How surf photographer broke mould

By Jonathan Morris
BBC News South West

See more of Lucia Griggi's surfing photographs In pictures

It takes a courageous person to make it in the world of surfing photography.

First you have to accept that equipment will be expensive and the returns will be small, at least until you are established.

Then there are the physical obstacles, swimming over sharp reefs which could be home to sharks, and putting yourself close to surfers riding huge waves.

And of course there are the rip-currents that can sweep you out to sea.

Welcome to the wild world of Lucia Griggi, the only female photographer in the UK whose work regularly appears in top surf magazines.

Lucia Griggi once collapsed carrying all her kit (Copyright Anthony-Ang)

Lucia, 25, from Newquay in Cornwall, began organising surfing trips to the West Country while she was a sports studies student in London.

After graduating she combined her passions for surfing and photography by taking pictures of the surfers at Watergate Bay and selling them in a bar.

The British Surfing Association spotted her potential and offered her the chance to join the tour as official photographer.

Learning her craft along the way, she was thrown into taking and printing photos for newspapers, magazines, websites and promotions companies, from six in the morning to six at night, then writing press releases for local and national press and magazines.

That led to work with surf firm Rip Curl, who asked her to cover the Rip Curl Girls Pro in Santander, northern Spain.

LUCIA'S TOP TIPS FOR SURFING PHOTOGRAPHERS Learn technique, then branch out Shoot a lot to gain experience Try to get work as an assistant Once you are happy with your pictures start submitting them to magazines Get up early and work hard Be creative and find a niche Keep doing work in a more lucrative field

The business may sound glamorous, but behind the glitz is the physical effort of lugging equipment, including tripods, two cameras, telephoto lenses, wetsuit, helmet and personal computer through airports.

On one occasion the effort was so much Lucia collapsed on the tarmac at Stansted with an asthma attack.

Once on site she immediately grabs her helmet, scuba fins and camera in a waterproof casing and paddles out to the break.

The helmet will protect her in the impact zone, where the waves break, and against boards of surfers that have wiped out.

At one shoot in the Maldives she was glad to have any protection she could get when her water bike escort left her in the sea for four hours.

But there is no other place she would want to be other than among the surfers.

Back from a shoot with helmet to protect against reefs

"I forget that I am working because this is what I want to do," she said.

"The first day I picked up my camera was the last day of work."

Lucia quickly progressed through the ranks and is now a full-time freelance photographer, working around the world for magazines, including Rip Curl.

And now she even has her own personal assistant to help lug all her kit through airport customs.

But competition is fierce and rates low, so she has also taken on work for companies such as the fashion house Calvin Klein and beauty products firm Rimmel.

For a surfing photographer, equipment alone can cost up to £5,000.

"It has gone from nothing to everything in the last year," Lucia said as she prepared to launch an exhibition of her work in Newquay where she lives.

There have been many ups, including the Maldives shoot where she had her own apartment and was looked after in style by the sponsors.

There are compensations to taking pictures in beautiful locations

But she admits that the itinerant lifestyle is tough on relationships, with several boyfriends having been left in her wake as she headed off to another contest.

"I find it hard to come in and go out of people's lives," she said.

"It's always been that way."

After a rollercoaster year she intends to dedicate herself to her surfing photography.

Her ultimate aim is to work for the Association of Surfing Professionals, where the elite competitors tour the best breaks in the world.

She still speaks in reverential tones of the time top women's surfer Layne Beachley allowed her to take photos of her.

"I do lots of commercial stuff, but this is where my heart lies," she said.

Women and the Sea is a series of features by BBC News Interactive South West which will be appearing on the BBC news website all this week.