Stella Crick is making waves as she steps onto the world stage of surf photography. But there is more than just a love of surfing that drives her to capture the beautiful underwater world
Left: Stella Crick in her element in Hawaii. Right: Playing mermaids. Photography by Stella Crick, stellacrick.com
IT WAS THE SUMMER HOLIDAYS OF YEAR EIGHT when Stella crick caught the surfing bug. Although she had spent her life at the beach and paddled around with her dad, that summer was when Stella decided it was time for a change. She made a deal with herself that she would surf twice a day every day to get good. And since then she’s been hooked.
But it’s not the surfing that has Stella making waves.
“I bought a GoPro when I was starting to really get into surfing…and that’s when I found my love for underwater and surfing photography,” she said. “I’m really drawn to photography because every time you’re out there the conditions are always changing. With the ocean no two days are going to be the same, so it’s really exciting every time I go out to take photos.”
Stella dreams of shooting for top surfing brands like Roxy and Billabong and getting paid to fly around the world photographing the sport and environment she loves. And she is well on her way. The 19 year olds photo blog boasts photo shoots with international brands like Camp Cove Swim, Kokoh Bikini, L’urve Sportswear and Sirensong Wetsuits just to name a few. She’s even got a look in at Billabong.
“Last summer I got to shoot with one of the billabong team riders Felicity Palmateer. That was really cool to get exposure from Billabong…and through doing that now I’m getting noticed and starting to do work for them,” says Stella.
Professional Surf photographer Ray Collins can attest to Stella’s talent with the lens. “I think [her] photography is pretty unique and what’s in her mind she executes very well which is the main thing with creating.”
While Ray shoots for major companies like Apple, Nikon, and major surf magazines, he hopes to take time out this summer to do some photography with Stella.
But despite her building success, Stella’s feet are still planted firmly on the ground in her home town of Coledale. “I love Sharkeys in Coledale,” She says with a big unbreakable grin. “It’s kind of a mellow wave and you’ve got the rights and the lefts so there’s always variety. “
Unless it’s big, Stella prefers to stick to longboarding which fits just nicely as her home break, Sharkeys, is perfect for a mal. Although her Dad is a short boarder, he always encouraged her to stick to longer boards when she was learning to surf.
“Lots of people rush really quickly to get a short board because they think it’s cool and think that’s what a surfer looks like,” Stella explains. “But with longer length boards you can develop your surfing a lot better.”
Ray Collins, lived in the same street as Stella during her early teens and describes her as a laid back beach chick who has grown into a creative young woman. “I just remember this young chick cruising on a mal at Sharkeys,” says Ray. “Now she’s following her own style which is pretty cool.”
Feminine grace in the water is not only something Stella possesses, but something she likes to shoot. She takes photos of girls on the waves, underwater and on the beach. “I like shooting women’s elegance in the water, I think it’s a lot prettier to shoot girls surfing than guys.”
One of Stella’s recent shoots even featured every surfer girl’s childhood dream: a mermaid tail. Ray had seen what she was doing with her underwater photography online and loaned her the tail, leftover from one of his professional shoots. Using a friend as a model, Stella headed to the beach armed with her camera and a mermaid tail, unsure as to how it would go.
“We tested it out in a little rock pool first … but then we wanted to go in the ocean so she just slipped it on at the shoreline and was kind of drowning for a little bit but then got it up and started going!” Stella exclaims with a laugh, “It worked out really cool.”
Although most of Stella’s shoots are of women, she never goes to the extreme of editing girl’s skin or shape, only changing the exposure and contrast in the photos themselves. Her photography manages to highlight the beauty of women in the water without sexualizing the images.
“It depends who it’s for,” says Stella. “A lot of girls choose to wear little bikinis just because they like how they feel when they’re wearing them. I myself wear them because it makes me feel healthier.”
While Stella loves her healthy surfing, it’s not something that she wants to do competitively. You wouldn’t pick it now but Stella was in the International Circuit for tennis. Despite her prowess she worked herself into overdrive and began to hate it. Now she doesn’t even like to think about tennis let alone do it and that’s not something she wants to happen to her surfing.
