by Jerome D.
Introduction
Chris Burkard (b. 1986, Arroyo Grande, California) is one of the most recognised adventure and surf photographers working today — a Sony Global Imaging Ambassador whose images of surfers in the Arctic, climbers in Patagonia, kayakers in remote Icelandic fjords, and landscapes at the edges of the inhabited world have built an Instagram following of over 3.9 million and made him one of the defining visual voices of the outdoor adventure genre.
He is entirely self-taught. He grew up on California's central coast, began photographing the surf culture around him as a teenager, and turned professional in his early twenties without formal training. His early career was built on California surf photography — work that gave him both the technical foundation for shooting fast, unpredictable subjects in difficult conditions and the physical relationship with the ocean that continues to define his practice.
The decisive shift in his career came when he began pursuing cold-water surf photography — deliberately seeking out the most remote, inhospitable coastlines on earth: Iceland, Norway, the Faroe Islands, the Aleutian Islands, Greenland. These were not places where surf photography had been done seriously before. The images that resulted — surfers in dark, violent North Atlantic swells, small human figures against overwhelming volcanic landscapes — had a visual character and emotional weight that California surf photography could not approach.
His TED Talk, The Joy of Surfing in Ice Cold Water, has been viewed over 4 million times and captures the philosophical dimension of his practice: the deliberate pursuit of discomfort and remoteness as the condition for images that feel genuinely earned rather than merely captured.
Beyond photography, Burkard is a filmmaker — his documentary Under an Arctic Sky (2017), following a group of surfers during one of the worst storms in Iceland's recorded history, is one of the most widely seen adventure surf films of the decade. He has published multiple books and has worked with clients including National Geographic, The North Face, Patagonia, Apple, and Google.
As he puts it: "There's really nothing special about it. It's great light, and it's a great scene, but what makes it unique is the fact that I had to kayak four-and-a-half hours to get there."
Camera Gear Used by Chris Burkard
Burkard is among the most transparently documented photographers on this site — his own FAQ page at chrisburkard.com lists every camera body and lens he uses, updated regularly. He has also published multiple "In My Bag" articles on Sony's Alpha Universe platform describing his kit in specific detail with direct quotes. Everything below is sourced from his own website or his own words.
Primary Cameras
Sony A7R V — His confirmed primary camera for commercial work, stated directly on his FAQ page: "The A7RV is my go-to for commercial work, the R stands for Resolution and provides unparalleled reproduction for large prints and client needs." Also confirmed by Equipboard via a dedicated Sony "In My Bag" video. The 61-megapixel full-frame sensor gives him files large enough for billboard reproduction and large-format fine art printing — a practical requirement for a photographer whose commercial clients include Apple and Google, and whose landscape images are frequently printed at very large scale.
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| Sony A7R V check price on Amazon |
Sony A7R IV — His previous primary camera, confirmed on his FAQ page as a camera he retains alongside the A7R V. He used the A7R IV as his main commercial body before the R V's release and continues to reference it in his gear documentation. Also confirmed in the Sony Alpha Universe "What's In My Bag" article: "Shot with the 100-400mm lens while capturing the Billabong surf team on the south coast of Iceland. Sony Alpha 7R IV."
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| Sony A7R IV |
Sony A7S III — His dedicated low-light and astro body, stated explicitly on his FAQ page: "The Sony A7SIII is what I shoot for my night and astro images. This camera was built for sensitivity at high ISO." Also confirmed by Equipboard and the Sony Alpha Universe. For his cold-water and Arctic work — where long nights, aurora photography, and low-light coastal scenes are standard challenges — the A7S III's extraordinary high-ISO performance is directly relevant.
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| Sony A7S III check price on Amazon |
Sony Alpha 9 — His confirmed high-action camera for surf, snow, and aerial photography, described in his own words on Sony Alpha Universe: "I cut my teeth shooting surf in the days of film, so having the ability to shoot 20 frames a second is still something I have trouble wrapping my head around. This is absolutely my go-to camera for any high-action scene including surf, snow, and aerial photography." The α9's 20fps blackout-free shooting allows him to capture precise moments within the violence of heavy surf that no lower-frame-rate camera could reliably produce.
