Continuing its celebration of coastal living, the Santa Barbara Maritime Museum (SBMM) presents The Lure of Lighthouses & Dancing Waves, an exhibit featuring some 35 photographs of lighthouses and waves by Dan Merkel, a renowned and Emmy Award-winning surfing photographer and videographer.
The lighthouse photographs include images from Cape Elizabeth and Cape Hatteras on the East Coast and Point Loma and Point Pinos on the West Coast to Portugal and Australia.
The photos are accompanied by Merkel’s breathtaking shots capturing waves all over the globe. The exhibit will be on view in SBMM’s Gallery and Munger Theater Jan. 25 through Aug. 27.
Legendary water and surfing photographer and videographer, Merkel has recently returned to still photography, often shooting panoramic landscape images, mostly travel shots and often taken near the ocean.
Speaking of his work and how the upcoming exhibit came to be, SBMM curator Emily Falke said, “I first met Dan Merkel when he joined Shaun Tomson for an event at the museum and provided a few of his remarkable photos for sale.
“I was particularly interested in seeing his U.S. lighthouse photos as SBMM is the home of the Pt. Conception Lighthouse lens and has a comprehensive exhibit about the lens, lighthouses and lighthouse keepers.
“I looked at panoramic images of Dan’s lighthouses and was mesmerized by how mood provoking the images are.
“Dan waits for the exact moment to shoot the photo,” she said. “The lighting is spot on, and he is looking to evoke emotion of a ‘place’ in the world of lighthouses. He waits for just the right light, formation of clouds during predawn or sunset.”
Merkel began his career just taking pictures of his friends. When he was hired to work for various surfing magazines in the early 1970s, surfing was just being recognized as a sport with international competitions and professional surfers, such as Shaun Tomson.
Being an experienced surfer himself, Merkel was able to get in the middle of the action with his cameras, which gave his images more immediacy and energy. To do this, Merkel designed much of his own waterproof housing that protected his equipment and allowed him to follow focus.
Beginning in the late ’70s and continuing through the 1990s, he switched his focus to commercial cinematography and became an Emmy-winning filmmaker working on classic surfing films including “Free Ride” “Big Wednesday,” and “Endless Summer II.”
“Dan Merkel is one of the surfing world’s most acclaimed and courageous action photographers,” said Tomson, 1977 World Surfing Champion, whose recent book “The Surfer and the Sage” featured Merkel’s images.
“Combining a unique eye for composition in exceptionally dangerous situations, Dan captured some of the most intense moments of his subjects’ lives, artistically freezing and sharing each in the maelstrom of one thousandth of a second increments,” Tomson said. “Dan reveled in capturing beauty in the impact zone, the most violent area in the ocean.
“Whether he is doing still photography, music videos, commercials or commercial films, Merkel brings the same level of perfectionism and ambition that has propelled him throughout his long career.”
The Lure of Lighthouses and Dancing Waves exhibit is made possible due to support from Frederic and Nancy Golden, George H. and Olive J. Griffiths Charitable Foundation, The June G. Outhwaite Charitable Trust, Mimi Michaelis, Shaun and Carla Tomson, Thomas and Charmaine Rogers, and Wood-Claeyssens Foundation.
Following the exhibit, The Lure of Lighthouses & Dancing Waves, will become part of SBMM’s permanent collection and available on loan to other museums.
For more, visit sbmm.org or call 805-962-8404.