about john

The following is reproduced from a portfolio of my work in Surfers Journal several years ago.

Since it was written I’m happy to have gotten married... not much else has changed.

From SURFERS JOURNAL Vol. 11 #3 - Rob Gilley

"Reality Check: Do you live in a tropical paradise? Can you at any and every given moment, without the slightest consequence, drop everything that you are doing and kitesurf, sailboard, surf or shoot photos to your heart's content? Do world-class musicians track you down so they can jam with you? Do beautiful women approach you and ask you to help them with their portfolio? Do you get to travel to the earth's most spectacular surfing destinations and have somebody else pay for it?

Me neither.

But John Bilderback does and has for the last 15 years.

In a world full of big talk, interrupted dreams and self-imposed conformity, JB has quietly assumed the life most surfers dream of. In a small studio apartment less than a block from the Mecca of the surf/windsurf world known as Sunset Beach, John has everything he needs: a drum kit, some camera equipment, a computer, myriad surf tools, a bed, a kitchen, a bathroom and a roof over his head. With monk-like dedication, John has pursued the truest path to surf photography.

No one is more aware of his tropical fortune than John. Except for maybe me. Despite the fact that we started out in the exact same place, I've got a wife and kids, a mini-van, and a 30-year mortgage on a Southern California tract home. Our divergent paths are clear illustrations that separate realities exist and can simply be changed by human will. But this is something that JB figured out a long time ago.

The world from which John emerged couldn't have been more different: a year spent dodging the oppressive chill of an East Coast winter plus five years of a strict, all-male preparatory school environment - at ages when most kids are launching bottle-rockets and discussing the merit of Playboy party jokes - conjugating romance language verbs and writing a 48 page treatise on the Kennedy administration.

It was family excursions to the shore that gave John a glimpse of another reality. Like his older brother, who became an Atlantic fishing boat captain, John recognized that a life could be built around the sea. No 9-5 rat race/Habi-trail/bumper-to-bumper existence for this boy. John recognized his entry point early on. After deciding to go west to college, he stood on the bluff overlooking Big Rock in San Diego and said to me, " We could be surf photographers, you know." I said, "OK". It's 22 years later, and John's vision couldn't have been more accurate.

JB will be the first one to tell you that every bed of roses has plenty of thorns. Assuming the life of a surf photographer is accepting a literal vow of poverty. And its hard to maintain a steady relationship at home when you leave the country for months at a time. But these are sacrifices John accepted a long time ago. He can see the big picture. He knows the score.

One day during a spell of big North Shore surf, John said to me, "If I die tomorrow I want people to know I died a happy man."

That was 40 surf trips, several girlfriends and 12 years ago. So, if you've taken a life inventory and decided that you don't like what you see, you might want to talk to John Bilderback." - Rob Gilley