I came up without camera or swim fins. Both kneecaps and both elbows were raw and bloody from smacking the reef. But I was really lucky. I found my camera on the beach. But every surfer has had a moment like that.
Deadlines are deadlines and they've got to be met.
Baker was born in Toledo, Ohio, and grew up in Florida, Seattle and Carpenteria, California. In high school he took up photography. I took my camera and tripod in my backpack to the beach. After surfing I'd come in and take pictures of friends. By the time he enrolled at Santa Barbara City College, his surfing photos were appearing in West Coast magazines.