At the age when most high schoolers are planning for college, Aaron Chang learned a life lesson about the challenge of creating ocean photography and the difficulty of making a living while doing it.
Chang has achieved success in both endeavors, placing his acclaimed surfing photos in homes around the world and in institutions such as Scripps Medical Center while running an ocean art gallery in Solano Beach and opening a new gallery in Carmel.
Chang was introduced to photography when he took an elective while in the 11th grade at Mar Vista High School in Imperial Beach. In his senior year, he already was winning awards and shooting pictures for the yearbook. The next year, instead of heading off to college at age 17, he flew to Hawaii and within days had his first job making money by photographing tourists at luaus.
“I learned at a very young age you could generate income by taking pictures,” he said.
The photography quickly became more sophisticated, from shooting surfers in the giant waves on the North Shore to creating acrylic shells for waterproofing the camera and lens. “It was unique at the time. That’s what put me out the map,” he said.
He also caught the eye of the executive producer of Wide World of Sports based on his innovative approach. “A handful of other photographers would shoot the extreme shoulder of the wave,” he said. “I couldn’t afford the gear. I would swim inside the wave.” Catching the surfer from that perspective can be “extremely difficult” – and dangerous. Ten to 15-foot waves breaking over rock slabs “can kill you,” he said. “You get slammed a few times and you figure out where you can be safely….You learn boundaries and you flirt with them.”
Two years later, Chang was hired by Surfing Magazine as a contributing photographer and then took a break to study at Southwestern College in Costa Mesa. Before long, the magazine made him an offer to become senior photographer. For the next 25 years, Change traveled the world in search of new and exotic surfing scenes.
Ten years ago, Chang started the Aaron Chang Ocean Art Gallery on Cedros Street in Solana Beach in collaboration with his wife, Erika, who had created a clothing brand using photos printed on fabric.
“The gallery business has grown so much,” he said. “It is a fulfilling endeavor, helping to enrich people’s environment and bring the beauty of nature into their homes and businesses.” He added, “I underestimated the impact we would have on people.”
He also has been commissioned shoot ideas or concepts. Sharp HealthCare is one of his major clients. He has worked closely with the designers and architects of the Gary and Mary West Foundation, which specializes in senior care. One example of the way his art is being utilized, he said, is by creating large murals that absorb sound, so that art is both inspirational and functional.
Both soft-spoken and intense, Change became a Sage Executive Group member not long after giving a Sage Talks presentation about his experiences attempting to translate artistic accomplishment into commercial success.