No… nothing as noble as sobriety, I happily drink like a fish. Nor abstaining from red meat, I do love carne asada burritos.
No, none of that. This year, I celebrate 20 years of both Photography and Surfing.

I love surfing. I try to paddle out every day. But I’ll focus on the photography here today.

It’s fitting that in my 20th year I make the move back to the medium of film, the same substrate that filled me with such wonder and desire for adventure back in my gremmie days as a freshman in high school.
As part of the process of moving back to film, I came across my old box of negs from back then which include a lot of images from friends at Mar Vista High School in Imperial Beach. (All I can say is that I have myself some good blackmail material on my hands… My friends should pray that none of this ends up on Facebook).
Maybe I’ll do a full post with all the clean ones.

Out of all the negatives, I decided to pick a favorite from my first year photographing and post it here for kicks. And I’ve chosen the one shown here. It’s not my best photo ever, the story isn’t clear, not a compelling angle, and it isn’t even exposed well…

But what it is for me can never thoroughly be explained in words. The story was greater than this single image, yet for me this single image sums the entire story.
It was a time of exploration, growth and friendship. I guess it was like anyone else’s formative teen-age years, just with a camera to document the events.
Jerry Broderick (the guy in the photo), and I used to ride bmx and freestyle bikes. We’d go hunting for dirt jumps all over town getting into all kinds of trouble, getting lost in Tijuana looking for concrete skatepark playgrounds.
It was our own version of Dogtown and Z-Boyz. I’d have my camera on hand to document the events and even at one point got one of my photos of Jerry published in Transworld Magazine.
In this particular image, Jerry had just fallen after attempting something like a 360 over a dirt jump down in the estuary trails in Imperial Beach.
The funny aspect to the image is that the T-shirt he’s wearing is for a company called Dirt Brothers Inc, and it says “100% Dirt” underneath the dirt…

I look back at this image and I see that I was on a journey, often times a real journey to find a new jump with Jerry, or to find a cool place to photograph. But I was also on a metaphorical journey to explore my passion and where that fit in this great big world.

After 20 years of my love affair with capturing images; the good times and bad, the years where I didn’t even feel like picking up a camera, the times when I couldn’t put the camera down, all the missed shots, and all the award winners, the scratched negatives, the digital camera failures… I guess the journey then is the same as the journey now.

By the way I was no slouch when it came to riding either. That’s me on the left (I think Jerry took that one with the high school’s Twin Lens Reflex. And Jerry doing a wall ride over another friends bike at the Palomar Culvert in Chula Vista on the right.

William Bay is a 20 Years Ago.

That being said, I’d like to take the time to say “Thank You” to a number of people that made my trip, and the soon to come photos, possible.

First and formost I’d like to thank Huong and Ben Crouch, (pictured above), my clients in Houston for having me photograph their wedding. That extends to the Crouch and Nguyen families for their hospitality. The Nguyen’s were so accommodating and looking out for anything we needed. And the Crouch’s, for whom this is my second wedding (I photographed Meg’s wedding to Don Lichay on July 17, 2004), are a family full of love. And I look forward to seeing you all again soon.

Thank you to Maria Bernal and her husband Eric for putting me up in their house in Austin for the week. They were incredible hosts and took care of every need I had while in town. Eric is a rediculously great guy who bent over backwards for me when I needed help. And Maria has always been there for me as a friend/mentor, and this trip was no different.

Thank you to Chris Lin who not only second shot for me in Houston, but also assisted me with three of my conceptual fine art bridal shots in Austin. He was outstanding as a technical and lighting advisor, worked like a madman to help me get the shots and had the endurance to go Friday, Saturday and Sunday on just few hours of sleep. If you are a photographer in Austin, Chris is the man and you should grab him up quick.

Thank you to Gina at La Chatuise Couture and Lori at Elle Couture Designs for the dresses. I’m very honored to have them on loan for my shoots.

Thank you to Edythe Blackwell at BWC Photo Imaging for the insanely fast turnaround of the 20×40 canvas of the above image. Edythe, I will be ordering another print from you for my next print comp.

Thank you to Carissa at Flora and Fauna for the bouquets, (cross your fingers Carissa).

