Alex Van Kampen’s videos feel like catching up with old friends.
Chilling by the campfire or diving head first into the ocean, his work has the warm familiarity of a memory, backed by the sort of rugged Aussie landscapes that you’d pass on a childhood road trip. White sands, pristine coastlines and the vast ocean are a throughline in Alex’s clips, and they’re sites he’s spent six years documenting with his most-loved Kodak Super 8 camera. “I love shooting the ocean, especially when it’s pumping perfect 6-8ft, as this is where I feel most alive and at peace,” Alex says.
A born-and-bred Noosa local, all the staples of an experienced surf videographer are there, from white tips to crystal blue barrels, but there’s also a distinctness in Alex’s vision of the ocean. In one shot, he captures the million rain droplets of a storm at sea, and another sees him follow close behind a pod of breaching whales. Edited alongside shots of his mates on the road or at the beach, it feels like you’re peering into the perfect summer holiday. “I love shooting… random things that happen on adventures with friends, it’s always sick to look back on those memories and feel nostalgic [and] get an insight into how I see the natural world and people,” Alex says.
Despite a tumultuous year, Alex says he’s still had a first taste of what’s to come in his career, especially after he and his mates hired a yacht around Fraser Island. “[We] created some work for brands while holidaying,” Alex says, “I can’t wait to one day work on massive projects with epic talent.”
For a filmer who counts the likes of Morgan Maassen and Kai Neville as inspirations, Alex spends a good deal of time perfecting his surf-focussed style in the hopes he’ll one day reach even loftier goals. Starting out filming clips for a local cafe but now with an eye on the big leagues, Alex’s cinematic vision rarely rests. “I definitely spend a large amount of time binging videos on Vimeo, absorbing new techniques and editing styles, colours and music,” he says.
The makings of a surf filmer to the stars are there, but Alex’s work is further supported by his honest enjoyment of the craft. Whether he’s fostering an appreciation for the ocean or simply capturing a road trip for old time’s sake, Alex knows that wherever he goes, his camera will follow. “What I love most about video is the feelings you can bring up in someone watching it all…[The] biggest reason why I take video is to have a moment stopped in time, or to be able to replay it again and again.”
Peep all of Alex’s moments in his Clips reel below, and head here to follow him on Instagram.