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| Sony A9 check price on Amazon |
Sony A6500 (APS-C) — His lightweight system for expeditions where weight is critical, stated on his FAQ page: "When I want to strip down and go super light I use the Sony A6500 as well as when shooting in the water. This camera is perfect for sports photography, hiking, climbing and anytime you need to be weight conscious." He has also used it professionally: "I have shot this camera on commercial and editorial assignments all over the globe. I've shot covers, billboards and large prints with it with no problems."
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| Sony A6500 check price on Amazon |
Sony RX100 VII — His ultra-compact pocket camera for situations where even the A6500 is too large. Confirmed in Sony Alpha Universe: used during the south coast of Iceland bike rafting expedition for The Forgotten Coast, where he carried it on his bike and raft. He described it as the camera that allowed him to capture moments that would have been impossible with any larger system.
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| Sony RX100 VII check price on Amazon |
Water Housing System
Sony A7R V in AquaTech Water Housing with dome and flat ports — Confirmed on his FAQ page under WATER: "A7RV w/ Voigtländer 10mm f/2.0 fisheye, 55mm f/1.8, and 24mm f/1.4. AquaTech Water Housing with various Dome and Flat ports." His in-water surf photography — where he is physically in the ocean beside the surfers — uses this housing system with specific lens choices for different wave conditions.
Lenses
His FAQ page lists his complete lens kit explicitly — the most direct and comprehensive gear documentation of any photographer featured on this site:
Sony FE 16-35mm f/2.8 GM II — His primary wide-angle lens, confirmed on his FAQ page and in Sony Alpha Universe: "The wide angle 16-35mm lens has always been my go-to lens for landscape and adventure photography. The ability to capture the whole scene and the subject in one image is what I love most about landscape photography." He also confirmed it for surf and water housing work.
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| Sony FE 16-35mm f/2.8 GM II check price on Amazon |
Sony FE 24-70mm f/2.8 GM II — Confirmed on FAQ page and in a dedicated Sony "In My Bag" video: described as "a key piece of camera gear he relies on for commercial shoots, documentary projects, and expeditions." On Alpha Universe he adds: "I bring this lens everywhere and I think everyone who has seen my photos can attest to that."
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| Sony FE 24-70mm f/2.8 GM II check price on Amazon |
Sony FE 70-200mm f/2.8 G Master — Confirmed on his FAQ page. Part of his core three-lens kit. In the original Alpha Universe Iceland article he stated: "These three lenses form the basic kit for 90% of the shoots. I'd have to say that nearly 75% of the images I create end up being from one of these lenses." (Referring to the 16-35mm, 24-70mm, and 70-200mm trio.)
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| Sony FE 70-200mm f/2.8 G Master check price on Amazon |
Sony FE 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6 GM — Confirmed on FAQ page and in Sony Alpha Universe with an example image. Used for longer reach on surf sequences and wildlife.
Sony FE 200-600mm f/5.6-6.3 G — Confirmed on FAQ page. His longest lens, used for extreme telephoto reach when photographing distant subjects in large landscapes or wildlife.
Sony FE 14mm f/1.8 GM — Confirmed on his FAQ page and in a dedicated Sony "In My Bag" video where he describes it as his "go-to lens for ultra-wide-angle shooting" and his favourite for "shooting surf in a water housing and big wall shooting."
Sony FE 35mm f/1.4 GM — Confirmed on FAQ page. Used for environmental portrait work and storytelling images where a moderate wide angle with shallow depth of field is appropriate.
Sony FE 55mm f/1.8 ZA — Confirmed on FAQ page and in his water housing kit. A compact, extremely sharp prime used both on land and in the AquaTech housing.
Sigma 20mm f/1.4 Art (with adapter) — Confirmed on FAQ page as an adapted lens used on his Sony bodies. Used for astrophotography and wide-field night work where the f/1.4 maximum aperture is a significant advantage over native Sony options at this focal length.
Voigtländer 10mm f/2.0 fisheye — Confirmed specifically for water housing use on his FAQ page. The extreme wide-angle fisheye is a standard tool for in-the-water surf photography, where the camera is inches from the breaking wave and maximum coverage is essential.
Accessories
Peak Design Travel Tripod — Confirmed on Sony Alpha Universe: "In terms of design and weight, the Peak Design tripod is one of the best out there. I'm always looking for the lightest gear possible when traveling and on expeditions."
Peak Design Camera Straps — Confirmed on Alpha Universe: "On every camera I have a Peak Design camera strap."
