Vincent Morano

This workbench has been the backdrop for near all of my bowl and spoon photos over the last year. I’ll be sad to leave it behind but I’ve got some ideas to create a more mobile version to use wherever I find sunshine ☀️. It’ll be hard to match the character that this bench has taken on after supporting countless projects up here in the treehouse workshop, so maybe when I make my mobile version I should smear grease on it, hit it with a hammer, rub some dirt on it, and then light it on fire a couple times to bring it up to speed 👨🏻‍🏭 . . . This was my first go at a canoe spoon, made of a scrap of black walnut from a tree that came down on S.Union St, Burlington. This one reminds me that I need to plant black walnut as soon as I settle down on a piece of land 🌳. . . . #sloyd #slöjd #woodworking #greenwoodworking #spooncarving #spooncarver #blackwalnut #naturallightphotography #madebyhand #madeinvermont #vermontmade #woodspoons #carvingart #bushcraft

Being in the wood shavings business has its perks, aside from the pure joy of making the wood shavings that keep our compost healthy and help fire the bread oven, I somehow keep ending up with these bowls? The day I arrived @earthskytime I noticed a big ol’ cherry log in the fire wood pile, I split half of it up into spoon blanks, and made this monster salad bowl with the other half. It’s 14” wide and 7” deep. A good size for approximately ‘a whole buncha hungry folks’. Because as someone once said ‘hot dang bubba’. . . . . #holleratyaboiforbowls #madeinvermont #cherrywood #blackcherry #lathe #lathework #latheturning #saladbowl #reclaimedwood #boquete #woodbowl #greenwood #handmadeinvermont #oliverlathe

Today’s coffee and carving project - hand carving the outside of a black walnut bowl that I’ve been eating out of almost every day for the last year and a half. This was the first black walnut bowl I turned, and it’s held up well. This one is feeling excited to be appreciated in a new way. . . . The wood is from a massive tree that was taken down on Howard St. back in 2018 due to some potential trunk rot 🏡. @herd_mentality gave a shout and we went to load up on logs and branches 🙏 . . . . #greenwoodworking #woodbowl #blackwalnut #sloyd @woodtools #stilllifephotography #texture #madeinvermont #woodturning #carvingwood #carvingart #handmade #morningmeditation

It’s a slow morning here as I start to get my energy back after being sick. Drinking coffee in the dappled light and swinging in a hammock had me feeling inspired to finally take a couple photos of this ol’ chunk of lumber. . It’s a 5’7 retro fish shape with glassed on keels. Given the history of the Fish in San Diego, and it being my favorite shape to ride, it felt like an obvious choice for a place to start. . The board is hollow. The construction begins with an internal frame that creates the skeleton for a 1/4” layup of paulownia to be glued on the top & bottom, and plenty of wood along the rails to be able to shape them as desired. It’s all finished with light fiberglass to add some extra strength, and to ensure that it is watertight for years to come. . Video shot by @landshipcustoms on the boards maiden voyage in the water. In true San Diego style, we got some mushy waves and sunshine ☀️. . . . . #handmade #surfboardshaper #woodcraft #woodsurfboard

It was a few years ago when I walked into the soft opening of @hermosasurfshop . @sameri8383 was living a block behind the shop on Chelsea st, and my froth levels were sky high so I was psyched to be poking around looking at their beautiful boards. Now this place feels like it’s always been here. It’s reassuring to see that there is still room left in our world for a place to sit on a couch, watch whatever surf film is on the tv or flip through a coffe table book about the history of surfboard design. The chill factor felt reminiscent of the Coliseum - an iconic Boston area skate shop I grew up going to in the early 2000s. . So I was walking around like a weirdo w a camera on this day and I asked tila if he’d let me do a portrait of him with his art. He was kind enough to pull a piece off the wall and we took it outside for a couple shots. They ended up being some of my favorite portraits I’ve taken in a while. The shop was blocked by parked cars so I couldn’t get a shop front photo like I did with the other spots, but maybe I’ll try again sometime when I’m heading to N PB point for dawn patrol… . . . . #sandiego #sandiego_ca #birdrock #birdrocklajolla #35mm #35mmfilmphotography #photoessay #motoadventure #surftrip #localsurfshop #socalsurf

While my sample size is a bit small to be making this kind of claim, it sure does seem like every cool surf shop has a cool vehicle parked out front. @surf_lounge_repeat was no exception. Grabbed a coffee, took some photos, and moseyed on my way north. . . . #sandiego #sandiego_ca #northpb #35mm #35mmfilmphotography #photoessay #motoadventure #surftrip #surfmuseum #socalsurf

