Pat Stacy has been surfing since he was five years old, and he began photographing surfing in 2001, as a result of landing in his high school photography program.  While sitting in class, reading Surfing magazine, he realized that some of the names on the photos he was studying were recurring every month.  People were actually making some kind of a living doing this.  He had known for a long time that professional surfing wasn't in the cards for him so photographing it seemed like the next best thing.  Shortly after high school, Surfboard shaper Cordell Miller offered him a job at his store in Costa Mesa, CA.  One day Cordell received a phone call from Larry "Flame" Moore, the photo editor at Surfing Magazine.  After Flame and Cordell spoke, Cordell handed the phone to Pat so he could ask Flame where to get a water housing.  In 2001, you couldn't find the answers to these questions on the internet.  Flame graciously gave Pat his phone number at work and told him the steps to getting a water housing from a peculiar character named Dale Kobetich who lived out in Silverado Canyon. Flame told Pat,"Don't pay him til you get your housing, and when you get it, take a roll of Fuji Velvia out to Salt Creek at first light.  Push the film one stop when you develop it and bring it in here so I can tell you what you did right and what you did wrong." Over the next 4 years Flame took Pat under his wing and taught him how to photograph surfing.  Sadly, in 2004, Flame passed away, but he left behind him a legacy and an impact on countless people who have been able to pursue their love of surf photography.  Pat worked for Surfing Magazine as a staff photographer for 6 years until landing a job at Billabong as their staff photographer.  He worked there for 10 years, traveling the world with Andy Irons, Shane Dorian, Joel Parkinson, and a long list of unique and gifted surfers.  He now works as a freelance photographer and cinematographer, specializing in filming in the water.

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