Todd Glaser shares 15 years of iconic waves and masterful surfing with Kelly Slater in his new book A Life Of Waves.

Ever wondered what it would be like documenting the life of Kelly? Not only shooting him in the water but also capturing the quieter moments on tour, being part of his small crew of family and friends? It’s the wet and salty dream of just about every surfer who’s ever held a camera in their hand. For San Diego–born photographer Todd Glaser, it’s been the gig for some time.

You might not know Todd by name, but you’ve definitely seen his work. Working as a staff photographer for Surfer magazine for over a decade, he racked up dozens of covers, with his photos – many of which feature Kelly – finding their way into some of the world’s most familiar publications. We’re talking Sports Illustrated, the New York Times, Outside, Men’s Health, GQ, and even the Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery.

Having spent the past 15 years alongside Kelly, camera in hand, there’s no one better qualified than Glaser to tell his story, and A Life In Waves does just that. Inside the book’s 240 pages there are plenty of unseen moments like Kelly nearly missing a WCT event in Portugal after their car gets bogged while surfing double-overheads at deserted nearby wave, or that time Kelly’s closest pals gifted him an actual goat for his bday in 2022.

Of course accompanying these stories are some of the most deftly taken surf snaps that your eyes will ever have the good fortune of seeing. Seriously, it should come with a bib to catch your drool. You can order a copy right here, and check out our chat with Todd below:

How did you get your start in photography?

I started out shooting photos of my friends when I was in high school. A friend of mine had a camera, and we would take turns shooting photos of each other with a fisheye lens in a water housing. He eventually sold it to me; I think he liked riding waves more than photographing them. I personally loved being in the water with my friends, capturing those moments that we saw while riding waves, and since we were shooting on film, we’d only shoot on the sunny days, which still left plenty of days to surf myself.

Tell me about the feeling you get when you know you’ve captured something special on camera?

It’s kind of funny; I never really feel like we have an image that’s special until we either get the film back or download the cards to the computer. Too many times we’ve thought we have something special while still in the water, and there will be a water drop on the lens or a weird glitch in the camera, or a series of other variables that you just can’t tell by looking at the back of the screen.

I usually feel good about an image once it’s captured, sharp, and backed up a couple of times! Once all that is done, it’s a rush for sure. Chasing those fleeting moments and capturing them is what keeps me inspired to make another image; just like the feeling of catching a great wave, it’s rare you think back on that wave, but it helps you wake up early the next day just in case you catch a better one!

What is your favourite cover shot you’ve taken?

I don’t know if I have a favourite; they all mean something special to me. Take, for example, the cover of the Surf Ranch. That image was the very first time anyone had seen a still image from the Surf Ranch, and it was on the cover of Surfer Magazine. This was at a time when everything was kept very quiet, and the print magazines still were the voice of surfing in so many ways. The image itself was more symbolic of the moment rather than the technical aspect of the photo; however, I was the only still photographer there that day, which meant a lot to me. That means they trusted me not to mess it up!

As far as a technical photo to achieve for a cover, the underwater shot of Kelly for Surfer, where he is a silhouette in the tube surrounded by the clearest water we’ve ever seen, was probably the one we’re most excited about. I love shooting underwater images more than anything. We both have that image in our homes!

You’ve watched Kelly surf probably more than anyone in the world. What makes him so special?

Kelly’s passion and connection to the ocean, chasing waves, trying new equipment, and that overall curiosity to see what the next swell may bring is unlike anyone I have ever met. A lot of people think of Kelly as this fierce competitor, which he is, but more than anything, he’s a kid from Florida who LOVES surfing and has shaped his life around being at the best spots at the best times to maximise fun time in the water.

Unlike a lot of the other pros, he usually travels with a very small crew, usually solo, or he, Kalani, and myself, or one or two others, which enables him to move quickly and be where the waves are best. He’s also spent so much of his time going around the world; he has family everywhere he goes. He really cares for his friends and is there for them in so many ways, so I’d say his genuine concern and care for his friends and family is what sticks out the most to me.

What has been the highlight of your career with Kelly?

The highlight is we’re still out chasing waves together! We sent the book to print while we were going through security at LAX on our way to chase a big swell in the South Pacific earlier this year, and since then, we’ve already gone on a few more swell chases as well as getting to meet his son for the first time a couple of weeks ago too. I wouldn’t be able to put a singular moment as a highlight; every day we get to wake up and have the opportunity to ride more waves is a highlight.

You’ve also captured many low points. Is it friend first and photographer second? How do you navigate that?