Stop two was @birdssurfshed . My timing could not have been luckier. I was standing in the road framing the first photograph and Bird pulls up, parks perfectly in my frame and walks into the shop. The magic of that timing instantly made my day. . . . . . #sandiego #sandiego_ca #oceanbeachsandiego #35mm #35mmfilmphotography #photoessay #motoadventure #surftrip #surfmuseum #socalsurf

I’ve witnessed too many friends fall victim to false negative reports from Surfline. We make plans to surf, and then they check conditions. Next thing I know I’m surfing solo. Don’t get me wrong, I recognize it as a powerful and useful forecasting tool. But good waves don’t generally feel like a prerequisite for a fun session. It’s a bonus, but so long as there’s something to surf it’s a better time than not surfing. Being in the water is always an opportunity to play, splash, experience joy, and appreciate the ocean. So I approached this day as I approach surfing. After a morning run the idea came to me - I would load a board onto my motorcycle and ride north on the stretch of coast which feels like home. From OB to Encinitas I would photograph a few of my favorite surf shops and finally get the wax I’ve been meaning to re supply on as the water temps drop. Then I’d surf somewhere in Encinitas. I didn’t check conditions, I didn’t make sure any of the shops were open (and some weren’t). I had an idea, followed through, and got to experience the joy of a day unplugged, making photographs, drinking tasty coffee and having some good chats. . . . 📷1: @imperfects storefront 📷2: I ran into my friend Grant in the shop and we did a portrait 📷3: inside imperfects w one of their beautiful boards. There might even be a pair of @ombraz somewhere in the photo… . . . . #sandiego #sandiego_ca #oceanbeachsandiego #35mm #35mmfilmphotography #photoessay #motoadventure #surftrip

After almost losing my pinky finger and not being able to surf or be in the ocean for the last 3 weeks, it was a gift to have some commissions lined up that I could turn. The joy and creativity of making things on the lathe was missing from my life. Feeling real thankful for friends who ask me to make cool and obscure (see next post =p) things. Here we have some hand reels - ultra lightweight backcountry fishing ‘poles’. The spool area is hollowed out for hook and lure storage so it’s got everything you need to catch a little stream snack while you are out for a mosey. I was inspired by the simplicity of the design and its high utility to size ratio so I made a couple for myself which will likely turn into either gifts or tacos💥 The jolidays are coming in hot - so holler if you have and angler in your life, and give them the gift they really want - future taco 🎣 🌮 The photos are a bit under exposed here, I’m workshopping a new photo setup but overall these little guys were fun to shoot. The shapes are sleek, the black walnut was feeling cozy, and these little hand reels seem to have big personalities. Open for commissions and sky is the limit for wood choice on these - I’d love to turn one from some Burl or super curly maple 🥰 Side rant since you’ve read this far…I think we should replace GDP with PPW (pomegranates peeled weekly) as an overall indication of economic health. If we all had time to leisurely peel at least two pomegranates per week and eat them with our friends I think the world would be a different place 😬😬 . . . . . #handreel #rainbowtroutfishing #rainbowtroutflyfishing #fishoftheday #ultralightfishing #ultralightangler #ultralightbackpacking #woodturner #handmadegift #giftideas #blackwalnut #mahoganyfurniture

I like making photographs. I like the moment leading up to a photograph when something has told me that the time is now. I like the anticipation of framing and focusing and hoping that everything is right-enough to create an image that will make me feel something when I look back at it. I like that the photos invite me to reflect back on a moment lost to time. But most of all I like that I have friends who love me and who I love. . . . . #35mmfilm #35mmportrait #filmphotography #pals #perkinsdiesel

I was recently commissioned to turn some big ol’ handles for some big ol’ chisels. So I went to Blacks beach, set up the lathe and got to play with three of my favorite species — Maple, Cherry, and Black Walnut. I burnished them with the steel of the tool, then worked ebony and padauk into the grooves (and all over the big one). I finally got them out over the weekend for a sunny beach day to photograph. If ya got any tools needing new handles, just holler! . . Photos of me by @kriscarreon . . . Handles for @maudomingues . . . . #woodturning #handmadetools #californiawoodworker #woodturner #sandiegocraft #customtools #finewoodworking #turningtools

Getting through a backlog of film that I had developed a while ago and forgot about. This timeless frame of Al and Sophie at Shakey Ground feels like years ago. It was late October, 2024, on the box trucks maiden voyage. Later that night we probably canned salsa and carved spoons. Maybe we smoked a spliff, but we definitely sat down on our favorite rug and ate a big salad for dinner. . . .