Picture: Point Dume / Zuma Beach, near Malibu, Los Angeles County Coast, California
Now that my weblog is back up and running smooth, I was going to start posting pictures from my recent trips. However, news this weekend out of Southern California tells of a gang of local surfer thugs (& one bikini-clad thugette) going head to head with a gang of (most will admit ‘sleazy scum’) paparazzi in a beach brawl over surf turf. The Paparazzi were there taking snaps of a well known actor on a surf board, and the surfers decided to (enmasse) run off the photographers (enmasse).
Nothing quite like watching a bunch of beer swilling alpha-males going up against a pack of camera hounds that most people would love to take a swing at, and deservedly give us other photographers a bad name. – Be warned if you click on this link – it’s PG13 for language and violence, and A+++ for mass stupidity. (NOTE: The link has been edited to point to KTLA. The original link pointed to YouTube, where the video has been removed due to a copyright claim.)
I have legitimate concerns working on a new Coast book project that I’ll have to deal with some jerks on the beach defending their surf turf while all I’m trying to do is photograph the travel sights and scenery.
The most interesting thing, other than my own concerns for my personal safety, is seeing the hundreds of diverse opinions in the comments section from the above Youtube link, and from other sources like the KTLA News web site. I personally hope the Los Angeles County Sherriff Department and the Malibu Police use the video to criminally cite everyone involved where a citation would be warranted, and that goes for dork-jock thug surfers, bitchy beach babes, and scuzarazzi alike. This kind of behavior should simply not be tolerated, and it seems many people here need to learn some kind of lesson from this.
PS: You can see the shot that I almost got beat up for on an LA beach, as well as a gallery of my Los Angeles area coast photos.
Pretty disturbing to say the least Gary. I have never run into problems in So Cal with the general public. I think you have to pick your spots though. The surf culture is one that has a lot of territorialism.
When I went to Huntington recently, a kiteboarder was actually doing moves for my pictures close to shore. I ran into him on the beach later, and he took my card. I didn’t recognize him though outside of the water so I was probably the one that came off like a jerk in that instance.
I read about that incident. Not too much of a surprise really. I’ve heard of territorial surfers targeting each other mostly over the years but not so much a photographer. I also think this had more to do with the actor involved too. I’m sure he incited it to some degree by getting his friends in the surfer community going. With enough presence of mind and planning I doubt you’ll run into problems. Time to put a can of pepper spray on your hotshoe just in case LOL
Anyhow I used to go to Zuma all the time as a kid and through High School. This photo brings back great memories. I hope the photo project continues to go smoothly and you’re able to steer clear of trouble.