By Rebecca Parsons
Brent Bielmann was destined for a life behind the lens. Raised on the North Shore of O’ahu and the nephew of award-winning surf photographer Brian Bielmann, he spent his childhood surfing and shooting seaside. In his teens, Bielmann enrolled in a photography class at his high school and bought an old camera body from his uncle. He spent hours in the shore break with a cheap water housing, capturing images of waves. Following in his uncle’s footsteps, he began swimming out at Pipeline, capturing the local talent through his camera. Although Brent never set out to turn photography into a career, he fell in love with the idea of freezing moments in time. These days, Brent is living the dream, working as a commercial photographer. We caught up with Brent between sessions and asked about his first time shooting Pipe, the challenges of water photography, and why he’s a fan of wide angle shots.
What kind of camera were you using in the early days?
I started shooting with film and I had a D body. I think I had a 50 millimeter because it was just the best all-around lens. From there, the digital scene came on quickly and I think it was a Canon; I bought it from my uncle. It was pretty beat up and it was really low megapixels, but I got a cheap housing that I found off of Craigslist. And I bought a fisheye—that was all I could afford, so I was kind of forced to just get into the wide-angle game.
What was your first experience shooting Pipe like?
I came home after school and Pipe was big. I heard Andy [Irons] had paddled out and my uncle came over and asked if I was going to go out. He was kind of just stirring me up, you know? I didn’t realize it. I thought he was serious and I just wanted to prove to everybody that I could shoot. I ended up riding my bike down to Pipe with my housing, swam out, and somehow made it out. It was really big and I remember someone saying, ‘Your uncle’s looking for you. Your dad’s all freaked out. What the hell are you doing out here?’ And about an hour later my uncle came out yelling at me.
It got bigger and bigger that night and I remember that evening, all the photographers saying we had to swim in at the same time to make sure we made it in. And so, we were right next to each other, and we made a run for it. We all barely made it in; the current was really bad.
When was your first surf photography trip?
I went with some friends to Puerto Escondido in the summer. I was about 15 and I had no idea what I was doing. I got out there and it was like, 6-10 foot Puerto. I shot as many photos as I could. I came in after that session and looked at the photos and I was so far away from every wave and I had no clue. But over time, the more I did it, the better I got and the more comfortable I got with getting closer and feeling confident. Then I came home that winter and I started shooting Pipe.
What draws you to photography and capturing the moment?
The thing that drew me to shooting surf photography early on, it might sound silly, but I just feel the ocean. It’s constantly moving and changing and to be able to take a still image of a wave and just stop it in time and be able to look at all the intricate details of a wave—there was something about it that I was addicted to. When I first started it was just stills and being able to stop time in its tracks was really intriguing to me.
Did being surrounded by some of the world’s best photographers make things easier or did you have to go through hard knocks?
I think having my uncle being who he was definitely helped me initially. I remember going over to his house and he wrote down some settings on a little scratch book. He gave me a cheat sheet basically. From there, I just went out. With water photography, you just have to go and do it and get comfortable. You need to know the distance you need to be, how to be in the right spot, and be able to read waves. I think from looking at his cheat sheet, I was able to understand. I started messing around with the settings and I was able to understand what each setting did differently for the camera and understand aperture and letting light in and needing more light.
It seems like there are a lot of moving parts to photography that people might not be aware of?
There’s definitely more that goes into photography than what meets the eye. These days, with digital photography and especially even AI coming into the game, you don’t have to do as much as when I learned on film. But I’m happy I learned on film because I think I understand more and if I choose to shoot film these days, which I like to for lifestyle stuff, I’m comfortable. I would suggest anybody out there that’s learning on digital these days to not shoot auto, but to try to really learn how to use the camera and understand what settings to put it on. Auto is great, but if you know how to use the camera in some harsh settings, you’ll come out with a better image in the end.
What are some of the challenges of water photography and tricks of the trade?
