A Quick Word With Scotland's Very Own Surf Photographer - Nick Law

how old are u?  27

where are u from?

The Highlands, Carrbridge.  But now i float about a bit (no pun intended hoho).

how did u get into photography? 

I've always liked cameras, I had an old film SLR which I learnt on when i was at school, I then studied Fine Art - Painting at Uni so I've always had an interest in aesthetics. Before shooting surfing my photos mainly stemmed from the fine art side and I had some photographs in art exhibitions and have some pics in the permanent collection at the Royal Scottish Academy.

how did you get into shooting surfing and how long have you been doing it?

I got into shooting surfing more seriously (at least the water side) when i went to indo the last time. I took a dive style water housing which kind of fitted a small SLR. After arriving I spent all my money on a dirt bike and had to survive for the other 5 months on selling pics to surfers. I got quickly board of cooking in the sun with a long lens from the beach/boat so did almost all from the water. 

So about 5 years now on the surf photo front.

tell me a bit about your water housing?

The housing that I'm currently using is one which I built. Taking the time to design and build a housing adds a whole other element to water photography. At one time that was the only way you could get in the water with a camera. Now it's available to anyone who can scrape together a few bob, however the charm isn't quite the same. The one which I'm using now is the second one i have built and allows complete manual control of the camera while in the water and saves about £2000

tell me about any shots you have had published?

I'm just really been making connections with the Magazines recently. I've had a few shots in surfer magazine from last summer in France and the contents page of wavelength in Dec was one of mine underwater at Bagpipes. I have lots of photos from this winter in Costa Rica which should hopefully be in wavelength shortly.

where is your favourite place to shoot? 

Honestly it's got to be in Scotland, it might not be cooking every day and the sun might not always be out, but when it comes together you have the sickest predictable reefs with crystal clear water.

who is the best surfer you have shot? 

I've not shot with many of the big international names but one water session springs to mind with Cornish Pros; Russell Winter, Alan Stokes and Mitch Corbett at in Scotland.

what do you think of the waves in your home country for shooting surfing? 

Tricky conditions wise, but easy waves to shoot when it all comes together. When it's on it's as good as anywhere in the world.

what ambitions do you have with your surf photography? 

We'll I'd love to do it full time and continue to travel, get well known for what i do and just keeping enjoying it like i do now i suppose.

which wave would you most like to shoot? 

It's scottish and I've shot there recently... but not speaking too much more about that...  I'd say No 10's, I keep missing it! I want to get some solid time up north with the local Scottish boys on local reefs thats what its about really if your from here.

what would be your ideal photo?    

Oooya, thats a hard one! I'd like to get something set up on a reef underwater with a tripod type fixture and remote flashes, I've never seen that kind of thing done before. My housing was built to accommodate a wireless flash trigger so I'm keen to get onto that once i've made the flash housings.