COMMUNITY PROFILES Loving the seas on either coasts
By REAGAN WHEELER Special to the Daily Press
SANTA MONICA From the Eastern Seaboard to the Southern California coastline, Annie Walton-Teter has seen her fair share of the oceans.
A devoted surfer and photographer, combining the two pursuits seemed a natural marriage for the Santa Monican, whose keen eye for the life aquatic can be seen in her photo collage collection “Seascapes,” on display later this month in West Los Angeles.
“You can tell she really loves the beach and the ocean,” said Eveline Morel, owner of EM & Co., where Walton-Teter’s works will be shown July 19 through Aug. 22. “She really brings her life to her photos.
“It’s not just a photographer taking pretty pictures.”
Walton-Teter’s business partner and friend, Rebecca Heller, praises her colleague’s “great eye, great aesthetics and great taste.” Heller, who published the book “Surf Like A Girl” in May 2005, worked with Walton-Teter the following year in launching the surfing website www.surflikeagirl.net, with the latter serving as online photo editor.
“She is good at finding great photographers,” Heller said last week, alluding to her friend’s insight into photography and the visual arts. “She is an inspiring person.”
Growing up in New Haven, Conn., Walton-Teter oftentimes found herself sailing the Atlantic along with her family, no doubt, instilling in her a love for and familiarity with the sea.
Following her graduation from CalArts in 1992, where she minored in photography, she moved to Paris for two years, indulging another passion — art. There, she studied with renowned French portraiture photographer Philippe Vermes, refining her own style, which she had been working on since she was a toddler taking the camera away from her grandfather.
“I love the uncanny, the moments that are unexpected,” said Walton-Teter.
Upon her return to the United States, Walton-Teter worked as a commercial photographer in New York up until 2001, producing high-fashion photography shoots.
That year, she decided she needed a change, and made Southern California her permanent home — a home where ocean life was never too far from her mindset.
While sailing has gone by the wayside, Walton-Teter continues to surf with her friends in Santa Monica and Malibu.
“I’d always wanted to learn to surf,” said Walton-Teter, who credits the 1987 movie “North Shore”with getting her “addicted.”
Her home away from home is the water. She has used that comfort zone to share her art with the people of Santa Monica, snapping pictures of surfers, sunsets on the water and the ocean in its natural state.
Another hands-on activity that has caught Walton-Teter’s keen eye for detail is volunteering. In Santa Monica and Venice, she has teamed up with the SurfRiders Foundation to help clean up the beaches. As an avid surfer, getting into the water “as much as I can,” she has been pro-active in the fight to keep the local beaches and water clean.
“At the booth, I tell people ‘you don’t have to wait for a beach clean-up day to clean up the beach’,” Walton-Teter said.
Walton-Teter also helps with Heller’s surfing camps, providing lessons when needed. In Venice, she’s been assisting with the Julia-Dean photography workshops for the past six months — one of 30 volunteers who help with the day-to-day operations and course assisting.
While she hasn’t taken part in the Julia Dean portfolio nights, Walton-Teter does maintain an impressive, wide-ranged portfolio, shooting “everything from the romance of the ocean to the garbage dump.”
The trophies on the shelf at home are beginning to multiply. Recently, Walton- Teter won a travel photography contest with her shot of the Corronto Bridge in San Diego. Earlier this year, she was awarded an Outstanding Achievement in Photography Award from the International Society of Photographers.
Today, Walton-Teter is just trying to get her work out to the masses in L.A., beginning to book showings across the region. Ideally, she would love to have an exhibit at Bergamot Station in Santa Monica. Her works have been published in a slew of publications, including SPIN, L.A. Weekly, Interview and Surf Life For Women.
On July 19th, “Seascapes” goes on display at Em & Co., 7940 West Third St. in Los Angeles.
“Seascapes is a collection of all different photos of the ocean and horizon lines collaged together,” Walton-Teter explained.
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on July 16, 2007. Read the original PDF.