PolarPro Circular Polarizer filters — Confirmed on Alpha Universe: "Whenever I shoot I always have a circular polarizer on every lens. When it comes to outdoor photography, a CP filter is a must." He uses CP filters on every lens for every outdoor shoot — controlling reflections, improving contrast, and intensifying colour in ocean, sky, and landscape work.
DJI drones (multiple models) — Confirmed across multiple sources including his FAQ page. He uses DJI drones for aerial coverage of surf sequences and landscape work, adapting which model he uses based on the expedition's weight and portability requirements.
Technique and Style
Chris Burkard's photography is defined by physical commitment to the subject, deliberate pursuit of remote and hostile environments, and a compositional philosophy of human smallness within vast natural space.
His most celebrated images place a small human figure — a surfer, a climber, a kayaker — within an enormous, often threatening landscape: a volcanic coastline, a storm-lit Arctic sea, a crevassed glacier. The relationship between the tiny human and the overwhelming environment is not incidental — it is the subject. His images are fundamentally about scale: what it means to be human in the presence of forces incomparably larger than yourself.
This approach requires that he be physically present in the environments he photographs, sharing the conditions with his subjects. He surfs in the same waters his subjects surf. He climbs to the same positions. He paddles the same four-and-a-half hours to get to the location. This physical commitment is not adventurism for its own sake — it is the condition of images that feel authentic rather than observed from a distance. As he acknowledged in his TED Talk, the pursuit of discomfort is deliberate: "You have to be willing to be uncomfortable."
His kit selection reflects this philosophy. He uses multiple Sony bodies precisely matched to different shooting scenarios — the high-resolution A7R V for commercial landscape work, the A9 for high-speed surf sequences, the A7S III for night and aurora work, the A6500 for expeditions where every gram matters. Each camera serves a specific purpose; none is carried unnecessarily.
His three core lenses — the 16-35mm f/2.8 GM II, 24-70mm f/2.8 GM II, and 70-200mm f/2.8 — cover "90% of shoots" by his own account, with the wider and longer lenses added for specific subjects. The 16-35mm is his landscape and environment lens; the 70-200mm is his surf and action lens; the 24-70mm is the versatile middle ground that carries the majority of his storytelling images.
He uses circular polarizer filters on every lens in every outdoor shoot — one of the most emphatic gear recommendations he makes. For ocean and coastal work especially, the CP filter manages reflections from water and wet rocks in a way that no amount of post-processing can replicate.
How to Imitate His Style in Post-Processing
Burkard's images have a specific, recognisable character: cool, desaturated skies against vivid foreground water, high dynamic range preservation, and a quality of atmospheric moodiness that comes from shooting in overcast, dramatic light conditions rather than golden hour. Pixlr is an excellent tool for approaching his look:
Cool the highlights, warm the shadows.
His images from Arctic and sub-Arctic locations have a specific colour temperature balance — the grey-blue quality of cold ocean light in the highlights, with slightly warmer tones in the shadows where reflected light from rock and sand gives a subtle amber cast. In Pixlr's Colour Grading tool, add a slight cool blue tint to the highlights and a very gentle warm tint to the shadows.
Preserve shadow detail aggressively.
His images almost never have crushed blacks. Dark volcanic rock, shadowed cliffs, and deep troughs between waves all hold detail. In Pixlr's Curves tool, lift the shadow point very slightly from zero — not enough to grey out the blacks, but enough to retain texture in the darkest areas.
Desaturate the sky, protect the ocean.
His sky tones are typically cool and relatively muted — the overcast white-grey of Nordic weather. His ocean greens and blues are the most vivid colour in the frame. In Pixlr's HSL tool, reduce the saturation of blues and cyans in the sky selectively, while protecting or slightly boosting the teal-green tones of the ocean water.
Use a circular polarizer before post-processing.
His strongest recommendation for outdoor photography — a CP filter in the field — produces a quality of colour and reflection control that no Pixlr adjustment can replicate. If you are shooting water, skies, or any reflective surface, the physical filter should come first. Pixlr handles the refinement.
How to Shoot Like Chris Burkard
Go where the image requires, not where it is easy.
His most celebrated images are the product of hours of kayaking, climbing, or surfing in conditions most photographers would avoid. The physical commitment is not separate from the quality of the result — it is the condition of it. Ask what access the image actually requires and pursue that access, however inconvenient.
