Mag­gie Marsek is a Cal­i­for­nia pho­tog­ra­pher who cap­tures the expe­ri­ence of surf­ing in vivid col­ors and tex­tures. Work­ing pri­mar­ily in film, her work is an inspi­ra­tion to all who trea­sure tra­di­tional forms. We had the plea­sure to ask her some ques­tions.

When did you get your first surf­board?
I got my first surf­board, as a Christ­mas present, in 2005. That was only four years ago, but I am from Wis­con­sin and I didn’t grow up surf­ing. My Mid-western par­ents were so excited to buy a surf­board. It was a pretty excit­ing event!

What was the feel­ing you had when you first stood on a surf­board?
I remem­ber feel­ing, This is soooo mag­i­cal! I could see why it had enveloped so many people’s lives. I, even at first, could tell why so many peo­ple love surfing.

Who did you look up to and admire when you were a young girl?
I am the youngest of four. And with two broth­ers, I felt like my sis­ter was the coolest thing in the world. I looked up to her and wanted to be just like her. I also look up to my par­ents as my father and mother did such a won­der­ful job rais­ing such a fun, warm, close fam­ily that I have always known I’d want a fam­ily of my own just like that.

Where did you study pho­tog­ra­phy?
In 2002, I received my Bach­e­lor of Fine Arts degree in Pho­tog­ra­phy from Savan­nah Col­lege of Art and Design in Savan­nah, Georgia.

What brought you to Cal­i­for­nia?
After grad­u­a­tion I wasn’t tied to a job or a rela­tion­ship so I had free­dom to roam. I headed to Cal­i­for­nia because I was always fas­ci­nated by the warm, coastal lifestyle. I lived in Down­town San Diego for two and a half years before mov­ing to the lit­tle surf par­adise of Encinitas.

Of all the places you have trav­eled to, what place in par­tic­u­lar stands out? And why?
I have been to Europe (specif­i­cally Lon­don, France and Italy) twice. I love explor­ing Mex­ico and the length of Baja. Not one par­tic­u­lar place stands out. I shoot amaz­ing sights and meet such amaz­ing, gen­uine peo­ple on my trav­els. I hope to travel to all kinds of far­away places, and really hope to make it to Brazil, Aus­tralia and Japan. I am also look­ing for­ward to our hon­ey­moon in Bali next fall.

What is it that makes you such a nice per­son? What code do you live by?
I came from a fam­ily that was taught, “Treat peo­ple the way you want to be treated.” I feel like if I am an hon­est per­son, and approach every­thing and every­one in a gen­uine way—the way I expect to be treated—good things will come. I feel my open heart and open mind will con­tinue to bring me to amaz­ing places and meet more amaz­ing people.

Who/what inspires you?
I am con­stantly inspired by other artists and my life around me—the land­scapes I explore while trav­el­ing and the peo­ple I meet along the way. My fiancé, Rob, is my biggest inspi­ra­tion. He is con­stantly push­ing me and encour­ag­ing me to just go for it with my work. I am the only one who can stand in my way, and he reminds me of that with any obsta­cles I face.

What are you most proud of?
I’d have to say I am pretty proud of myself for lis­ten­ing to my heart and tak­ing a giant leap and mov­ing out to Cal­i­for­nia by myself. I have learned and grown so much out here, and noth­ing I have accom­plished so far would have been pos­si­ble if I hadn’t lis­tened to my heart.

What mean­ing does surf­ing hold for you and how has it changed your life?
The feel­ing of surf­ing is almost inde­scrib­able to me. Those who surf know what I mean; there is noth­ing else like it. It’s a mag­i­cal feel­ing that makes you feel pow­er­ful, but some­times can make you feel vulnerable.

You and the wave need to have a mutual respect for each other. The same goes for the ocean and the land­scapes. If you respect the ocean and land­scapes that Mother Nature has given us, there is greater enjoy­ment in the experiences.

Who are some of the peo­ple you feel are shap­ing the path for surf­ing today?
I feel all the peo­ple who are doing it by hand—everything from build­ing and shap­ing to glass­ing and pol­ish­ing. Surf­ing is an art and a craft, so those peo­ple keep­ing up with that are the ones “shap­ing” the path for surfing.

What is in your cur­rent quiver? What is your favorite board? Your favorite surf spot?
Canon AE1, Canon Elan 7NE, Canon 30D, Mamiya C330, Holga … (laughs) … just kid­ding. I am, how­ever, shoot­ing more often than surf­ing. When I am surf­ing, it is on the root beer-colored Bing Light­weight 9’0″. I pre­fer smaller, mel­low, uncrowded waves still. My favorite place to surf is Scor­pion Bay in Baja Sur.

What’s your favorite meal?
Hmmmm … so hard to say. I bake a lot and cook at home often. I am a meat and pota­toes kind of girl. My cur­rent favorite fla­vors are (but not lim­ited to): sweet pota­toes, bal­samic vine­gar, goat cheese, caramelized onions. We’ve been mak­ing a lot of home­made piz­zas with home­made pizza dough. If I had to nar­row it down to one meal, right now I would love a tri tip with brown rice, grilled zuc­chini and my fiancé makes a great creamy polenta. Sorry to be so elab­o­rate. I am very pas­sion­ate about the culi­nary arts!

What are you cur­rently lis­ten­ing to on your iPod?
I’ve got eclec­tic tastes in music so it varies—Black Keys, White Rab­bits, Royk­sop, Pas­sion Pit, Pix­ies, Ramones, The Cars. And, when I am shoot­ing, I love really the Cave Singers and I Am Kloot.

What causes/projects/organizations do you sup­port?
I sup­port any­one for mak­ing our envi­ron­ments bet­ter and safe for my future chil­dren, any­one who cares for our oceans and coast­lines. I am a strong advo­cate for ani­mal shel­ters and adopt­ing for pets, also Children’s Hos­pi­tal and Make a Wish Foundation.

What’s next for Mag­gie Marsek?
I will be in a show with my tal­ented friend, Skye Walker, who was recently fea­tured in here. It is a one night only show in Cardiff by the Sea on Decem­ber 11, 5–10 pm.

For more infor­ma­tion about Mag­gie Marsek and her work click here.