“I enjoy free surfing a lot more,” Stella says. “I wanna to stick with it for life so I don’t want to get competitive and start hating it.”
And it’s not hard to stick with surfing when you get to do it all over the world. As luck would have it, both Stella’s parents work for Qantas which means a whole lot flying opportunities for Stella. She surfed in Fiji instead of going to schoolies and has been to Hawaii more times than she can count! She describes it as her home away from home.
“It’s great because the waters are so warm blue and clear…great for my photography as well as free diving and surfing,” she say. “I go there by myself now and have made a lot of friends so I always have a place to stay when I go.”
On her trip to Fiji she also had the opportunity to surf Cloudbreak, one of the best waves in the world. Luckily the first day was small but the waves grew to overhead by the end of the trip.
“I didn’t know what to expect because all I’ve seen is pictures of just these huge waves!” she says with a nervous laugh. “At the end everyone was like, ‘Oh there’s meant to be this really big swell coming!’ and I was like ‘Yep, lucky I’m goin!’” She says, laughing again.
Stella’s enthusiasm and connection to the ocean goes beyond just surfing and taking photos. Her Indigenous Australian heritage links her to the ocean through her ancestry as well as her upbringing on the south coast. She comes from the Worimi people near Forster NSW who have always been saltwater people.
“I feel like when I get in the ocean, that’s where I connect to country,” Stella explains. “I’m always trying to take pictures that show how beautiful country is and educate people that they have to protect this.”
Stella’s connection with country has inspired her to be a passionate conservationist as well as surfer. She describes herself as the crazy bag lady on the beach bending down and picking up all the tiny bits of plastic from the seaweed.
Her family also shares this passion having just started up the Surfrider Foundation South Coast branch in Wollongong, a not for profit organization that works for the protection and enhancement of Australia's oceans, waves and beaches for all people, through conservation, activism, research and education.
“We’re actually trying to pass [through] council to get approval to do stenciling on the drains, you know, saying ‘this leads to our waterways, don’t put your shit down here!’” She says laughing.
Combining her passion for surfing, photography and the environment, Stella is destined for a life in the ocean. With her humble, down to earth attitude to life, one thing is for sure: this south coast surfer girl is going places and will be making waves as she goes.
But it’s not the surfing that has Stella making waves.
“I bought a GoPro when I was starting to really get into surfing…and that’s when I found my love for underwater and surfing photography,” she said. “I’m really drawn to photography because every time you’re out there the conditions are always changing. With the ocean no two days are going to be the same, so it’s really exciting every time I go out to take photos.”
Stella dreams of shooting for top surfing brands like Roxy and Billabong and getting paid to fly around the world photographing the sport and environment she loves. And she is well on her way. The 19 year olds photo blog boasts photo shoots with international brands like Camp Cove Swim, Kokoh Bikini, L’urve Sportswear and Sirensong Wetsuits just to name a few. She’s even got a look in at Billabong.
“Last summer I got to shoot with one of the billabong team riders Felicity Palmateer. That was really cool to get exposure from Billabong…and through doing that now I’m getting noticed and starting to do work for them,” says Stella.
Professional Surf photographer Ray Collins can attest to Stella’s talent with the lens. “I think [her] photography is pretty unique and what’s in her mind she executes very well which is the main thing with creating.”
While Ray shoots for major companies like Apple, Nikon, and major surf magazines, he hopes to take time out this summer to do some photography with Stella.
But despite her building success, Stella’s feet are still planted firmly on the ground in her home town of Coledale. “I love Sharkeys in Coledale,” She says with a big unbreakable grin. “It’s kind of a mellow wave and you’ve got the rights and the lefts so there’s always variety. “
Unless it’s big, Stella prefers to stick to longboarding which fits just nicely as her home break, Sharkeys, is perfect for a mal. Although her Dad is a short boarder, he always encouraged her to stick to longer boards when she was learning to surf.
