DMFF OFFICIAL SELECTION 2022
THE ENDED SUMMER
Short documentary | USA | 9 mins
Director: David Martinez
Summary: Richard Vincent raced motorcycles, surfed, sailed, karted, flew planes, and hotrodded around Santa Barbara from the late 1950s through 1967. He did everything we love to do now, but 50 years ago, in the simple days of the ‘Endless Summer’ generation.
Richard was also a photographer, using professional equipment to document his world. He was also great friends with surf/film pioneer George Greenough, who shot 16mm films of Richard racing motorcycles, while Richard filmed George surfing, and both documented the scene around Santa Barbara in the 1960s.
Richard was tall, athletic, handsome, and started winning races by 1965 on a very special Velocette racer he developed with Lou Branch. But Richard was drafted in 1967, trained as an officer, and sent to the front lines in Vietnam, where he was badly wounded by an enemy rocket. After a year in hospital, his injuries meant he’d never race competitively again, and he moved to the remote Oregon coast, with his bikes, boards, and gear stored in a barn for 50 years.
Richard emerged, phoenix-like, in 2017, to show his photography and gear at the Wheels&Waves festival.
About the director:
David Martinez: My love of storytelling started when I was 16 while photographing the San Francisco punk scene. What drew me to photography then is what I still love about it now - the endless ways you can use images to tell a story. And what began as a solitary journey has evolved into a highly collaborative process - an integral part of my photography that I really love. I'm always humbled by how many people and places contribute to one single frame.
That youthful curiosity is now coupled with experience, which I call on when it comes to solving creative problems, creating an environment which allows for serendipity, or knowing the perfect time of day or location to frame the stories I want to tell. Ultimately, it's not luck that makes a spontaneous picture happen - but careful consideration of environment, light, talent, and production.
In my life as in my photography, I've learned to value simplicity. It's all about each detail being considered - with care + with intention. I draw from that simplicity not only when I choose a surfboard or curate the objects in my home, but when I approach lighting + composition in a photograph as well. From a pared down approach comes purpose. When I use lights, it's never done excessively - I light with a gentle touch. When I use natural light, I do so with the intention of respecting the integrity of the light itself.
Ultimately, what I love about photography and motion circles back to simplicity. For me, photography and filmmaking are really about a type of minimalism- how to convey complex ideas in a distilled image or short video piece. It's about taking out what isn't needed to reveal the essential.