Thank you to my models; Jessa, Kareena and Max. I put them through freezing cold tempertures, long wait times and situations that often made no sense at the time. The girls were troopers the whole time.

Thank you to Mike, Trevin and the whole bunch at Spider House for letting me take over and do a full photoshoot in front of their bar.

Thank you to Nathan Johns for loaning out his ladder and Gorilla Pod.

Thank you to Sarah Limerick for letting me use her Montero while in Austin.

Last but not least are two special women in San Diego, my Mom has been there from the start and has always will be a great source of support.
And my Dear Friend, Marne who was always there by phone or text message for inspiration when the road got rough.

On a final note, I had the privilege to see Maria kick off her speaking tour at the Austin PPA meeting while in town. She said something that really stuck with me: No one accomplishes anything solely by themselves, and that she is where she is now because of the people she has around her, she then thanked her hair and make-up artists, model, and her core group of photographer friends at the end.
This has rung with me all week long. In my 18 years of photography, I’m confident that I’m doing the best work ever, and I owe it all to these people… Thank you all, from the bottom, to the very top of my heart.

William Bay is a Thank you, thank you, thank you..

As I had mentioned in my last post, I have moved back to San Diego for good.
I still have to come back for some photoshoots and a weddings I have booked, so I will have a chance to hang out with some of you Austin-ites again.

I just wanted to share a few things

• Why I moved and why it was so sudden
• My journey out to San Diego
• My future here in San Diego as a wedding and portrait photographer

~There are a couple reasons for leaving Austin. I had a chance to take stock in my life, where I wanted it to go, and where I was. The truth is, I was spending my time trying to make money so I could visit back to San Diego more than I was. I was also using a consulting job I had and the economy as an excuse to not move back.
But what I was really hiding to myself was the strong desire to be close to my dear friends, and be able to surf every afternoon I wanted.

And when my divorce to Heather became final on July 15th, there was one less thing keeping me from moving back. From the beginning, I think we were really just trying to fit a round peg in a square hole. It’s very unfortunate and sad. I wasn’t happy trying to fit that mold. Through it, I’ve found a profound respect for honesty with oneself.

And with that honesty, I saw that if I didn’t move back I would only hurt myself more. And that I would constantly be living a life ruled by my circumstances and excuses. So I took back my life two days before I was supposed to leave on vacation. The next day, I started getting things lined up to move out.

~With Austin in the rear view mirror, I set out to climb a mountain. It was a metaphor and an actual physical challenge. A new beginning in life seems like a spiritual and emotional mountain to ascend.
Sierra Blanca is the highest mountain in Southern New Mexico, as well as the Southern U.S. I had first learned about it back in ’98 or ’99. But then it was only the backdrop to the Spencer Performing Arts Center in Ruidoso, NM. It was designed by Antoine Predock, who, as a Architecture  student at the time, I had a major crush on. One year on a photo trip through the Southwest, I made sure to include Ruidoso on my itinerary to see the building up close.

Since then I have had an unquenchable desire to climb a mountain. And Sierra Blanca was a good one to start with. 12,000ft, easy trail for most of the way up the 2,500 foot elevation change, a little scrambling before the summit, but nothing technical. So that was the one
I tried on my last trip to San Diego over Christmas, but the mountain was covered in 24″ of fresh powder which denied an attempt at the summit.
But on my way out this last time, I had beautiful conditions. And I did it!

It was the most physically challenging thing I’d ever done in my life. The altitude punished my lungs and consequently my oxygen deprived legs. Even the slightest uphill slopes would have my sucking air. There was a smaller peak to the North of Sierra Blanca called Lookout Peak, and as I rested at the top, and saw my goal in the distance, I knew nothing was going to stop me from achieving what I wanted to that day. The ascent up the saddle was the worst thing I had put my body through, but an hour later as I scrambled over those last few boulders and I walked out 12,000 feet over New Mexico, it was the greatest feeling of accomplishment in my life.

~Taking the metaphor of the mountain to my new beginning here in San Diego, it is very much like looking out at that big peak, knowing that this is something I will do. It will be very tough, starting a business in this economy is a tough prospect. But I know that I am a gifted person, I know that I can provide an amazing service, and I have a tremendous amount of faith that my work will spread and the business will grow. My goal is to become recognized as one of the top 10 wedding photographers in San Diego.

