Practice, Practice, Practice

I’ve realised recently that I like the idea of being a surf photographer as opposed to actually being one, it’s bloody cold at the moment and getting changed and freezing cold gravel is probably one of the worst ways to get out of a wetsuit.

I’ve always loved Scott Aichner’s under the lip shots (see shot number two in this feature). I’m pretty happy with this one I got on Christmas Day. It’s a pity it’s an empty, but like the title says, it’s all practice. Even with this little two foot one it was pretty nervous putting myself right under the lip, normally I’m just inside the barrel and the lip passes right over me. It was all good though.

 

Here’s a shot of one the most frustrating parts of a session, it’s when I actually make it into a decent position and the surfer (Damo in this case) doesn’t make the wave. This isn’t a complaint about the surfers though, just unlucky is all. In fairness the surfers usually make most waves and I’m usually in the wrong spot. It’s all part of the game though, the highs aren’t as high without the lows. Imagine he’d made it though that thing is huge. It’s why I keep paddling out there.

What a Christmas Present

A new wave, and what a wave. I’ve decided I don’t like slabs as much as I used to. They’re too unpredictable. I got such a beat down this morning.
Solid six foot wave broke a few metres in front of me so I dove down and lay on the reef. This didn’t do any good at all, the wave picked me up and gave me one of the most violent beatings I’ve had in a while (although I say that about the worst beating of every session). One of the ones where I got rag dolled for a few seconds, suddenly felt air on my face, opened wide and gulped in while I could but all I got was a mouthful of water as I got sucked back under for more thrashing about. But at least I didn’t hit the reef or loose my fins/housing.

I can’t believe I’m complaining though, Damo took at least three if not four proper beat downs, one of which he had to get out and walk back across the reef afterwards, and he kept paddling into them.

Hope everyone else had a good day. Photos when I get back to Cork.

Happy New Year

Yes today is the 22nd which means that the days are getting longer and that seems a much more sensible calender to follow than some random old Roman one (open to correction on the origin).

Swell is pumping all week and winds are mostly good for the west and north coasts. Have a good christmas and go get wet.

Only in Dreams

Crazy dream last night, which I remembered for a change. It all came back to me when I opened the boot of my car and saw my flippers.

 

We were all sitting on the prom in Lahinch (I don’t know who, it was just “us”). We saw Lowey cranking off the bottom on a big chunky Puerto Escondido style wave and all started hooting. I had my suit and fins with me, but didn’t have a board so I borrowed one from Dan Skaj.

As I was swimming out I realized I had forgotten to put my fins on so had to go back put them on then swim out again, just as I was getting out the back Lowey dropped into a big set wave right in front of me. Then I realised I had no idea how to ride a bodyboard properly, set a rail or even duckdive the bloody thing. All this was going through my head as I watched a ten foot lip break in slow motion a few metres away (that was brilliant).

I managed to get the board under the wave and was compressed flat against it. This was one the most realistic and trippy parts of a dream I’ve ever had. I didn’t get washed around too much, but I do remember looking back up and seeing all the roiling mass of water as the wave passed over me. (If you’ve never done it you definitely should, probably easier if you don’t have a board attached to you.)

 

Pretty stoked this morning

Back Once Again

Man it’s good to get back in the water.

I actually surfed myself on Saturday and shot water for the first time in nearly two months on Sunday. 

Now, being a photographer my surfing has suffered a fair bit in the past few years. On my first wave on Saturday I popped up made the bottom turn (barely) and flew down the line. I couldn’t believe the speed I was going at and started laughing my head out loud and promptly fell off. The next one was slightly better in that I managed to stay standing for more than a second. But man what a feeling, I paddled back out to Ruben and said “So this is why people surf, oh yeah I remember now.”

Sunday was the usual mix of driving round the coast trying to find somewhere sheltered and as it’s nearly 21st it was pretty much dark by the time we got in the water.

Damo was surfing a new peak that he christened “The Exorcist” because it doesn’t spit, it projectile vomits. Kid’s got class

I was trying to shoot a different peak at the start before Damo paddled over to tell me how good it was at The Exorcist. He paddled off with me slowly following (swimming is a lot slower than on a board). As I was swimming over to him he snuck into two head high barrels and was blasted out of them as well, all I could do was watch from the distance knowing the wide angle wouldn’t pick it up at all.