“Lots of people rush really quickly to get a short board because they think it’s cool and think that’s what a surfer looks like,” Stella explains. “But with longer length boards you can develop your surfing a lot better.”
Ray Collins, lived in the same street as Stella during her early teens and describes her as a laid back beach chick who has grown into a creative young woman. “I just remember this young chick cruising on a mal at Sharkeys,” says Ray. “Now she’s following her own style which is pretty cool.”
Feminine grace in the water is not only something Stella possesses, but something she likes to shoot. She takes photos of girls on the waves, underwater and on the beach. “I like shooting women’s elegance in the water, I think it’s a lot prettier to shoot girls surfing than guys.”
One of Stella’s recent shoots even featured every surfer girl’s childhood dream: a mermaid tail. Ray had seen what she was doing with her underwater photography online and loaned her the tail, leftover from one of his professional shoots. Using a friend as a model, Stella headed to the beach armed with her camera and a mermaid tail, unsure as to how it would go.
“We tested it out in a little rock pool first … but then we wanted to go in the ocean so she just slipped it on at the shoreline and was kind of drowning for a little bit but then got it up and started going!” Stella exclaims with a laugh, “It worked out really cool.”
Although most of Stella’s shoots are of women, she never goes to the extreme of editing girl’s skin or shape, only changing the exposure and contrast in the photos themselves. Her photography manages to highlight the beauty of women in the water without sexualizing the images.
“It depends who it’s for,” says Stella. “A lot of girls choose to wear little bikinis just because they like how they feel when they’re wearing them. I myself wear them because it makes me feel healthier.”
While Stella loves her healthy surfing, it’s not something that she wants to do competitively. You wouldn’t pick it now but Stella was in the International Circuit for tennis. Despite her prowess she worked herself into overdrive and began to hate it. Now she doesn’t even like to think about tennis let alone do it and that’s not something she wants to happen to her surfing.
“I enjoy free surfing a lot more,” Stella says. “I wanna to stick with it for life so I don’t want to get competitive and start hating it.”
And it’s not hard to stick with surfing when you get to do it all over the world. As luck would have it, both Stella’s parents work for Qantas which means a whole lot flying opportunities for Stella. She surfed in Fiji instead of going to schoolies and has been to Hawaii more times than she can count! She describes it as her home away from home.
“It’s great because the waters are so warm blue and clear…great for my photography as well as free diving and surfing,” she say. “I go there by myself now and have made a lot of friends so I always have a place to stay when I go.”
On her trip to Fiji she also had the opportunity to surf Cloudbreak, one of the best waves in the world. Luckily the first day was small but the waves grew to overhead by the end of the trip.
“I didn’t know what to expect because all I’ve seen is pictures of just these huge waves!” she says with a nervous laugh. “At the end everyone was like, ‘Oh there’s meant to be this really big swell coming!’ and I was like ‘Yep, lucky I’m goin!’” She says, laughing again.
Stella’s enthusiasm and connection to the ocean goes beyond just surfing and taking photos. Her Indigenous Australian heritage links her to the ocean through her ancestry as well as her upbringing on the south coast. She comes from the Worimi people near Forster NSW who have always been saltwater people.
“I feel like when I get in the ocean, that’s where I connect to country,” Stella explains. “I’m always trying to take pictures that show how beautiful country is and educate people that they have to protect this.”
Stella’s connection with country has inspired her to be a passionate conservationist as well as surfer. She describes herself as the crazy bag lady on the beach bending down and picking up all the tiny bits of plastic from the seaweed.
Her family also shares this passion having just started up the Surfrider Foundation South Coast branch in Wollongong, a not for profit organization that works for the protection and enhancement of Australia's oceans, waves and beaches for all people, through conservation, activism, research and education.
“We’re actually trying to pass [through] council to get approval to do stenciling on the drains, you know, saying ‘this leads to our waterways, don’t put your shit down here!’” She says laughing.
Combining her passion for surfing, photography and the environment, Stella is destined for a life in the ocean. With her humble, down to earth attitude to life, one thing is for sure: this south coast surfer girl is going places and will be making waves as she goes.