It will be tough, but I am already hot on the path, I have an appointment to be voted into the Professional Photographers of San Diego County which is the local PPA affiliate, and seek out possibly becoming a board member, I am lining myself up for the big bridal shows, and looking for any and every opportunity to promote myself and my photography. My days, inbetween hunting for a real job, has been market research and putting together product offerings. I’ve never been more motivated to make this work.

~Things have been a bit of a whirl wind the past couple weeks.  And, I had a photographer friend from England ask how I continue to photograph people being so expressly happy on their wedding day, while I go through my divorce and a big upheaval in my own life.
It’s quite easy for me actually. I’ve been photographing and surfing since before I was 14 years old. I’m happiest in life when I’m doing one of those two things.
And knowing that we all are not perfect, that we all have some form of crap to deal with in our lives, documenting an occasion when everyone takes a break from that stuff in life, to honor and celebrate two people’s love for one another is just the tops for me. I couldn’t be happier.

…Well maybe if the wedding took place on surfboards.

William Bay is a Yes… I have moved back to San Diego.

Casually surfing on Craigslist I came upon a random ad asking for a Photographer for a project. I directed my mouse to the website sited and began reading what looked like a manifesto. I continued to read in excitment and discovered that this person was:

Giving up his possessions, moving to Austin, and restarting his life from NOTHING!!!

I thought to myself, this isn’t a just project… It’s a Life Experiment. His name is Russ Freeland, and he currently lives in Boston. However soon he will be living wherever he can in trade of art or musical performance. “Will create Art for food” indeed. Here is his site.

Russ reminds me of myself when I was getting ready to leave for Thailand after the tsunami. I stripped myself of everything but a backpack, a laptop and my camera and set off to a country I had no clue about. In much the same way that Russ is doing now.

I envy his position in some respects. The biggest rush of my life was the weeks leading up to the day I cast myself into the unknown. It was thrilling and I knew that I was really alive! An experience I hadn’t felt in months. Just listening to him talk about his idea has my blood bubbling with anticipation.
The flip side is the thought that he is experiencing something similar to what I got from a number of close friends. Those friends were concerned for my safety and unsure about going to another country.

It got me thinking why more people don’t drop everything and go into the world like Russ. Why don’t people just up and “walk the earth, meet people… get into adventures. Like Caine from ‘Kung Fu?’ ”

Are people scared? Do people feel so attached to their belongings and this raped country that they associate that stuff as them? Stuff comes and goes, jobs come and go, friends come and go, loved ones come and go. This is your life and it’s ending one minute at a time. The world is full of chaos and wonder, and to think you can control a small aspect of it is presumptuous.

The best you can do is stay true to yourself, always move forward, and praise your maker by celebrating everything and everybody that he made in addition to you. The biggest impact you can have on your life is to travel like a pauper.

Maybe we will come to a point where the term Life Experiment is less used, because the majority of people are living their lives as they wish to and not because they were coerced into taking on a culture they did not want.

William Bay is a Experiments in Living – The Absolute Zero Project.

Heather and I chillin

Me with my Super 8mm

Me, Heather, Robert and Andy

Beto and Vanessa

William Bay is a Anniversary Tubing Trip.

It started off a little hairy, I was actually late to my own wedding! I had to stop at a country store on my way out for gas since I was on empty. It hadn’t occurred to me until after I got back in my X-terra that I hadn’t turned off the ignition while filling gas!!! Holy Moly!
I can hear the sherriff informing Heather now: “I’m sorry to regret that your fiance will not be able to make it to your wedding because he blew up due to his own stupidity.”

Once I got out there things calmed down a bit and the small ceremony got underway. It was so beautifu. Heather looked awesome! My mom and sister were there, Heather’s parents were there. Chris, my best friend, officiated the ceremony.

I’ve posted a few of the best photos here, they were all taken by Heather Van Gaale (the other Heather in my life). The other 200 of the good ones are here.

William Bay is a Our Wedding.

William Bay is a Dell Pediatric Research Institute in the clouds.