By the time I got there the light was dying really quickly so I had to mess with all my settings, hence the shallow depth of field in the shots and boost them loads in post as well. Ruben and Cian followed me over from the first peak to see what the deal was and were rewarded by a clean tube that vomited all over me as they arrived.

But, the tide was pushing in quickly making it harder for the guys to scrape into any as the wave was jacking up really quickly. I didn’t care at all though I was sat inside in the impact zone laughing my head off as super clean head high barrels erupted around me.

At one stage I was looking through the camera shooting an empty a little down the line and caught some movement out of the corner of my eye, I looked up and realised  the wave had closed out and I was in the middle of a solid four foot dark green keg, just the top of the wave getting any light at all, typically though the shot was way too dark.

My point from all of this rambling is that it didn’t matter a damn that I wasn’t getting any usable shots, I had the time of my life just sitting watching all these barrels explode around my head, although it would have been nice to shoot them, guess I need to get the MK3 soon.

Does it really matter

I hate bodyboarders.

 

That is one of the stupidest statements I have ever heard. Wht the hell does it matter what way a person rides a wave, as long as they’re having a good time and not getting in the way of other people (take note kayakers*). Surely a barrel is a barrel regardless of what position you’re in when you’re in it? Surfers may as well be lying down for half of their backside barrels they’re pigdogging so hard.

I’ve gotten to meet and know a good few lidders on my travels (or more usually theirs) and my respect for them has just increased each time. They’re just looking for waves like everyone else.

I’ve had the pleaseure of hanging out with Danny Boy Skajarowski (hope I got that right) a good bit and as a result have more shots of him than most other bodyboarders.

So here’s to all wave riders no matter what way you ride them*

*Kayakers in general have no control over their water craft and are therefore excluded from my almost all-embracing hug.

Oh Christmas Tree, Oh Christmas Tree

Yes it’s Christmas and this year I’m trying to remain upbeat and in the Christmas mood for the whole thing.

So on Saturday we went to get our tree, at first I was kind of annoyed because it was sunny and there was meant to be waves up the coast but I got over that and realised that I don’t have to go take photos every time there’s surf. Like most surfers I tend to get very cranky if I think I’m missing waves, but this being Ireland I’m usually not missing much, this winter seems to be me to have been pretty bad for consistent surf, especially compared to last winter. I suppose it’s about time Ireland lived up to it’s fickle reputation.

Anyway, I think we did a pretty good job of it.

I’ve also been getting annoyed and worried about my lack of photo output recently. Been thinking about art and my talent and is it worth anything and all that stuff. I feel a bit wankery considering myself an artist most of the time, but I guess that’s because I have a poor opinion of “artists”. In the end I usually settle on the fact that I’m producing something that nobody else has so far and that has to mean something. But then I usually start worrying about how good is the stuff that I’m producing and I usually decide that it should be better, I should work more on trying to get the shot exactly as I see it, that I should work more with lighting and shade, that I should be setting up photos, that my photos should mean something.

In fairness, water shots, which is what I shoot 90% of the time isn’t a whole lot more than luck.
You’re never in charge of the lighting and it’s pretty damn hard to get exactly the angle you wanted to get unless the wave is mechanical, or you’re really really good.
For fecks sake, you don’t even look through the camera most of the time. Is that art?
I don’t know.

I just know that I want to be better, and that’s a start.

Sorry about that, it’s been bulding up for a while now.
Back to the photos.

My Lady has amassed a nice collection of decorations in the year we’ve been living together, fairly expensive looking stuff some of it.

There’s a Christmas Market in Cork city which has loads of great little stalls including a brilliant place selling gorgeous cookies and brownies.
The city council have also turned the Peace Park into a Christmas trail for kids, music and lights and a few post boxes for letters to Santa.

I should have posted about this last week and I’m sorry if you didn’t see it but there was a fantastic celestial light show. Venus and Jupiter were pretty much as close as they come (from our point of view) and the moon was swinging just underneath them. But then the really special event was when the moon eclipsed Venus for a few minutes, I managed to watch as Venus gradually crept out from behind. I didn’t have equipment with me so I just watched and was happy.

But to close here is photo I managed to get the night before when I was at home. My tripod mount thing on the camera is broken so I had to wedge the camera in the branches of a tree, meh, it seems to have worked anyway.

You can click on the portrait style posts for bigger versions. And Venus is the brighter one lower down in case you’re wondering.