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Bodyboarding Northern Nicaragua and El Salvador – A Cornish Bodyboarders Opinion

By Aaron Parsons

Cornish Bodyboarder and expert photographer Callum Morse up’d sticks and bailed on our stormy shores for the winter in order to hit up the warm water barrels of Northern Nicaragua. Rob, Sam, Jorrin and the crew from Bodyboard-holidays caught up with him for some waves and beers. They picked his brains about his trip, this is what he had to say.

Introduce yourself sir! So let’s start with who you are, where you are from, years booging, years shooting and your crew – who are they?

Well i’m Callum Morse, I live in the Phillack with Godrevy/Gwithian being my local. Been booging for around for around 6 years I guess although i’ve not really been riding much the past 3 or 4 years as my shooting started to take over. Always surfed and shot with my fellow Phillack boys over the years but used to get a few sessions in with Steve Hall when we were both studying at college together. When I say studying I mean I would be doing my work while Steve would be chain eating McDonalds and playing youriding.

How did you find yourself in Northern Nicaragua this winter?

I managed to get myself a job out there with a surf camp, spending my days shooting clients and promotional content for their site and social media. It was such a great opportunity.

What did you find when you got there and was it what you were expecting?

The waves were even better than I had expected, the people are some of the most friendly and welcoming I have ever met and the climate on the coast was just perfect.

The images that you have collected show some absolutely mouth watering line ups and empty pits, what are the waves like for bodyboarding out there?

I actually only took my bodyboard out with me instead of my standup to try and travel light. At the time if felt like a bit of a risk but after a few days I soon realised the waves were epic for the boogs. Heavy hollow beach breaks, barreling points and whole range of setups to find if your up for a bit of exploring.

You’ve been getting some great coverage for your shooting lately, run us through the credit that you’ve received?

2013 was a great year for me and my photography. I got back from a trip in February completely broke and without a job. I decided to use my free time to my advantage shooting everyday and planning an exhibition of my wave and seascape imagery for May. The exhibition was a success and generated heaps of exposure for my work. I kept shooting and getting a few images in Wavelength here and there, as well as gaining my first Cover shot for This is Cornwall magazine. A milestone I had set myself at the age of 16 when I saved for my first digital camera. As the year drew to a close I won a big SanDisk competition and am now a member on their extreme team (http://stories.sandisk.com/content/90-days-northern-nicaragua)

What do you do to earn money now that you are back in the UK?

Funnily enough I am once again unemployed. I’ve been working at a beach cafe the past 6 summers baking cakes and flirting with older ladies walking their dogs but it’s time for a change. I’m planning on launching my own surf lifestyle clothing company Salt Tribe (www.salt-tribe.co.uk) in spring so thats keeping me super busy right now. I’m also doing my NARS in the coming weeks to become a lifeguard this summer.

How did you get in to photography and what tips would you give to wanna be photog’s?

My photography started when I began documenting my friends surfing and the outdoors lifestyle we were enjoying so much. I worked a whole summer saving up for my first DSLR then the following summer saved for my Water housing. From there I was just hooked, I put my bodyboard down and just swam everywhere with my camera.

For people interested in starting out in surf photography the most important thing is to just enjoy it, do it for the love of shooting as the days of making an income from surf photography are progressively dying. Get yourself a GoPro and throw yourself into a few barrels shooting your friends, if you really dig it (which you will!) save your pennies and get yourself a DSLR and housing. GoPro’s are so good for getting into surf photography on a budget.

What else did you get up to in northern nicaragua other than surf and shoot?

We did our fair share of partying as well as spending time in the Colonial city of Leon. The fishing is really good too! There’s so much to do on the beach we rarely ventured away from it in the fear of missing perfect barrels.

You ventured over the border to El Salvador, what was that like?

I spent around a week in El Salvador at the end of my trip on the beach at El Tunco. The waves were real fun I loved the place as it added a totally new aspect to my trip. It’s mind boggling how many amazing set ups there are along that coast! San Salvador offers up some incredible Nightlife we had a few amazing nights partying there…I think…

What would you say to somebody considering escaping the British winter and heading to northern nicaragua?

Don’t think just book it, you will not regret it.

Now taking bookings for our trip to Northern Nicaragua and El Salvador for January 2014. This trip will fill up so get in there fast!

Check out Nicaragua and Costa Rica here

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