Business Casual on the Beach

The dress code at El Porto, a popular beach break in Los Angeles, tends to range from your standard 3/2 Rip Curl wetsuit to a 4/3 for those who are more prepared, but rarely do you see business casual. In this sense Douglas Yoder, a father of three residing in Pasadena, lived by his own rules. Sticking out like a sore thumb, Douglas sat on a bright blue folding chair with a sunshade and sported a freshly ironed plaid shirt. The click of his camera could be heard every time a set came in.

Douglas has only tried to surf once in his life.

“I tell my boys I’m a land animal, I grew up far from the ocean,” he says.

Growing up in Eastern Pennsylvania the only major body of water close to Douglas was Lake Erie. After growing tired of the mundane life in his home state, Douglas took all he had and moved to Los Angeles to study Theology at the age of 19. He stayed to support his wife who had already started a successful piano studio. It wasn’t until many years later that Douglas’ kids showed him the joys of surfing.

On this particular Friday afternoon, all three of Douglas’ kids, ages 11, 13, and 16, were out in the water. Douglas explained how they are all homeschooled in order to help them focus on their lives as musicians, as well as enjoying activities that require flexibility such as surfing. He was sure that this was common among surfers at El Porto.

Douglas Yoder, a Pennsylvania native, sits comfortably as he photographs his three kids surfing together at El Porto | Photo by Liam Campbell

“I get the impression that they have their lives organized in order to be able to surf,” he says.

After less than a year of photographing his kids surfing,Douglas was sure that the three of them already have “surfers’ minds.” He explained how even on family trips up the coast they would be glued to the window looking out at the waves. One of his kids, Dominick, said this obsession was attributed to his ability to surf once every week at the very least.

Douglas, Dominick, and I sat on the beach a little while longer. A large set came in and I watched a small figure ride down the face of a wave. I heard Douglas’ camera snap a few photos right before the surfer slipped off his board, getting crushed by the wave. I turned to Douglas and asked him if that was his kid who had just wiped out. He smiled and said yes, proud of the young surfer he had raised. Laughing, he explained that it happens to his kids all the time; he was most excited about the photo he had taken right before the crash.

Turning the camera screen to me, he said, “This is a cool way to see what that would feel like. I mean here it looks so cool. You can see why people would really do it, and it’s different when it’s your kids.”

Douglas looked at the photo a little while longer. He seemed perfectly content simply imagining what the wave may have felt like.