of experience levels shooting everything from surf, food, landscapes, surfing and families within the Indonesian culture. By the end of the workshop and in the finals presentation, it was clear that each student gained a tremendous amount of life experience, and a solid foundation in operating cameras inside Indonesia's premier surf breaks.
Under the careful supervision of Art Brewer, Joanna Miriam, JP VanSwae, Christian Sea and SVA's Malcolm Lightner; students from the program experienced Indonesia's famous glassy green barrels and inside packed line-ups seen through Aquatech waterhousings and shot with Canon telephoto lenses from the land and a Jet Ski. While learning to capture decisive surf moments along the Bukit peninsula, students were also able to experience many of Bali's cultural & natural assets: Ultuwatu's temple and caves, Tanah Lot temple at sunset, culture dances, a monkey forest, a volcano, and the majestic rice terraces of Ubud. The ease of use and operation of Aquatech housings combined with the program's experienced faculty produced a safe and inspirational place for students to lay a lasting foundation in surf photography for years to come.
This years "U Nailed It" award went to Jenna Addesso, this was Jenna's 3rd workshop with us. Her performance and portraiture was 2nd to none.
Jenna Addesso, a seasoned photographer and artist, was introduced to her first camera by her grandfather "Pop" nearly 25 years ago. Up until his mid nineties pop always had a camera around his neck taking what seemed to be endless pictures of his 30 grandchildren. Always surrounded by his photos, it was through Pop that Jenna learned that only a camera could capture those fleeting moments in life. This inspired her to study photography at the Art Institute of Boston and begin her career as a freelance photographer for the last 15 years. A photographer by trade but an adventurer at heart, surf photography was nothing short of a perfect union. Jenna has had the pleasure of learning from Art Brewer and has been on multiple surf trips in Puerto Rico and Bali, Indonesia. The trips have been life changing and have helped cultivate her trade both artistically and technically. Jenna plans to continue working on her craft and, just like her Pop, hopes to always have a camera around her neck capturing forever the moments we so quickly forget.
