Austin Mullen is a rad dude, not only because he just won the Lineups category for The Inertia Film&Photo Challenge, but also because he’s been grinding hard to make it as a professional photographer for the past five years in Oceanside, California. “I’ve been shooting everything, from weddings, to landscapes to surfing, and I had just picked up enough work to drop my restaurant job, but then COVID-19 hit and my photography work all leveled out after that.” But there was a silver lining for Austin, “It’s actually been nice to shoot just for fun over the past six months or so. I feel like it’s helped me figure out what I like to shoot, and refocus myself on that.”
The photo itself is of an unnamed north San Diego County beach break in the fall of 2019. “Usually the fall is incredible with all the combo swells. We had a spectacular fall that year, probably one of the better ones I’ve seen. That photo was taken at first light, probably 6 a.m., and nobody out yet. I snapped a couple photos and then just went out and surfed with my friends the rest of the morning. To this day I’ve never seen it so good.” Austin was actually so hyped to get in the water himself, it wasn’t until he got home that he realized how good the shot was that he’d captured.
Fast forward to 2021, Austin saw the challenge pop up on his social media feed, and decided to enter some lineup shots from Indo as well as his award-winning shot from northern San Diego. “I’m still shocked,” Austin said, “When I saw I was in the finals I could hardly believe it, and actually winning is crazy. There’s some incredible photos I was up against, and I’m just so thankful to everyone who was involved in the judging and online voting for choosing my shot.”
As for the cash prize, Austin is hoping to use that money to fund a trip out of the country when it becomes possible. “I haven’t been out of the country in about two-and-a-half years, and that was never the plan. I usually try to do a trip once a year or so, and this is the longest I’ve been stagnant in a while. I might even just travel the West Coast, go up to Oregon or down to Baja. Deep Baja has always been a bucket list trip for me.”
Editor’s Note: We would like to thank every photographer and filmmaker that submitted entries to The Inertia’s Film&Photo Challenge. We were humbled by the quality, and the quantity, of the work submitted. Thanks to our partner, White Claw, for helping to make it all happen.