Match your camera to the specific task.
He carries multiple bodies because different shooting scenarios genuinely require different cameras. Before any shoot, identify which specific capability is most critical — resolution, speed, low-light performance, weight — and choose the body accordingly. The wrong camera for the scenario produces images that feel compromised regardless of the technique applied.
Use the three-lens core kit.
His own recommendation: the 16-35mm, 24-70mm, and 70-200mm trio covers 90% of situations. Before adding specialist lenses, master this range. The 16-35mm for environment and scale, the 70-200mm for action and isolation, and the 24-70mm for everything else.
Shoot in the conditions others avoid.
His Arctic work was possible precisely because nobody else was doing it. Storm light, grey skies, horizontal rain, crashing surf — the conditions that most photographers shelter from are the conditions that produce images with the weight and drama his work is known for. Invest in weatherproof gear and clothing that allows you to work in conditions that keep others indoors.
Put the CP filter on before you start.
His insistence on circular polarizers for every outdoor lens is one of the most practically useful recommendations in adventure and landscape photography. It is not a sometimes-lens — it is a default.
Earn the shot physically.
The four-and-a-half hour kayak to Lake Maligne produced an image that nobody else had, because nobody else was willing to make that journey to stay for sunset. The physical effort is part of the image's meaning — and its rarity. Find the shot that requires something most photographers won't do, and do it.
Legacy
Chris Burkard's contribution to adventure and outdoor photography is the demonstration that cold-water, remote-location surf and landscape photography could sustain both a fine art practice and a commercially viable career — and that the physical commitment required to make those images was not a liability but the source of their power.
His influence on the outdoor photography genre is substantial: the aesthetic of small human figures in vast, hostile landscapes that now dominates adventure photography on Instagram owes a significant debt to his early Arctic work. He made the inhospitable photogenic and the remote aspirational.
His documentary work — particularly Under an Arctic Sky — extended his practice beyond still photography into long-form storytelling, demonstrating that the same visual intelligence and physical commitment that produced his photographs could sustain a feature-length film narrative.
As a Sony Global Imaging Ambassador, he has served as one of the most visible advocates for mirrorless camera systems in professional adventure and outdoor photography, helping to establish Sony's Alpha system as the standard choice for working photographers in this genre.
His TED Talk, his books, his YouTube channel, and his social media presence collectively represent one of the most effective photography education platforms in the adventure genre — making technical knowledge and creative philosophy accessible to a very large audience of aspiring outdoor photographers.
Books by Chris Burkard
The California Surf Project (2009, Chronicle Books) — His debut book, a fully illustrated travel diary of a surf road trip along California's Highway 1 from Oregon to the Tijuana Sloughs.
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| see it on Amazon |
Distant Shores (2014, Chronicle Books) — A survey of cold-water surf photography across the world's most remote coastlines, the book that established his international reputation.
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| see it on Amazon |
North (2015, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt) — His Iceland monograph, covering the landscape, culture, and surf of a country that became his most significant photographic subject.
The Boy Who Spoke to the Earth (2017, Chronicle Books) — A children's book written and photographed by Burkard, extending his relationship with the natural world into a different format and audience.
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| see it on Amazon |
Conclusion
Chris Burkard photographs with a kit built entirely around Sony's mirrorless system: the Sony A7R V for commercial resolution work, the Sony A9 for high-action surf sequences, the Sony A7S III for night and astro photography, the Sony A6500 for lightweight expedition use, and the Sony RX100 VII for ultra-compact pocket coverage. His core lens trio — the 16-35mm f/2.8 GM II, 24-70mm f/2.8 GM II, and 70-200mm f/2.8 GM — covers 90% of his shooting, supplemented by a 14mm f/1.8 GM, 100-400mm GM, 200-600mm G, and a specialist Voigtländer 10mm fisheye for water housing work.
He uses a Peak Design Travel Tripod, Peak Design straps on every camera, and a PolarPro circular polarizer on every lens in every outdoor shoot. His in-water work is housed in an AquaTech water housing with interchangeable dome and flat ports.
The gear serves one purpose: getting into the most hostile, remote, and beautiful places on earth, and producing images capable of communicating what it actually feels like to be there.
"There's nothing special about it. It's great light and it's a great scene — but what makes it unique is the fact that I had to kayak four-and-a-half hours to get there."
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