Living the Rich Life - Hayden Richards
We recently spoke with legendary surfer / photographer Hayden "Rich" Richards (aka SA Rips) and are stoked to share a selection of his recent images with you.
How's winter been in your neck woods Rich? What's your daily routine?
I like winter. We get great light around the coast and that’s important from a photography perspective. I explore when the cold fronts come in and admire mother nature as closely as possible. I love watching the swells pound the cliffs.
Lately my daily routine is: up early, walk through the scrub near our home with my wife Fi then get our four kids ready for school. Then, if there isn't surf, I'm usually just around home planting, gardening and cruising. I’m currently doing a bit of handiwork on the back veranda, making an outdoor kitchen out of hardwood floor slats I salvaged from an 1890s shearing shed that was being knocked down. I think it’d be WA hardwood, that’s where most of the timber around here came from in the past. I’m always listening to music and recently have been right into the Japanese band Kikagako Moyo.
On average I’m selling around two photo prints per week via the SA_RIPS website. We were managing a caravan park, but not anymore. No regrets, but it's just so good to have ourselves back... Fi does classroom support work at the school and is a backup driver for the local school bus. That’s all we need for now. It gets us by. We’ve got a good garden and we own our home.
What determines whether you’re riding waves or shooting them?
If there’s surf I’m usually out at the point with mates. When it’s over six foot she turns into another animal and that’s when I swap my board for a camera and flippers. It’s a long swim out through the deep channel and when I finally get to the peak I’m usually greeted by the same happy faces. On those beautiful calm, gentle days I like surfing at the beach with my family.
Do you have a preference for shooting images without people or is that just because there’s not many around?
(Laughs) I’d prefer no one in the shots! They’re the ones that people love. I’m more at home on my own with a camera. I think more deeply and creatively that way. I look at the weather each day and gauge from a hill near home whether it’s worth driving to the coast highway and turning east or west.