Surfing Santa Cruz

kdog · December 23, 2011

My first attempt at shooting surfing. Comments are always welcome.

1

2 Darn surfers move fast. I guess I need to learn how to predict their movements better.

3

4

5

6

7

8

Thanks for looking!
-joel

FlyNavy · December 23, 2011

I really like #8.

Sexy6Chick · December 23, 2011

For your first time I think these are pretty darn good! #8 is my favorite of the bunch! I'm curious to know where you were standing to get these close up shots..even if zoomed in. Nicely done Joel.

PS..no Jeep shots lately..what the heck?!

kdog · December 24, 2011

FlyNavy wrote: »

I really like #8.

Thanks, it's my favorite too.

kdog · December 24, 2011

Sexy6Chick wrote: »

For your first time I think these are pretty darn good! #8 is my favorite of the bunch! I'm curious to know where you were standing to get these close up shots..even if zoomed in. Nicely done Joel.

PS..no Jeep shots lately..what the heck?!

Thanks, Natalie! I was standing on a rock cliff overlooking the ocean using a 500mm lens. I even brought a TC along since most of the surfing shots I've seen are taken with 600mm lenses. But the 500 without the TC was plenty close enough for me. Too close in some cases judging from my framing errors. I'm sure there will be other beaches I visit where the 500 will come up short though.

The reason you haven't seen any Jeeping action from me is that I moved to San Jose, CA. There's really no off-roading locally without being crowded into small off-roading parks or travelling hundreds of miles. I need to do a little work to the Jeep then it's going on the market. :cry

Your latest round of shots are spectacular, BTW. Sorry to hear about the mishap, but I know that pretty much comes with the territory you guys play in.

torags · December 24, 2011

Hey kdog, welcome to the neighborhood

Couple of technical comments:

Try to keep the lip of the wave in frame (& a full surfer)

Your wave foam is blown in #8, you might like to try to kick up contrast a bit. Those plumes can be dramatic.

There's a lot of glare, try f8 - f11, iso 200. You could use a higher shutter speed to stop the foam

It takes a little practice, but you're in a great spot for surfing.

Further up the coast at Waddel Creek you can catch ocean (vs Bay) kite surfing after 3pm (you can get away with 300mm there.)

kdog · December 25, 2011

torags wrote: »

There's a lot of glare, try f8 - f11, iso 200.

Hey Rags, thanks for the welcome and the tips.

Maybe I'll see you out there some time.

-joel

torags · December 25, 2011

kdog wrote: »

Hey Rags, thanks for the welcome and the tips.

Maybe I'll see you out there some time.

-joel

Yup, I like to shoot the ONeill Coldwater there.

Keep your eye out for Mavericks. The watch begins on 1/1.

Sexy6Chick · December 26, 2011

kdog wrote: »

Thanks, Natalie! I was standing on a rock cliff overlooking the ocean using a 500mm lens. I even brought a TC along since most of the surfing shots I've seen are taken with 600mm lenses. But the 500 without the TC was plenty close enough for me. Too close in some cases judging from my framing errors. I'm sure there will be other beaches I visit where the 500 will come up short though.

The reason you haven't seen any Jeeping action from me is that I moved to San Jose, CA. There's really no off-roading locally without being crowded into small off-roading parks or travelling hundreds of miles. I need to do a little work to the Jeep then it's going on the market. :cry

Your latest round of shots are spectacular, BTW. Sorry to hear about the mishap, but I know that pretty much comes with the territory you guys play in.

Well this makes me sad for 2 reasons..1) you moved out of AZ and 2) you're selling the Jeep. Say it isn't so!:cry

We already have the replacement parts for the truck and it will be back on the the trails soon

kdog · December 27, 2011

Sexy6Chick wrote: »

Well this makes me sad for 2 reasons..1) you moved out of AZ and 2) you're selling the Jeep. Say it isn't so!:cry

We already have the replacement parts for the truck and it will be back on the the trails soon

Well thanks, Natalie. I'm sorry we never got a chance to get together for a shoot or a trail ride. Yeah, the Jeep needs to go to a new home where the owner has time to seek out 4x4 trails in CA. I'm a family guy and don't have the time to travel hundreds of miles to get to the good stuff. Living in AZ was the fulfillment of a dream for me, and now it's over and time to move on. Don't feel sorry for me though, northern California ain't too shabby either.

Good luck with the truck repairs and I'll be lurking in the Jeep thread and getting my off-road kicks vicariously through your pictures.

Sexy6Chick · December 28, 2011

kdog wrote: »

Well thanks, Natalie. I'm sorry we never got a chance to get together for a shoot or a trail ride. Yeah, the Jeep needs to go to a new home where the owner has time to seek out 4x4 trails in CA. I'm a family guy and don't have the time to travel hundreds of miles to get to the good stuff. Living in AZ was the fulfillment of a dream for me, and now it's over and time to move on. Don't feel sorry for me though, northern California ain't too shabby either.

Good luck with the truck repairs and I'll be lurking in the Jeep thread and getting my off-road kicks vicariously through your pictures.

It is a bummer we never got to get together for some photography or off-roading. But CA isn't that far and we make it out there once or twice a year. Glad you are liking Northern California.

black mamba · December 31, 2011

Pretty good stuff here, Joel. You know, though, the real pros at this kind of shooting get out in the water with the surfers. I'll be anxious to hear how that works out for you when you ratchet up your activities of surf shooting.

A brief reminder....dive when the boards are about to hit you.:D

Tom

Nikolai · December 31, 2011

Love #8, Joel!