Chris Burkard is a surf photographer. The sea has basically spawned his entire career and he takes pride in his ocean roots. But his image-making has become much more than surf photography. Thanks to a background in landscape, which we talk about, his photos capture the real feel of a place, not just the surf, which makes people want to be where he’s been. Even if it means five millimeter wetsuits and snow-covered beaches.
Part of that is the places he loves to visit: “Wilderness in its purest, most visible form,” he says. But it’s just as much his sharp eye and ruggedly-detailed photo skills that bring people in. And he’s now using that image power to make change, and improve the world. Chris and I talked about his new book, At Glacier’s End, a seven year documentation of Iceland’s glacial rivers to advocate for their protection. Iceland, of course, has helped thrust his work into mainstream consciousness and he’s now giving back to a land he’s come to love. As we talk Chris reveals a new film he’s working on right now, based in Iceland, that encompasses the hopes and dreams and fears of one Icelandic family. We also discussed Chris’s fears, and how he’s used those to grow as a human.
The Inertia Podcast is powered by Klean Kanteen, which introduced the first stainless steel, BPA-free, reusable water bottle in 2004 as a non-toxic solution to single-use plastic water bottles.
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