SEED People’s Market is a curation of like-minded humans from all walks of life - Makers, planters, hikers, climbers, and wanderers to name a few. Together, we’re committed to educate sustainability, elevate community, and encourage diversity. People with a Purpose is a celebration of this - Highlighting members of our community, and sharing each story and purpose.

Today, we are celebrating Gabriel Sullivan, aka Curious Gabe; An acclaimed photographer with prints exhibited all across Orange County. From hotrod rides with Brian Bent to the timeless allure of San-O, Gabe has captured the true beauty of our coastline and the faces that have carved it over the years. Chatting over some matcha lattes outside of SEED People’s Market, we discussed his earliest memories as a photographer, the responsibility of being a father, cruising in his dream car, and finding true purpose in life.

Gabe, it’s truly a pleasure to have you here at our marketplace. We officially met each other at Dana Point’s Redo Market, but we’ve been introduced to your work at exhibitions such as the ones at the Sawdust Festival and the Coast Film Festival. Can you give a little timeline of your career as a photographer?

I was officially born in San Francisco but moved down here to Orange County in the early 90s and got an internship at Surfer Magazine. I was a student out in Arizona at the time and once I got the internship, I was able to finish my degree while at the magazine. My career at Surfer Magazine lasted about 25 years as the publication folded nearly four years ago.

While I was working at Surfer, I became acquainted with a British vintage, men’s publication called Men’s File. I met the owner, Nick, at a photoshoot in New York. I remember shooting at this beach house, and we both kept getting distracted by the waves and quickly connected through the shared passion for surfing. We kept in touch and soon enough, he asked me to join Men’s File as the West Coast Editor giving readers from across the pond a bit of sunshine from California; The allure of the Californian lifestyle is strongly received out in the U.K. Nick was a huge driving force for me and pushed me to do more artistic photography. He gave me really honest feedback, motivated me to level up, and sent me on the trajectory of doing more fine art photography shows.

Now I’m splitting my time between fine art photography, as well as lifestyle and advertising work. Mainly, I’m staying busy raising my 14-year-old son, Elijah, finding that balance between putting energy into being a dad, allowing time for myself to grow as a person, and leaning into who I want to become. I find it equally important to continue to develop as a human being and to set an example for my son.

Surfer Magazine was such a pinnacle in surf photography and surf journalism. How did you manage to get this internship so early on in your photography career?

I’ve been reading Surfer Magazine cover-to-cover for years and decided to write a letter to the publication, and requested an internship. I didn’t hear back from them, but it wasn’t until the pursing Thanksgiving break that I was invited to a dinner party in La Jolla, and I was seated next to the president of Surfer Magazine! I was able to hold a semi-intelligent conversation with her and she managed to put in good word for me.

Once I got a callback, I hopped in my 1972 Volkswagen Bus and drove from Arizona down to Dana Point where they were headquartered. I slept in my Bus and made all of these tortillas for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Fun fact; I had my interview with Tom Servais in a full suit and tie haha. I was so excited about the whole thing and saw it as a great opportunity for myself. It was just crystal clear that was exactly where I wanted to be and what I wanted to be doing. Before the interview itself, I took this waterproof camera out to Salt Creek, took some barrel shots, got them developed within an hour, and brought them to Tom. Long story short, the interview went okay and he was giving me a hard time for wearing a suit; however, I managed to get the internship successfully. I was all in and did whatever it took; Arriving early, staying late, etc.

Taking a trip down memory lane, do you recall the earliest memory of you holding a camera?

My earliest memory of holding a camera was when my stepdad gifted me a little 35mm film camera; Keep in mind, this is pre-digital haha. I remember taking photos of our cats and dreaming about making little films of blowing up Hot Wheels. That was the beginning of my journey with photography. Furthermore, my father was always taking pictures of me and all of the backpacking trips we did together in Northern California. We spent a lot of time outside together. My mom was also taking pictures as she had a great eye for things.

Having interviewed photographers like Chris Burkard, we've discussed the idea of taking a leap of faith specifically regarding the pursuit of photography as a full-time career. Do you remember the moment you knew to make that leap?

Sure thing! The moment I knew to immerse myself in photography was when I took my first photography class in high school. I got a hold of waterproof housing and brought it with me to the many surf seshes with my buddies. Once my photo of an empty wave was selected and put up in a display case at school, it became a huge milestone regarding my work being noticed and a turning point in taking this photography thing seriously as a career.

Photographers often battle with the quality vs quantity dilemna; Whether focusing on getting that "dream shot” or just shooting away until something clicks. What’s your approach to your work especially when it’s client-based?

That’s a good question. I’ve had great experiences with commissioned work; however, part of me wishes that I had the full flexibility to shoot whatever I wanted because I could just keep clicking away. That’s the big thing about personal work; You can do exactly what you want and just put it out there. And more often than not, brands resonate with that kind of work. That can then put you in the position to continue exploring what truly is fulfilling to you and your photography.

Back to the original question, on the commercial side of things, one of my favorite modes of shooting is to leave room for the unexpected. I tend to have a loose shot list, but make sure to allow vulnerability to present itself, and to be ready for those special moments and for those stars to align. It boils down to curating an environment or experience that’s going to be conducive to some beautiful imagery; That’s where the magic happens.

We couldn’t help but admire the moments captured of your son. Do you have a memorable photoshoot with Elijah?

