As part of Carve Collective, we are catching up with surfers, shapers, photographers and all round local legends across the UK and Ireland.
Next up in the series is Lewis Arnold, well known around the North East England surf scene as a photographer, filmmaker, and the driving force behind some of the more ambitious independent surf media projects to come out of the UK in recent years.
Give us the basics - who are you, where are you based, and what’s your lane?
I’m Lewis Arnold, independent surf photographer and filmmaker from Tynemouth, my house is in Thurso and I split my time between the two. I love the peace up in Scotland but, of course, Caithness has the closest world-class Atlantic waves to the North East… that 7-8 hour drive is a well-trodden path for NE crews.
I’m the director of surf doc “The Big Sea” and that’s my biggest work in surfing so far, but I’m also editor of surf photobook GLASS. Volume 2 is coming out soon - I’ve been working alongside surf writer Ron de Leeuw. Like most indie projects, it’s been a mission, but a rewarding team effort as well and we can’t wait for the release in September. I think it’s super strong and something quite different.
I’m also director of the North Sea Surf Film Festival and have some new films close to release
myself. One is a pretty challenging doc on surf travel with big-wave legend, surf scientist and
environmental activist Dr Tony Butt, shot across Northern Spain. The other is “North Country”
which explores surfing lives and landscapes from the Hebrides to Yorkshire. It’s a full-on
collaboration between myself, Mal Anderson, Elle and Rory Sutherland, Rhys Smith, Sandy Kerr,
Mark Boyde and Phoebe Strachan. Stoked on this project too but, again, a bit of a mission!
What first drew you to surfing, was it camera first and surfing second?
I changed schools at 11 and fell in with a crew of surfers in Tynemouth and that was that. I was hooked on surfing but I never really got good enough or was that into the comp scene. However, I was super into the imagery, fashion and the creativity around surfing. I would devour any surf mags or films and would pore over the photography… I still do, you should see my collection! Surf mags are a big deal to me. Mags I picked up on my travels, the old 80s zines that morphed into Carve in the 90s were the inspiration for me to get into photography, so I was stoked to be nominated in the UK Surfer Awards this year.
Photography has given me lot, it’s been my vocation for 30 years or so now. I studied then trained professionally in newspapers with surf photography always important as my personal work. In 2017, I left the day job to do an MA in Photography Creative Practice and to fully focus on work around surfing.
Personally, I appreciate most elements of surf photography but I’m really into exploring how surf
imagery (and words) can be used to talk about wider themes and to reach audiences outside of
surfing.
What does a normal week look like for you right now?
One of the amazing things about photography is the variety in ideas, meaning, subject, technique,
media, equipment…every shoot is different and that variety and has kept me creatively stimulated
for a long time. Working in media you get different assignments every day - you could be
photographing literally anything and have to think on your feet. I try to apply that ethic to surf
photography and aim to keep learning and hopefully to progress. It’s pretty all-consuming. I think
about ideas all the time, and there’s a lot of time in front of the Mac! I’m not a techie ‘gear geek’,
but still my work is varied and every week is different, which works right for me.
What does involvement in your local surf scene look like for you these days?
A lot of goose chasing! We have real good waves but swells are usually few and far between. I’ve
always shot with talented local surfers who are friends and are around to surf when the waves here
turn on, and it’s still the same today.
That’s meant working a lot with Gabe and Jesse Davies, Louis Thomas-Hudson and Sandy Kerr,
and that crew is still super active now. Sandy has an unreal surf part in The Big Sea and that came
about from our long collaboration chasing waves all over the North Sea and Atlantic.
After doing quite a few film festivals screening The Big Sea, I picked up some interesting ideas and
thought it might work setting up a festival back home. So I approached Tom Bing and Sal MGee to
team up and start the North Sea Surf Film Festival. The inaugural festival was hard work, but I
learned a lot. NSSFF sold out, broke even and, most importantly, brought the North Sea surf
community together, whilst creating a platform for emerging creatives in surfing (which was the
main hope all along - big thanks to all who supported this year!)
Of course, you have to keep looking forward. Jesse’s kids Bethan and Blake are surfing amazing,
and I’m super keen to shoot more with them. It’s epic to see another new generation of talented
surfers coming up.
There’s also been some unreal surfers ‘blow in’ to the North East over the years. A stand out is
Aussie shredder Rhys Smith, aka Waaxhead, who massively pushes surfing standards here. He’s
put roots down in Tynemouth with his wife Katie and they’re now expecting their first child.
How does the community around you influence the kind of stories you want to tell, both in and out of
the water?
Probably just like other surf spots, the crews here have bonded over the years chasing waves
together, and everyone influences each other.
I was friend’s with Louis’ sadly missed dad Stephen from Tynemouth Surfco, so I’ve shot with Louis
since he was a grom. I’ve watched his surfing develop and been blown by how he’s chasing big
heavy waves. Up until now, tow-in surfing has kinda passed me by but, like I say, you have to keep
looking forward. For sure, the jets-ski scene has opened up some truly incredible waves, and lately
I’ve probably been motivated by the Mully crew, along with Louis’ progression. This influenced me
to explore that element of surfing as a photographer last winter at a few spots that I’ve seen where
a ski would come in handy.
True enough, I sometimes struggle with the technical gear side of photography, but I’ve just got a
new camera and housing set-up and, so far, I’m stoked on the images I’ve shot with it.
For me, its a bit daunting learning to handle a ski, but the plan is to keep pushing both my
photography in and around surfing.
What or who has been inspiring you lately?
Kinda following up on ‘influences’, North East surf pioneer Nigel Veitch’s surfing mantra was “go on
the biggest best waves you can” and that emphasis on progression was a huge influence on
everybody in that early crew, Jesse and Gabe especially.
Surfing has changed a lot, and the truth is, it needed to. Overt sexism, no understanding about
mental health and zero respect to the environment were the norm, but thankfully society is
changing and surfing is too. More people surfing, in theory, means more jobs in surfing, more
people becoming more connected to the environment and more “blue health” benefits open to
everyone. Maybe though, the kind of aspiration of progressing to surfing well in world-class waves
that Veitch engendered has been lost a little to some surfers coming through?
That’s why I’m inspired by surfers who work to make surfing better for everyone, and was stoked to
see Carve make proud geordie surfer Joel Gray editor after Steve England’s epic work at the helm.
A super-talented surfer himself, your new Carve ed has shown a lifelong dedication to surfing,
becoming an inspiring coach to so many - and through that work, he’s pushing the progression of
surfing as a sport, lifestyle, recreation, industry, and now, as a culture.
Lewis clearly has a lot on his plate right now, with new films close to release and GLASS Vol. 2 landing in September. It's a good moment to be following his work. As always with these catch-ups, the conversation points toward the wider community around it, and Lewis name-drops some serious talent along the way. If you think we should be sitting down with someone from your local scene, let us know. Who's next?
Find more of Lewis's work at lewisarnold.photo
