The North Shore is a bizarre and beautiful place. On the surface it can look like a surf mecca with tourists, bystanders and a few sprinkles of international professional surfers and locals — not unlike any surf town. But upon closer inspection, it is one the most authentic surf experiences on the planet. And the most important things to have to really capture the goings on are access and some degree of respect and etiquette. Tom Carey has both. He’s been going to the North Shore since he was young, and has watched the goings on at the Volcom houses up close and personal. From the dungeon to the Gerry room, he’s seen it. Tom returned last week, and shot this roll of film.

Tom on the roll: “I just spent a week on the North Shore, which is a lot shorter period of time than I usually spend there. So I kept my little Canon 35mm point-and-shoot handy at all times. It’s only the third or fourth roll of film I’ve put through it so I’m still ironing out the kinks and experimenting with different film types. After years spent hunched over the light table, I swore off film forever. ‘But rockin’ a smaller camera allows you to get into more places and it’s quicker to sniper a candid moment without a big digital SLR in your face. I like the vintage look it’s giving me. I hate seeing film shots that are the same look as digital. I think knowing the capabilities of my camera now, my next roll of film will be even better because it’s really hard to nail 24 photos on a roll that you’re happy with but I’m pretty stoked on how this roll turned out. Just waiting for it to get developed gives me the old school feeling of anticipation and curiosity, something the digital age of photography has stolen from us.”

Check out the entire roll of Tom’s film by clicking below: 

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