Bio

Nikon Campaign "I Am Different" - TV Commercial

The shorebreak is my comfort zone. I absolutely love it. It's always different. The light, the colors, the water, the sand and what happens to it. And to be there to capture it and share it with the world... what a dream. — Clark Little

Award-winning photographer Clark Little was born in Napa, California in 1968. When he was two years old, his family moved to Oahu, dramatically changing his future. In the 1980’s and 1990’s he made his name as a pioneer of surfing at the Waimea Bay shorebreak. Clark had a unique talent for taking off on hopeless closeout shorebreak waves and surviving in one piece. Each wave typically ended in a spectacular wipeout. And if he was lucky, there would be a short tube ride before the standard pummeling. He loved the challenge of finding these gems within the chaos – and so did the crowds watching from the beach.

In 2007, Clark discovered his passion to capture the extraordinary beauty of the shorebreak when his wife, Sandy, wanted a picture of a wave to decorate their bedroom wall. With the confidence of an experienced surfer, Clark went out and bought a waterproof camera, jumped in the ocean, and started snapping away, recording the beauty and power of Hawaiian waves. "Clark’s view" is a unique and often dangerous perspective of waves from the inside out, captured in photos for all to enjoy from the safety of dry land.

Clark has since gained international recognition for his photography with exhibitions throughout the US and internationally in Japan, Canada, Brazil, and Spain. Solo and group exhibitions have been held at the Smithsonian Museum, Alden B. Dow Museum, Science Museum of Virginia, Museum of Contemporary Art Barcelona (Spain), Parco Logos Gallery (Tokyo, Japan), Gallery X (Tokyo, Japan), Bienal Pavilion (Sao Paulo, Brazil) and Heritage Maritime Canada (Montreal, Canada). 

Public installations, some large-scale and life-size, can be viewed at Facebook headquarters in Silicon Valley, University of Hawaii at Manoa Ocean Science Building, UC San Diego Jacobs Medical Center, Kona Community Hospital, Whole Foods Markets at Kahala, Starbucks Coffee (Waikiki, Ala Moana Shopping Center and Haleiwa, North Shore), The Ritz-Carlton Laguna Niguel, Roppongi Hills Shopping Complex in Tokyo, Bay Photo headquarters in Santa Cruz and other locations.

Clark and his photography have appeared in media around the world, including television shows Good Morning America, Today, CBS Evening News, NHK Japan, as well as gracing publications including National Geographic, The New York Times, USA Today, The Guardian, Scientific American, LIFE, Sierra, and The Surfer’s Journal. Commercial and corporate clients include Apple, Anheuser-Busch InBev, Facebook, Hewlett-Packard (HP), Hilton Hotels, Panerai Watches, Microsoft, Nike, Nikon, Starbucks Coffee, Toyota, Verizon, Whole Foods Markets among others.

Awarded the Oceans Photography Award
Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History
Washington DC (May 2011)

BOOKS & FILMS

• 2022 - The Art of Waves (Ten Speed Press / Penguin Random House) published world-wide. 240-page 10"x10" coffee table book with foreword by Kelly Slater and text by Jamie Brisick and Clark Little.
• 2016 - Documentary film SHOREBREAK: The Clark Little Story released. Screened at over 100 film venues and festivals world-wide in 2016-2017. On iTunes, reaches #1 for Sports Films and #3 for Documentaries.
• 2014 - Waves of North Shore (Parco Publishing) published in Japan. 112-page soft cover book.
• 2014 - Shorebreak published in US. 160-page coffee table book with text by Steve Hawk. Featuring wave and ocean photography from the North Shore of Oahu, Maui, Kauai, Big Island, California, Japan and French Polynesia.
• 2009 - The Shorebreak Art of Clark Little published in US. Debut 182-page art book featuring North Shore Oahu photography with forewords by Kelly Slater and Jack Johnson.
  
  

AWARDS & RECOGNITION

Awards include the prestigious Ocean Photography Award from Nature’s Best Photography presented at the Smithsonian Museum in May, 2011. Two award winning images were on exhibit for six months at Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History in Washington DC from April - September 2011. Clark Little's photography was exhibited again in 2015 at the Smithsonian Museum in the "Best of the Best" Nature Photography Retrospective Exhibition marking the 20th anniversary of the annual event.

• 2022-2024 - The Art of Waves (Ten Speed Press / Penguin Random House) Best Seller on Amazon USA for over 2 years. Best Seller in many other countries for at least 2 months including Australia, Japan, Brazil, Germany, France, Netherlands and Sweden.
• 2019 - Ranked 10th Most Popular Photographer in the world (#5 in USA) by XXL PIX. Five years in a row placing in the top ten in the world.
• 2017 - SHOREBREAK (film) - Bud Browne Surf Film Award, Waimea Ocean Film Festival
• 2016 - SHOREBREAK (film) - Audience Award, Maui Film Festival
• 2015 & 2016 - Nikon Ambassador
• 2015 - Gold Ink Awards, Pewter Medal (runner-up) in the calendar division for the 2016 Clark Little Turtle Calendar.
• 2011 - Oceans Photography Award - Nature’s Best Photography: Windland Smith Rice International Awards presented at the Smithsonian Museum, Washington DC.
• 2011 - Highly Honored Photographer: Endangered Species Award - Nature’s Best Photography: Windland Smith Rice International Awards presented at the Smithsonian Museum, Washington DC.
• 2011 - The Great Outdoors PDN: Beaches, Island and Underwater Category - Winner
• 2011 - Maggie Award (Western Publishing Association): Best Series of Editorial Photographs - View from the Vortex (Sierra Magazine)
• 2010 - Pele Award for Photography (American Advertising Federation Hawaii): Breaking Point (Kahala Magazine)
• 2009 - Photograph of the Year, People's Choice Award, Geo Magazine

Media

Licensing & Corporate Clients

Exhibitions (Solo & Group)

Installations