Santa Cruz Island © Will Adler
“I have been lucky enough to be going out to the Channel Islands since I was a teenager. The islands are one of my favorite places to be. They are the closest you can get to seeing what Southern California would be like with out development”
– Will Adler
“Santa Barbara-based photographer Will Adler has an eye for creating beautiful sharp, yet disorienting images. The photographs confuse and crop reality that asks the viewer to question the truth of the photograph and consider the manipulation of lighting and perspective that photography involves. Some are absurdly deadpan, straight photographs, while others are noticeably more intricate in their staging. Adler’s collections of photos push us back and forth, in and out of reality, all with a sly wink of humor that keeps you grinning.” – Juxtapoz Magazine
CoastalCare.org thanks Will Adler for generously allowing us to showcase this evocative image on our homepage.
• • •
Will Adler in the Press:
Art Producers Speak:
Suzanne Sease – aPhotoEditor Magazine
We emailed Art Buyers and Art Producers around the world asking them to submit names of established photographers who were keeping it fresh and up-and-comers who they are keeping their eye on.
Anonymous Photo Editor:
I nominate Will Adler. His take on the surfing lifestyle/man on wave is unusual in our world here of surf photography…
Photographer Will Adler's Day at a New York Beach
Ben Waldron – SURFER
A couple weeks ago, surf and fashion photographer Will Adler found himself in the Big Apple on a work trip when the swell from Winter Storm Riley hit the shores of New York. He was faced with a huge dilemma: should he paddle out into Rockaway Beach closeouts on a rented fun-board or seize this historical moment and take photos of the bombing swell? Adler chose the latter and grabbed his camera..
People: Will Adler, Photographer
Shea Parton – Apolis
My earliest memories of Will Adler chart all the way back to his 5th birthday. I had wanted to stay after the day’s festivities had ended in order to play with Will’s new gifts. My hopes were crushed with five-year-old Will telling me that the “party’s over, Shea.” Since that birthday, Will and I have enjoyed summers in Santa Barbra as junior lifeguards, trekked up and down the coast of California in surf contests…
Will Adler's Surfer Culture
The photographer captures the soul of summer
“When I first got a camera after graduating high school, I wanted to document my friends and our adventures,” recalled LA-based Will Adler of the beginning of his artistic inspiration. “I’m a surfer myself, so when I started taking photos surf culture was the direction I naturally pointed my camera.” Adler—who is self-taught and who credits an apprenticeship with Bruce Weber for showing him how much hard work it takes to pull off a great photo—has been capturing beautifully lit, surfer-dotted seascapes and beachscapes ever since. Here are some of PROVOKR’s favorite examples of his work…
Photograher Will Adler's Tranquil Seascapes
The California Lensman’s New Exhibit Captures Summer’s Golden Days on the Water – Hans Aschim
As much as barreling behemoth waves and 14-foot airs may be visually captivating and a major part of professional surfing, it’s downright difficult to relate to for most. LA-based photographer Will Adler turns his lens on the ocean and those who take to the waves for pure enjoyment with an accessibility that draws a visceral emotional connection with the viewer. His latest exhibition, now open at NYC’s Danziger Gallery through the end of July, is a marine haze holiday for the eyes; featuring images shot in California, Montauk, Mexico and Hawaii. Adler’s work is more a chronicle of the people, places and holistic experience around surfing than it is about the sport itself—unlike the bulk of mainstream surf photography…
SHARE THIS ARTICLE
09 March 2023
Will Adler (b. 1983) is an American photographer known primarily for capturing dreamy, light-infused images of California ocean landscapes, surf scenes, and beach culture. His work conveys a rare intimacy and whimsy, as well as an unmistakable sense of place.
Grains of Sand: Too Much and Never Enough – EOS Magazine
Beach Nourishment ?
Along Beach Drive, Rio del Mar, California
January 22, 2023 (by D Shrestha Ross CC BY-SA)
MORE POSTS . . .
