Fun fact. Nantes-born photographer Thomas Lodin doesn’t call the ocean, the ocean. « We call it the sea, it’s always been like this. » Thomas discovered surfing thanks to his brother when he was 16. Before that, he was playing around with his BMX bike, dreaming of becoming a pro and traveling the world. « But since I got my very first surfboard, I never stopped. I quitted my graphic arts school a year before getting my diploma and I moved to Biarritz. It was 5 years ago. »

Today, Thomas belongs to the small network of artists whose work and adventure are great to watch and follow. « In Biarritz, life is a bit different everyday. Beyond the simple fact of checking the forecast, planning some photoshoots or photos just for fun, I spend a lot of time behind my screen, never far from my notebook. Treating the images, planning the next shoots with clients depending on our schedule, developping pictures, sending orders and thinking of future ideas. That’s what my weeks are about. » We sat down with French photographer Thomas Lodin to discuss his art, the process that he uses to make it, his shared love for digital and analog photography, his passion for old surfboards, his trips around the world, collaboration with France-based Oxbow brand, and his coming projects like « Impressions », a printed book project gathering a selection of 150 pictures taken along these past years.

Either in the basque country, in California, Australia or Mexico, Thomas has this peculiar way of capturing the inner spirit of surfing. Inspired by the greatest icons of the 60s, his steady, unflinching passion for surfing remains relatively unchanged since the first time he took a camera. As art aficionados, ocean lovers and design amateurs, that’s what caught our eyes the first time we met. Thomas has a true fascination for images. « I have the same approach with surfing as with photography. I usually spend more time on the aesthetic aspect of a camera than on the technical side. It’s like when choosing a surfboard, » he says. « Most of the time, I opt for cameras that carry an interesting history and unique design. »

Digital or analog? That’s a question we dared asking. Fortunately for us, Thomas didn’t choose. Digital for work, analog for fun. We asked him to go back on this precious selection of 35mm shots displayed in this article. « These last rolls are mostly black and white pictures I took last year in Biarritz and during trips. The black and white rolls allow me to develop them myself cause it’s quite easy to do and I can save a bit money as well. I shot around 25 rolls and developed some in September. But the rolls ended up stating on top of my desk, » he explains. « So once the rain season arrived, I started to develop the 13 rolls left! These rolls represent generally the off moments while on shoots, on trips or just when with friends. Some have been taken during surf sessions in Biarritz, some others in Paris or during Baiona Bestak (Fêtes de Bayonne, France). Most of them were shot in California during my last trip, from Venice to San Onofre and Malibu, including a short visit in Mexico. I also got some pictures from the opening ceremony of the Blue Factory in San Sebastian and there are some views from New York as well while a shoot for Oxbow. » Thomas has been working as a staff photographer for the french brand called Oxbow for the last 3 years. « My mission is to create most of their visual content and bring a little thing to their brand image. That’s why I collaborate a lot with their ambassadors, especially with French surfer Clovis Donizetti. Before every new season, I also organize the collection photoshoots for their catalogue and lookbooks. We tend to head to coastal cities in order to link up clothes to the ocean, and bridge city and surfing. It’s always great to discover interesting places and see how humans adapted and developed their lifestyle ad activities depending on the continents and cultures. »

Thomas remembers his very first travel for the brand. A 10-days surf trip to the French island of Guadeloupe, just a month after signing with them. « We also left to California in 2017 before discovering the rough winter in Oregon. No sun for 9 days. We’ve also been chasing waves in Italy and our last trip was in Sweden in order to shoot the next winter’s collection. A nice discovery in terms of both landscape, culture and lifestyle. » The french photographer shoots with all that passes through his way. « I mainly shot this series (seen in this article) of analog pictures with a Canon AE-1 with a 50mm, as well as with a point-and-shoot Olympus mju camera including a 35mm lent by a friend. I also have a Nikonos II to shoot in the water, famous design coming directly from Cousteau’s mind in the early 60s, then Nikon bought it back. I also recently acquired a Russian camera, called Horizon, panoramic style that I can’t wait to try. I also shoot with a Pentax 6×7, quite massive but amazing. It’s not easy to carry it especially on trip due to its weight and format (120mm). »

Weight and format are no big deal for Thomas as he draws inspiration from surf culture legends like Leroy Grannis who created some of the most memorable images that surfing has ever seen. « I remember the DVDs of the X Games and of « Nuits de la Glisse » (Night of the ride). At that time, as a teenager, surfing made me dream but I missed something. I didn’t look further than that at the time. I was hooked by this freestyle culture of BMX and its hectic aspect created from scratch by this american culture. I read the magazines and looked at those guys touring across the US. At age 13,in my teenager’s bedroom in Nantes, I imagined myself riding my bike and taking pictures of these crazy spots, » he says. « Later, I stumbled upon One California Day, which came out 10 years ago. It was probably my first  introduction to the story of longboarding. I wanted to dig into archives, portraits of unique characters in order to learn more about this historical grace of surfing. I discovered the work of Leroy Grannis, through Ron Stoner, Don James and Leo Hetzel. I’ve been blown away by their work. I remember the beach, the light and unique atmosphere from California and Hawaii, the crazy cars with amazing designs, testimony of a past era. Pictures from Arnaud de Rosnay in France in the 60s are also iconic shots. I like the soul of these shots and films, that’s why I slowly try to go back to these cameras, as well as with my surfboards, they both embody this era. I try to do it my way though. »

