We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Sean Davey. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Sean below.

Sean, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Earning a full time living from one’s creative career can be incredibly difficult. Have you been able to do so and if so, can you share some of the key parts of your journey and any important advice or lessons that might help creatives who haven’t been able to yet?

I’ve always had an affinity for the beach, and the coast from a very young age, so it seemed with so much Aussie culture based in and around the beach, it was inevitable that I was going to gravitate toward surfing, which of course, I did. I started photographing it in my mid-teens and was submitting my photography to Surfing magazines within just a couple of years. I climbed the publishing ladder there in Australia as well as in the US, Japan, and the UK, to name a few others. By the mid 90’s I had met my future wife in Hawaii and moved to Hawaii permanently in 1997. I continued with great success, till just after the turn of the century when the internet became more important than magazines and so the decline of publishing began.

Up till that point, I had managed to photograph the cover of more than 180 magazine covers all over the world, but now publishing was declining at a very fast and unsustainable rate. That was when I decided to start printing and selling selected imagery from my vast archive of imagery. I’ve been doing this since the early 00’s and managed to live off my earnings, this whole time.

I think the one constant for me right through my entire career has been to maintain a passion for creative photography. I try to add to my folio every other day, which is not that hard when your home is a photographer’s paradise. It’s the passion that got me through the toughest financial times. Pay attention to what’s going on around you. It’s good to keep an eye on other’s work, because there will always be inspiration to be acquired from doing so, but also don’t be afraid to step out of your comfort zone to create something a little different. I learned that early in my career as a magazine photographer is that editors really look for and appreciate creativity.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

I was drawn to photography for artistic purposes. It became a viable option for work when I got more involved with magazine publishers and companies in the surf industry. At that time, most of what they were seeking was action surf images preferably of well-known surfers, so I was typically standing behind a Canon 600 mm lens or swimming in the water with a fisheye lens, so I could get in as close as possible to the action. Of course though, I had a lot more equipment than this though with a multitude of different lens and filters and so forth.

In the background though, I was always seeking creative photography options as they occured, thus building my archive of art images.

Regarding the surf imagery which in the earlier days, made up most of my income; What made my work stand out from the sea of other surf photographers was simply my willingness to mix up my shooting techniques on a pretty regular basis. For example, if was standing on the beach at Pipeline with a big lens and there are 20-40 other photogs standing nearby, I’m almost certainly going to opt for a very slow shutter speed, simply because my imagery will be different to every other photographer there. The one thing to take away from this, when there is an oversupply in shooting talent, it’s time stand apart from the pack. Sure, you’ll lose a few frames by not sticking with 1000th of a second, but your imagery will be different to everyone else there.

In regard to what I do these days. I photograph in and around the ocean. I use a variety of different lens ranging from fisheye up to 200mm in the water. With that range, I can pretty much tackle any visual concept, that a client may ask for. I guess you could say that I am a specialist in making client’s visual concepts come to life, in and under the water.

Another thing that I like to keep an eye on is the light. It often presents unexpected opportunities to get great, often unplanned moments.

What can society do to ensure an environment that’s helpful to artists and creatives?

A lot of folks think that creatives are not easy to get in touch with, but you would be surprised how easy it actually is to get in touch with a creative, whose art you like. By all means, go ahead and get in touch with them and let them know how much you love their work. It makes my day when someone does let me know. Of course, the other thing is, if you really love their art, go ahead and purchase something. It’s always the ultimate compliment when someone wants to beautify their home with something that you created.

Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?

That was when the financial crisis happened in 2008-9. All my income sources dried up almost all at once. It was a crisis. That’s when I doubled down, embraced social media and started marketing my creations online. It’s most of what I have done since then. One thing about being a creative in business, it really, helps to have a niche that helps you stand out from the sea of other creatives. Just understand that the niche that you currently have might not be so in a few more months. The very nature of social media almost dictates this.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.seandavey.com
• Instagram: instagram.com/sean_davey
• Facebook: https://facebook.com/seandaveyphotography
• Linkedin: https://www.instagram.com/sean_davey/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/seandaveyphoto
• Other: Vero:  https://vero.co/seandavey

Image Credits
Blue Sling is Pancho Sullivan surfing in Micronesia. Heavy Water Speed is Jamie Sterling surfing at big Pipeline at 1/8th of a second. Holy Grail is a genuine Gerry Lopez lightning bolt surfboard at Sunset beach. One Of Their Own; Hawaiian lifeguard; Luke Sheppardson winning the Eddie Aikau in 2023. Pumping Sunset. One of the best surf lineups that I ever did shoot. Sunset beach in 2009.