Originally from Chinchilla in western Queensland, Riley’s a pretty chill guy, pardon the pun. Maybe it’s the country charm and that no-bullshit approach to life, but he’s quite clearly as down-to-earth as they come and far from enamoured with himself, as can sometimes be the case with those involved with the surf industry.
His photos, in our opinion, for someone who is a self-proclaimed amateur, are super bloody impressive. As a matter of fact, when we first encountered his work, we wondered who the hell he was. We thought there was no way he could be doing this as a side gig to his regular FIFO work.
Indeed, it is not even a side gig at this stage. It is more of a passion project. So, we were only too happy to provide him with the exposure he so rightly deserves. His personality only gave us more reason to support him where we could. Riley picks up the story.
“I grew up on a cattle farm out at Chinchilla. I moved here about eight years ago. Back home is pretty barren, so I was keen for a change of scenery for sure.
“I miss my family, but I am not planning on heading home anytime soon. I call in and see them every time I head out for work anyhow. I work in the gas fields not far from home.”
Given his roots, we were interested in how this country lad got into surfing in the first place and what motivated him to pick up a camera.
“I actually didn’t get into it straight away. It wasn’t until I was going through some sh*t in my life, probably about three years ago, that I eventually started to try surfing and yeah, it was just unreal. I guess it was a bit of an outlet and just so, so good.
“My preference is for mid-lengths and longboards. I have tried the shortboard thing but just wasn’t getting into it. I am not one to rip it around. I like how mid-lengths are kind of cruisy and mellow.
“With the photography side of things, I have always done a bit here and there. With that said, I had never done any ocean or water photography. I just remember watching a Xavier Rudd music video when I was a little bit younger, and he was surfing in it. And I guess that’s where the interest began, but I just never had the balls to pursue it.”
Nowadays, Riley shoots on both land and water. When it comes to his surf photography, one of his regular haunts is in and around Noosa National Park. Needless to say, we were interested in how he handled the crowds and personalities out there.
“My partner is friends with a number of the surfers there, like Em Niwa, who I shoot regularly, so that always helps. In all honesty though, I don’t know all the surfers out there and I struggle to approach people. I prefer it when they approach me and ask if I have got any shots of them.”
To that end, we were curious where Riley picked up the skills in the first place. We were stoked to hear it was in large part due to Tom Woods, whose work has graced the pages of Smorgasboarder more than a couple of times.
“I had a few mates that helped push me into surf photography, but it was Tom Woods who played a huge part in my development. Tom was a big inspiration and taught me so much.
“I found him on Instagram a few years ago and saw he was running a photography course and thought it looked sick.
“Prior to that, I was just looking through Insta and YouTube trying to learn how to improve my photography. I did his course, and it was huge.”
When it comes to gear, Riley’s weapon of choice is a Nikon Z7 with an Aquatech housing.
As with all photographers, he’s keen to upgrade, but it’s not a cheap passion to pursue. Speaking of pursuing passions, we asked him where he wants to take his photography.
“I don’t know – I have dreams, but for the time being I just love doing it. If something more comes of it, that would be unreal. I recently volunteered to help out with the Noosa Festival of Surfing.
“Other than that, I am just keen to keep surfing and shooting and go on a few more surf trips. I am keen to go to the Ments (Mentawai Islands).
“A few years back I went to Morocco, Portugal, and Bali, and that was sick. I headed over there for a few months by myself after a breakup.”
The inspiration behind Riley’s trip to Morocco was the surf film Lost Track Atlantic featuring Torren Martyn. Having watched and thoroughly enjoyed Lost Track New Zealand, Riley’s love for the movie has motivated me to make sure to watch the one on Morocco.
“Morocco is a beautiful country. I rate it if you ever want to do a surf trip there.
“I stayed in a surf camp there. It was heaps of fun. I just wish I had a mid-length with me, as I only had a shortboard.
“The waves in Torren’s film were massive, but when I was there it was kind of like here (the Sunshine Coast), just the water was freezing.
“Portugal was cool too. I particularly loved Ericeira (a super cool Portuguese surf town located on top of cliffs overlooking the Atlantic Ocean). The water was cold there too, and the waves pack such a punch. It takes your breath away.”
As for Riley’s plans for the future, he just wants to keep doing what he’s doing.
“Yeah, just surfing and some travel and my photography. To do something more on the surf photography side of things would be the dream for sure.”