His way, that’s what makes Thomas’s work stand out. Recently he worked on a book project entitled Impressions. « Last year, I started to search in my external discs of these past 3 years, ended up with 4000 images that I found potentially interesting to use. Choosing the final selection has been a long and difficult process but I managed to gather 150 pictures, » he explains. « Then, I started the layout listening to some jazz to get inspired. After trying among 30 covers and starting from 300 pages, I finally have a final version. The book will be ready and out next week (mid-March, 2019)! » Biarritz-based Thomas Lodin photographer reminds us the aesthetics appeal of surfing and it feels good. 

More of Thomas Lodin’s work on his website.

The post The aesthetics appeal of surfing by Thomas Lodin appeared first on PANTHALASSA.

This process of collecting has increased my awareness of how much of a problem the entire world has with plastic pollution. It has encouraged me and my husband to try to make changes and better decisions in our daily lives to consume less, and especially use less single-use plastics.

An eccentric and colorful postcard saying « Greetings from Los Angeles » sold in a overloaded souvenir shop of the Santa Monica pier. For most of us, this is the very first picture that comes to mind when we think of California. Surprisingly, Rebecca Kudela Grettenberger is not so familiar with bodybuilders wearing this bad fake orange tan look. No. Becca grew up in a small, country, mountain town called Catheys Valley, just outside of Yosemite National Park in central California, surrounded by vast valleys where she developed a strong passion for nature. « At your feet lies the great Central Valley glowing golden in the sunshine, extending north and south farther than the eye can reach, one smooth, flowery, lake-like bed of fertile soil » described naturalist and author John Muir who became an early advocate for the preservation of wilderness in the United State. 

Rebecca is definitely a creative spirit. Today living in Biarritz, France, our Panthalassa Society member works as a digital designer for Billabong Women, one of the biggest surfwear brands. At the end of the day, she uses her creativity to raise awareness of plastic pollution. « Small changes can have a huge impact, » she said. We sat down with Rebecca to learn more about the environment that inspired her passion for the ocean and her decision to participate actively in an environmental movement in order to save our ocean’s biggest threat.

Hi Becca, can you talk a bit about your background

I grew with lots of animals (my parents have a ranch) and spent a ton of time outdoors, hiking in Yosemite with my dad, swimming in the Merced River with my friends, riding horses with my Mom, exploring the ranch with my sister. We grew up without a television which I think encouraged us to be really creative at a young age, and spending so much time outside increased my appreciation for nature, even though I didn’t realize it at the time. 

How was it like to live in Southern California?

When I was 18 and headed off to college, I pursued my dream and moved to the beach. I lived in San Diego for five years while attending San Diego State University, studying art and graphic design. I met Brent, now my husband, in an art class and he was the one who helped me buy my first surfboard and taught me how to surf. We spent a lot of time at the beach together during these years, surfing in Pacific Beach, eating California Burritos at the beach while watching the sunset, driving down to Baja for the day for a morning surf and lobster lunch. San Diego very quickly became my favorite place! Then when I got my dream job working for Roxy in Huntington Beach as a graphic designer, I moved up to Orange County. The office was pretty close to the beach so we would spend a lot of our lunch breaks surfing, SUPing, laying out by the beach, running at the beach. Pretty much any time I wasn’t in the office I was at the beach. 

This is where your passion for surfing and the beach lifestyle come from? 

Even though we didn’t live right by the beach growing up, our parents would take us to the beach during the summer. We would go camping in Santa Cruz and spent a lot of time in Monterey and Carmel, so I have a lot of great beach memories. My interest in surfing and surfing culture started when I began to get magazines (Moxie Girl, Surfing Girl) and catalogs (Delias) in junior high and I would see those 90’s Roxy ads that are still so iconic today. I would stare at those pictures of those fit, tan, happy girls at the beach in Hawaii and dream about making that life my reality someday. I collected hang tags, starting at the age of 12, from all the Roxy clothes I ever bought – and I still have them! They were my initial inspiration that I think eventually led to manifesting my dream job at Roxy.

You live in Biarritz today. What do you like most about France and Biarritz?

Where to begin! I love France for so many reasons – I think most of all for the slower pace that people live life here, and take time to enjoy, but also the food, the bread, the wine, the history, the architecture, the language, all of it! And we especially love Biarritz for the beach and surf culture that manages to make France feel more like ‘home’ for us Californians. The Basque Coast is one of the most beautiful places in the world and we get to call it home! We also love to travel and it was my dream to travel Europe before moving here, so getting to have a home base in Biarritz and easily get around Europe is a dream come true!