There is a humanity that every photographer, filmer, brother, sister, parent, uncle, aunt, etc., must be in tune with. We’re all humans, and there are definitely times when I’ve put the camera down to help a friend out. Other times, I’ll snap a few frames then help. Every situation is different, but take, for example, when Kelly broke his foot in South Africa. We were all down there together; I rode in the car with him as we checked J-Bay from the top lot, shot a few frames, he went out, and within 20-30 minutes, he caught that wave where he broke his foot, which very easily could have ended his career. We saw him floating in, helped him up the beach, but knew once the lifeguards/paramedics arrived there wasn’t much more we could do, so I got my camera and shot a few frames.

We always operate with a safety-first mentality, and I would be the first one to ditch the camera if it meant helping a friend in need, but if there are others there to help and I can’t be of more help, I will document those moments if it feels right.

How would you describe your relationship with Kelly?

Kelly and Kalani are dear friends of ours. We’ve spent many weeks/months of the year for the last decade and a half together, so we are fortunate to have had a lot of meals, coffees, travel days, downtime, golf, surfs, etc., together. He’s one of the most creative guys I know, and I look forward to the time we spend together.

What’s something that you know about him that we wouldn’t know?

Kelly loves to play his guitar before a heat or surfing. It’s his way of tuning in and getting mentally prepared for whatever will come next. He’s always working on new songs or riffs and uses that time to disconnect a bit from whatever is going on and focus in.

Has Kelly ever been critical of your work?

Yes, very much so, and I appreciate him for that. I work hard to give myself the best opportunity to make the best images I can by having my gear organised, a healthy body and mind, and I want to make sure that every time the lens cap is off, I am giving myself the best opportunity to make something together. Kelly is a photographer himself and has worked with the best, so when he speaks up or has an idea or opinion of what he thinks could be cool, I welcome those suggestions and try to apply them to our next shoot.

It’s a team effort to make a photo. So many of the images you see, at least through my lens, is a shared effort that starts before we go in the water. I’ll usually be tracking the same swell as he is; we’ll compare notes, I’ll ask what board he’s riding, where he thinks he’s going to sit, and I’ll choose my camera/lens and spot in the lineup accordingly. By knowing what board he’s on, I can adjust where I think he will be based on the speed and size of the wave he’ll most likely be catching.

You’ve spent thousands of hours out in the water. What’s the scariest thing to happen to you while shooting?

Getting stuck inside while shooting photos at Backdoor is never fun. I’ve had some pretty scary moments out there before; it is so much more unpredictable than Pipeline, and it always seems so much shallower.

Why is now the right time to put together this book?

We started organising some of our favourite photos during the pandemic; I had some time, I think we all did, and had always thought at some point it would be amazing to make a book with Kelly like the book that Walter Iooss made with Michael Jordan, Rare Air. After about a year of going through all of the images and film we’d shot, I started going through and organising them a bit and tried to create chapters with them.

I’m not the best editor of my own work; something about it being so close and personal. Once the pandemic had lifted, we started travelling quite a bit again, so we called in a few of our friends to help: Grant Ellis to help photo edit and Chris Malloy to help guide the narrative creatively. Together we all worked to pick the images, get the stories on tape, and create the flow. Originally, we wanted it out this Spring, but we were so late on getting all the work done. We kept chasing waves and knew if something that took us so long to make got rushed in the last few months, it would sit on the shelves forever, not being how we really wanted it to be, so we gave ourselves more time, and Rizzoli (the Publisher) was very understanding of our process too. Chris kept saying: “the last 10% is everything!”

Eddie Vedder wrote the foreword. What’s it like hanging out in the presence of gods in their respective fields? Have you become immune to being starstruck?

Eddie is one of the kindest, most genuine, surf stoked people I’ve ever met not to mention an incredible songwriter and musician. He and Kelly have been friends for a long time and from the first time I met Eddie, we bonded immediately over our passion for surfing. He loves it. He’s a good surfer too! A lot of his songs were written about surfing or while he was in the water. I couldn’t imagine how busy it must be to be on tour, we were just at a Pearl Jam show last weekend and those fans, his fans, the bands fans are the most dedicated fans I’ve ever seen. We met people who had been to 40, 50, some of them 100 shows!

Eddie, Kelly and I been on a few surf missions together and they’re always trying different boards and looking for ways to improve. Kelly and Eddie are very similar in their approach to what they do best, they are eternal students always looking to improve or think of new ways to approach something they may be very familiar with all in the name of maximising fun.