There are several things you should know about Harry, his faith, his family, his friends and his love of the ocean. Harry is from an Irish family with 9 brothers and sisters, he and his wife Kate have been married 44 years, have 3 children and 9 grandchildren.
Harry is a people person. He knows everyone in the Lot, everyone knows and likes him. He is a Seaside fixture and serves as Official Surf Photographer (if you surf there odds are he has clips of you), Unofficial Coach (you can often see various surfers consulting with him on their way out to discuss best peaks and conditions), and Official Cheerleader (he is the first to clap and cheer when a surfer has a great wave).
Photography isn’t a hobby for Harry, he shoots professionally. His stills and clips are well regarded and are purchased by individual and corporate clients alike. However, he freely gives of his time and talent to serve as a club photographer. He can often be seen shooting at Encinitas Board Rider contests and events, and he donates his images to be used on the EBRC instagram and website.
Like all the best surf photographers, Harry is a surfer. In fact surfing and photography became intertwined early for him. He grew up in Newport Rhode Island in the mid 60’s when the surf film “The Endless Summer” came to town. He and his brothers went to watch it at the drive-in. The next day they rented surfboards, got hooked and have been surfing ever since. Surfboards were expensive, so he would film his friends riding, and then they would let him borrow their boards so he could surf. Eventually he and his brothers saved enough money to get a board, and they all shared it.
Harry’s early career in the restaurant business also dove tailed well with the sport. He started working at the Chart House restaurant in his hometown as a teen and later moved on, first to Southern California, then to the island of Maui. This meant that he had some great breaks to surf, with his favorites being the famed big wave break Ruggles Avenue in Newport RI, Lower Trestles in So.California and Honolua Bay on the island of Maui. While in Hawaii, Harry attended and graduated from the University of Hawaii. He got married and they moved back to Encinitas and started a family. Harry worked throughout California in the High Tech Industry as a VP of Sales and Marketing. He said that this was great because now he could travel from San Diego to Santa Cruz and had the benefit of surfing at every surf spot in between.
One of the things that sets Harry apart from other shooters is that he is a Storm Chaser. For years he and his friends from Hawaii, California and Florida would follow the tracks of hurricanes heading up and off the East Coast. These “strike missions” usually entailed coordinating red eye flights to New England with the plan of arriving before huge swells. Storm chasing can be high-risk, high-reward, the pursuit can be a dangerous “glory or disaster” scenario. They would target Fish Storms, those are the hurricanes that stay well offshore, produce huge surf, and cause no damage on the coast as they drift out to sea past New England. Harry doesn’t surf the big waves anymore. He leaves that to the likes of the young stars of the sport, like Nick Marshall who he filmed and photographed in Rhode Island earlier this season.
A lot of photographers focus on the pro surfers and Harry has his share of clips of them. However, his favorite subjects are the up and coming Groms. He enjoys shooting and following them as they progress in skill and competitive success. He told me his favorite payday came when a much younger Kaia Howard walked up to him in the parking lot, looked up and said “Thank you for taking my picture.” The emotion was evident in his face and voice when he told me this, and that shows me the kind of guy he is.
One of the things Harry and I have in common is our feeling that the small screens on cell phones really aren’t such a great way to see photos and videos. Harry is addressing this issue by producing films for the big screen. He’s featured one of his films “Get Up and Go” at La Paloma and several others at venues with large screen projection capabilities. He shared with me that he has more in the works, but I won’t spoil the surprise for you, you’ll have to wait for their release.
Harry is an early riser, and normally is headed to the ocean before sunrise. One of his favorite morning activities is being able to meet with our beloved Johnny Seaside and other men as they meet in the morning to read the Bible and take time to pray for the safety of each person that comes to surf at the Lot. He says that one of his favorite verses is from Proverbs ”Trust in the LORD with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding” For Harry, this verse strengthens his faith in Jesus Christ, and encourages his reliance on God and a recognition of the limitations of human wisdom and understanding. He loves contemporary christian rock and his favorite artists are Forrest Frank, Zach Williams, Brandon Lake, and of course Jon Foreman and Switchfoot.
Harry has been around for a while. He remembers when the Lot was made of dirt and the surf community was disjointed. He credits the Board Riders with bringing the community together in a positive way. He also deserves some of the credit. His photos and videos help to preserve the happy memories earned on the local breaks and through Club activities. His willingness to share those with all of us is so very much appreciated.
Written by Nicholas Paoni