Everyday, you go out, run and collect trash on the beach. Your platform and project entitled « Sea and Gather » tends to turn plastic pollution into well organized visuals in order to raise awareness of plastic pollution. Tell us more about your passion for beachcombing.

I’ve always been a treasure-hunter – when we were little our parents would take us out on the ranch and we would explore around old rock house foundations from the gold rush days in the 1800’s, and we would find old objects – metal tools, glass bottles, bits and pieces from the past. I think that sparked my interest in hunting for old objects in nature, and beach combing is just another form of that! I love finding old treasures (and especially older treasures over here in Europe) washed up on the beach – those bits and pieces of sea glass are little bits of history that tell a story from the past. Unfortunately I find more trash and plastic than I do treasures, but it’s those special days when I find those treasures, pieces of pottery, porcelain dolls, old chunky glass bottles with typography, metal coins, toys… – all worth the hunt!

You’ve been collecting beach trash in France, Spain, Italy, the UK, Malta, Greece, and even more recently in New York! What would be your message to our readers and community of ocean lovers? 

I think that this process of collecting has definitely increased my awareness of how much of a problem the entire world has with plastic pollution. It has encouraged me and my husband to try to make changes and better decisions in our daily lives to consume less, and especially use less single-use plastics. It’s not easy to change your daily habits, but if we all work together to make small changes, it can have a huge impact! Instead of buying a plastic water bottles, bring your own and refill it. Same with coffee cups. Bring your own reusable shopping bags to the grocery store, use stainless steel straws instead of plastic ones, use paper Q-tips / cotton buds instead of plastic ones, try to buy vintage before buying new. The less single-use plastic we use as a population, the less will end up on the beach and in our oceans!

Discover more about Sea and Gather on Instagram.

The post Panthalassa Society member Rebecca Grettenberger appeared first on PANTHALASSA.

An intimate vision of Biarritz, a romance where time had paused, a mellow contemporary poem tinged with nostalgia.

French photographer Mathias Fennetaux launched his very first book entitled « No Skateboarding » in 2011. Throughout a series of 70 portraits of skateboarding legends such as Natas Kaupas, Tony Hawk, Tony Alva, Eric Koston or Andrew Reynolds, Fennetaux paid tribute to a decade chasing some of the most influential icons in the history of skateboarding. Five years later, once back in France, Fennetaux chose to turn his lens towards Biarritz and created « Et puis Biarritz », a poetic ode to the coastal town. 

Celebrated at the Parisian concept-store Colette in May 2016, his second book gathers around 50 pictures mixing a notion of aethetics and poetry. »The book is a fugitive wandering as a solitary contemplation,« he says. »A jigsaw puzzle, deliberately left incomplete, captured an intimate vision of Biarritz, a romance where time had paused.« Fennetaux’ work reveals the basque landscapes, the southwestern architecture and its maritime lines. Described as an intimate retrospective, the self-made photographer signs a successful publication tinged with nostalgia. 

Biarritz has this power to attract, tease, absorb, inspire, intrigue, and captivate anyone who comes its way, like a delicate fishing net. For those who’ve ever spent a week, a summer or a life in Biarritz, you’ll remember the glassy mornings at la Côte des Basques, these perfect symmetric lines taking shape on the frozen sea, the quiet face of La Villa Belza, this old lady overlooking the endless Atlantic ocean. You’ll remind the oysters’ smell at Les Halles food market on a Sunday morning combined with the laughs of night owls and loud voices of early birds. The red wine stains on your white shirt echoing the purple skies on the horizon at sunset, the impressive lighthouse sitting on its throne, the immaculate pleated curtains of L’Hotel du Palais, the necessary daily workout required by Les 100 marches to go surfing, the cool guys, the cool girls, the shameless tourists, the tormented artists and authentic craftsmen… Biarritz is what you want to see. Sometimes lively, sometimes rainy, almost Schizophrenic, but always there.

Used to be a small fishing village connected to the sea since the 12th century, when it was first established as a whaling settlement, Biarritz became one of the most famous resort town in the world. However, Biarritz still remains a sweet hometown for some locals. In his second publication, Mathias Fennetaux gives us his personal vision of the French coastal town, both through saturated color and black and white shots.

Over the years, the French photographer became one of the most renowned artists of the surfing, skateboarding and snowboarding scene. Using melancholia as a common thread, Fennetaux’ two books manage to turn an image into a memory. 

Discover more of Mathias Fennetaux’s work on his website.

The post Et puis Biarritz by Mathias Fennetaux appeared first on PANTHALASSA.

last summer days in Biarritz, in what many remember as the warmest October in years.

Photography © Ale Romo / From where you’d rather be

The post Ale Romo: From Where You’d Rather Be appeared first on PANTHALASSA.