Shooting water photography is a whole different animal compared to just shooting photos on the beach. That’s why I liked it is because I could go out and shoot in the water and get something no one else had. I think you’re able to be more creative, you get moments that people can’t capture from the beach and angles that you can’t get, and it gives you the feeling like you’re there in the moment with the person who shot the image. But as far as little tricks of the trade, getting water spots on the lens is a big one for a lot of people. I think even just being able to hold the camera right and get the right framing.
A lot of people have a hard time in the beginning with everything happening so quickly and being able to frame it up real fast. You almost just get tunnel vision when you’re shooting in the water. Sometimes I’m aware of the wave, but I’m just kind of looking at the subject—there’s a surfer and I just keep my eye on him and frame that. And everything else just kind of happens around him. Sometimes, I’m not even aware of what happened until I look at the image.
Does being a surfer help you with capturing that right moment?
I think being a surfer as well as a photographer helps a lot. I’m aware of where I need to be on the reef. Especially when I’m shooting fisheye or wide angle photography; it’s tricky. You have to hang in the wave long enough to get the face of the wave, the barrel to go over it, and the guy to pass you at the same time. So, you have to know what spot to be on the reef and where you’re not going miss the barrel, but it’s also not going to break in front of you.
Have you had things go wrong while shooting fisheye?
I’ve been fortunate. I’ve never flooded a housing, but I’ve had housings leak. I’ve come really close. But I’ve gotten hurt. I’ve gotten thrown over the falls, I’ve gotten knocked out, cracked my helmet, ambulance ride, hospital, you know, laid out and all kinds of injuries. These days I’m a little bit more cautious. I won’t go and shoot unless it’s just perfect and I feel like it’s going be the perfect day to shoot fisheye.
Tell us about the differences between shooting land, shooting water, and then shooting long lens versus wide angle lens in the water.
With land, most of the time you’re shooting with a tripod and a longer lens. You’re further away from the wave. So, you need to have more zoom or more millimeters to be able to get a tighter image. When you’re in the water and you’re shooting a long lens, typically you’re shooting a telephoto or zoom, 70-200 mm is a common one, you don’t need to be all that close. You can be in the channel at Pipe and be in the safe zone and the sweet spot and zoom in and get a tighter image. If you were to try to sit in that same position with a wide-angle lens or a fisheye, you wouldn’t even be able to see the guy.
What’s it like physically when you’re shooting fisheye?
It’s like the craziest sprint of your life, especially when a set is coming. A lot of the times I’ll shoot a wave and I know the wave behind it’s going be bigger. If the guy goes on the first wave, then I have to swim in in a little bit for that first wave and then I’m swimming for my life to get out before that second one breaks in front of me. Sometimes you swim under and you literally have a foot between the wave that just wants to pull you back and the reef. It’s definitely the craziest cardio ever for those few minutes and however long the set lasts.
Does shooting wide angle give you a unique perspective?
The cool thing about wide angle is just being able to be so creative with your angles. You can get the straight shot down the barrel looking into it with a guy pulling in the barrel, but it’s sometimes fun to get those under the lip shots. Those ones are kind of risky because the rail and the guy’s fins are going right in front of you, sometimes inches away. So, you just have to know the exact line the guy’s going to take.
What are your favorite angles?
For fisheye my favorite angle is the POV looking out of the barrel where you’re behind the guy and you’re basically getting his view of what it looks like looking out of the barrel. These days you see guys like John John [Florence] and his brother doing double angles, but that’s still my favorite angle and it’s the hardest to get. When you get a really good shot looking out of the barrel it’s really unique and it grabs people’s attention a lot more.
Where are your favorite places to shoot?
My most favorite being from the North Shore obviously is Pipeline. I think I’ve spent more time out at that wave than any other place ever. I grew up about 10 houses down the beach from Pipe and it has a really special place in my heart—I feel like I’m at home when I’m out there shooting. My second favorite spot is Teahupo’o. That wave is just so perfect—it’s really thick and heavy. It’s really good for a wide angle. It’s kind of like you’re in a studio: the wave breaks in the exact same spot. You can sit in the same spot and guarantee that if it’s the same size of wave, it’ll break in that same spot every time. And you have a beautiful backdrop with the mountains and it’s really surreal looking.