Shawn Parkin was born and raised in Orange County, CA, where he grew up immersed in the board sports lifestyle -- surfing, skateboarding, and snowboarding. After graduating college with a bachelor’s degree in graphic design, he was forced by knee injuries to put the surfing and other sports on hold, which is when he picked up a camera. His love and passion for photography grew while working as a graphic designer, and finally he decided to make the jump to full time photography. Since then, his work has been featured in many editorial publications, like The Surfer's Journal, Surfer Magazine, Surfing Magazine, Surfline, X Games, Slide Magazine, Canoe & Kayak, SUP Magazine, On the Board Magazine, Nalu Magazine, and more. He was also awarded the 2012 Follow the Light Award by Surfing Magazine. In addition to his freelance editorial and commercial work, he also works as the Assistant Photo Editor of The Surfer’s Journal. See more of Shawn’s work at www.shawnparkin.com and find him on Instagram at @shawnparkin.