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Portfolio: Adam Burns

My name is Adam Burns and I’m from San Diego, California. I grew up in the Point Loma area. When I was 12 years old, my family made a bold life decision and moved us to Todos Santos, Baja California Sur. I lived there for five years. It was a trip moving from posh suburbia

BY Adam Burns |

  • garr

    Garrett Goodwin throwing down some footwork on a board he shaped somewhere in San Diego. nikonos v, kodak tmax 100 film. Taken with a Nikonos V. Photo: Adam Burns

  • lowers-tungsten-film

    I went up to Lowers early one morning to film a couple of friends. It got crowded really quick and ended up being really inconsistent, but I got a pretty lineup photo out of the deal. Nikon fm2n, fuji 64t film. Photo: Adam Burns

  • garrett

    Garrett Goodwin, sliding carefully along the shelf on a home-made fish. Nikon fm10, kodak tmax 100 film. Photo: Adam Burns

  • sould

    Cooper J. Nielsen's log that he made for himself, lying in the sand at our very favorite spot. Nikon fm2n, fuji 64t film. Photo: Adam Burns

  • loomis

    Cris Loomis is one of the best surfers to come out of the Sunset Cliffs area. The guy has epic style and gets barreled literally every session, even when the waves aren't barreling. He'll go down as a legend for sure. Here he is on a 5' 9" Garrett Goodwin shape. Nikonos v, kodak tmax 3200 film. Photo: Adam Burns

  • pier

    Ah, the good 'ol pier. Don't wear a cord unless you want 30lbs of seaweed wrapped around it. Nikon fm10, fuji neopan 400 film. Photo: Adam Burns

  • birds

    I was drinking some beers on the beach in Mex when a bait ball moved in close and the birds went apeshit. Canon eos 3, fuji acros 100 film. Photo: Adam Burns

  • loomsun1

    Cris Loomis again, taking in the oil-glass sunset at the cliffs. Nikonos V, kodak tmax 3200 film. Photo: Adam Burns

  • shaperoom

    A few of the local boys have been shaping their asses off lately at this spot, and the sticks are coming out killer. Cooper's shaping bay, Soul Patrol headquarters. Fuji GF670, fuji provia 100 film, cross-processed. Photo: Adam Burns

  • bms

    A heaving day at a beach break south of the border. The boys didn't make it out of many that day, and I was pretty glad to be on the beach with a camera instead of in the water. nikon fm2n, fuji 64t film. Photo: Adam Burns

  • todd-g

    Lowers, 6:15 am. This is my friend Todd Glaser on his way to the office to do some work. Minolta TC-1, fuji acros 100 film. Photo: Adam Burns

  • todd

    Todd again, clocked out and on his way home for a beer after a long day of work. Minolta TC-1, fuji acros 100 film. Photo: Adam Burns

  • gull

    There were some cool storm clouds around one day when I was checking the surf. I saw a gull coming my way so I whipped out the camera, set focus to infinity, snapped a shot before it flew in front of the clouds. Nikon fm2n, fuji velvia 50 film. Photo: Adam Burns

  • helix

    August was a rough one this year in San Diego; the surf was flat for a month and it was really, really hot. The tropical weather made for some unreal clouds though, and I couldn't resist driving to the top of Mt. Helix on my way home from work one day to get a capture of them. Minolta TC-1, fuji superia 200 film. Photo: Adam Burns

  • plane

    One afternoon I was mudwalkin' down in the O.B. river shooting photos of some birds, when a really big one flew overhead. Canon eos 3, fuji velvia 50 film. Photo: Adam Burns

My name is Adam Burns and I’m from San Diego, California. I grew up in the Point Loma area. When I was 12 years old, my family made a bold life decision and moved us to Todos Santos, Baja California Sur. I lived there for five years. It was a trip moving from posh suburbia to a tiny dirt town with a population of 3,000 and one traffic light. This is where I learned to surf. It was pretty incredible: epic waves, warm water and basically no crowds ever. I attended Mexican schools for a couple years, then did my first three years of high school in a home-study program with my dad as the teacher. Every morning we’d go surf then hit the books. Eventually, being a typical teenager, I wanted a social life and the “high school experience” (in retrospect: what was I thinking?). So, in 1998, I moved back to California and lived with some relatives while attending my senior year of high school. That year, I took a photography class and got absolutely hooked on taking photos.

I should add that the surf water shots were taken with a Nikonos v, an old school dive camera. The 35mm ones were shot with a mixed bag of old Nikons, a Minolta point & shoot, and a Canon EOS 3. The medium format shot is taken with the Fuji gf670. I much prefer shooting film to digital and would totally be shooting my surf movies on 16mm if it wasn’t so damn expensive.

See more from Adam at Fotoburns.com

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