2007 FINALISTS:
(click their names to learn more about each finalist)

Pete Taras | Nick Hamilton | Endre Lovaas

Jody Morris | Jeff Curtes

PETE TARAS Home: San Clemente, California

Pete Taras grew up in San Clemente. The son of a flamenco guitar player Dad and hippie Mom.   His grandfather was a photographer. The photographer was a revolutionist who fought the reds in the early wars and was eventually hung by Stalin himself. He comes from a long line of creative types. Some just to name a few would be Johnny Apple Seed and the semi-famous painter Judith Chapman. Peter's been shooting photos for 8 years but spends most of my time locked in the offices of Transworld Surf Magazine playing Photo Editor. “I shoot photos very seldomly and randomly because I really edit more than shoot nowadays. I've been trapped in magazine making from day one 1998. I still get out there for specific assignments and I shoot a lot of portraits, people, lineups and the action shots”. Besides photography he really likes to paint. “I actually paint just as much as I shoot. I work with Gesso and Oil and create nice abstract little pieces that hang in friend's houses as well as in my own. I'm not very good at it but it's fun”. Besides photography Pete spends time reading books. That and chess which he is obsessed with. “Sometimes we drink, and share pints among our little crew. That's all there is to do at night really in San Clemente. Sometimes on the weekends we throw 80's dance parties for each other and rock out to music like Justice, Arcade Fire, On Montreal, Sebastian and Daft Punk. You can never have enough Daft Punk”.