I think that most dads can relate to the importance of capturing moments of their children. On a more personal level, I remember having a recent photoshoot with Elijah in Laguna Beach. I guess you could say we had pretty low expectations for the waves that day, but I decided to take out the camera housing and give it a shot. We walked down to the sand and he ran ahead towards the waves. He managed to catch a wave soon after and I was able to capture a gnarly sequence of photos with the cliffs shining behind him. It was just one of those magical lighting scenarios with the waves breaking on the cliff, birds flying over the horizon, and no one else in sight. It was a rare moment when things were just so beautiful and personal for me, and I was able to find a lot of joy in that experience.

Let’s talk more about fatherhood. Did you learn the most about being a father through the relationship with your dad? Or has the experience been more of a “learn as you go” process?

Fatherhood… such a great topic. Some of my favorite memories of my dad and I were backpacking in the Sierras, playing on the beach, and just spending those moments outside. There’s something really important about being outside and being active for a father and son. It doesn’t get any better for that type of relationship. My dad was also a woodworker and invited me to watch over his projects and learn these tangible skills with my own hands. And as I’ve mentioned, my father also did a great job documenting these moments behind the lens. 

And as a father, I love to document as many moments with Elijah as I can. When he was little, I would take these long video takes of him playing with Hot Wheels and LEGOs. I’m really glad I did because it’s so fun to look back and see these long clips of him. There’s not a whole lot going on, but being able to see the nuance of those different ages is pretty awesome.

Going back to your question, I’m only just realizing now that one of the main reasons why I love shooting photos and videos of Elijah is because of my dad.

I’m sure that things are busy nowadays raising a teenager. Have there been any recent life tips or advice that you’ve given to Elijah?

I’m always looking to lead by example for Elijah and give him the best advice. Most recently, we talked about the idea of delayed gratification when it comes to money. Realizing that, “Yeah, it’s cool to buy little trinkets here and there. But you’re 14 now and will start driving in two years.” So, it comes down to giving the option to save towards something that will be more worthwhile.

Going back to the concept of taking leaps of faith and pursuing passions in life, have you encouraged this idea to your son as he soon considers his own career path?

I love that concept and question. I’ve been doing my best to encourage Elijah to pursue what he loves doing and to make space for him to do that. In an ideal world, I would like to be following his lead on how he spends his time and energy during this phase in his life. For example, he’s into aviation and I try to support him the best I possibly can as a dad.

A bit of a backstory on how this feature came to be, we bumped into you at our store a few months after meeting at Redo Market. Was that your first time visiting SEED People’s Market? 

I’ve been coming here for a while now actually! I’m a big fan of the less is better approach and SEED tends to embody that; Tightly curated items and things that are made to last, and I really resonate with that.

And we discussed your relationship with the Danner team. Can you talk about your fascination with the brand and its footwear?

Absolutely. I love the high-quality, functional aspect of their boots. Being close with their team, I was able to tour their facility up in Oregon. It was amazing to see how everything operates; They’ve continued to use these vintage sewing machines to make their product. I find the, “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it,” approach incredibly appealing. Danner also has a firm direction towards repurposing. They offer their Boot Recrafting services where you can send your shoes up to Oregon and they’ll recraft the boot to near-fully functional and ready to hit the trail once more. I really respect that; It’s such a high standard to stand by their product and to deliver that type of service. Even the thought of passing the boots onto Elijah someday is fun to think about and you can’t say that about a lot of products these days.

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Let’s address the green and blue elephant in the room; Your stunning 1972 Volkswagen Bus. What gravitated you towards classic cars, but more-specifically the Bus?

For whatever reason, I’ve been attracted to the Volkswagen Bus since I could remember. The utility of it was one of the main reasons why. The incredible design and the efficient use of space are truly remarkable. Being a surfer, having a self-contained vehicle and the ability to store several surfboards made it the perfect car.

I’m sure there’s been many road trips in the Bus. What’s the perfect weekend destination?

Being in Southern California, I like the quick escape up to Big Sur. And back when I was living in Northern California, it was easy making it down to that area as well. I also love going down to Baja in the VW. It’s kind of perfect being so self-contained, sleeping in the Bus, and having everything you need.

Were there any close calls or significant hiccups going up to Big Sur or down to Baja?

There’s been plenty. Within the moment, those situations feel horrible; however, they become the best stories, right? More recently, I took a trip in a different vehicle; The 1984 Land Rover Defender. We were entering Santa Barbara on route to Big Sur. I noticed that the power was completely off with the Defender and later figured out that one of the fuel lines was broken and gas was flooding out. We were able to limp our way into the next gas station, and a stranger approached us so ecstatic; “I used to have one of these Defenders and it brings back the best memories,” and so on. I talked about the issue we were having and he was able to spot the problem right away. We ended up spending the whole day together and drove to nearly every car part store in the area. He was so friendly and we eventually exchanged contacts. 

We would like to conclude our amazing discussion with a question we’d like to ask everyone; What do you believe is your purpose in life?

My purpose goes back to the season of being a dad and taking on the responsibilities of raising a son. Managing those day-to-day duties while also reaching my full potential as a human being, and setting a good example for Elijah and others to follow. I believe that there’s so much value in being intentional in pursuing our dreams and making even the smallest progress in becoming who we truly want to be. If I can get one step closer every day, that alone can make a huge difference in how I feel and how I am to be around. I feel like I’m at ease in my own skin and have way more to offer to the world.

WRITER & EDITOR

Robert Minns

PHOTOGRAPHER

Robert Minns

VIDEOGRAPHER

David Linkletter

OTHER IMAGERY

Provided by Gabriel Sullivan

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