Visiting old friends
This is Angi. He is from Katiet Village, Mentawai, Sumatra, Indonesia. I guess you could send a postcard to that description and it would probably get to him. Katiet village is the one in front of Lance’s right also know as H.T.’s. Angi now lives on the other side of the point at Lance’s Left where he sells wood carvings to surfers and fishes from his canoe. I see him just about every trip and have known him for about 10 years. He is a pretty simple guy and always wears a smile. A few years ago he started surfing and is starting to get better. I am hoping I bump into him next week when I visit the Mentawais. Maybe we’ll have a surf.
About the photo: Yep, it’s out of focus. So what? It still looks cool right? Sure I threw in the cool border like I processed it in a darkroom and pulled the saturation out of it too, but it all adds to the mystery of the islands where angi lives. Dig it.
Excuses, Excuses
Hey, those aren’t surf photos! What the #@$%? The surf has been epic and your going to show me some lame ass shot of a stage? SickShots sucks! Well, maybe, but there is an excuse er story…
All I have to show for the last 2 months are these non surf photos. It has been a whirlwind of TV commercial projects back to back to back. I’m tired. The jobs have been relentless. Am I complaining? No, not really. Last year was a tough year, so I am taking all the work that comes my way. If it means selling out- show me the money baby! Sorry, but that’s the truth. Lame as it is.
I know this website used to represent all things surf, but don’t worry I haven’t forgotten about you. In fact, next week I am going to the Mentawai Islands to shoot a surf charter. I can’t wait. Return to the roots. Get busy shooting surf and having a swim in the lineup. Froth.
For those who are wondering. The stage is from a Pharmaceutical commercial with a custom built set while photos of the car should answer the question of how they get such cool angles in car commercials! The crane on the top and the camera on the end are all controlled by a remote to follow the car while driving.
Look for Mentawai shots and tweets from the Islands starting next week!
Sickshots in the Annenberg Space for Photography
That’s right some of my favorite surf photos will be on display tomorrow night as part of a sports exhibit at the prestigious Annenberg Space for Photography. I would like to invite all of you, but the event was full in less than a day! If you already have a reservation, my wife and I will be attending, so we will see you there! Cheers!
5 reasons why your surf photography sucks!
Don't be a tool like this guy!
Your surf photos are hideous. It’s true. I’ve seen what you call your ‘work’. You think you have keepers – HA HA! ‘Shithouse’ Magazine is about to run your best wave photo on the cover. Your mom wouldn’t put your photos on the refrigerator. Your Surf Photography sucks.
For the sake of those poor little pixels that you keep punishing, I’m going to write down the 5 mistakes you are making. So listen up, know it all. Write this gospel on a sticky note and put it on your mirror. It’s time to change- to suck less. I know you have aspirations, so let’s see if we can get one of your photos up on facebook without anyone noticing how much it sucks. I’m gonna make it real simple for you. If you can’t get it, sell your Canon Rebel and take up macramé or something. Snap.
1. You put crap in the frame
Do you look through the viewfinder? Really? What the hell do you see? Do you see the whole frame or are you just looking at the main subject? Pay attention Dickweed. There’s an entire scene there. What’s in it? Look around and notice. What’s really there? What do you want in there and where do you want it? (Do you know the ‘rule of thirds’? Well you’ve got google, you bungknocker, go look that shit up and come back when you are ready).
YOU are controlling the Damn camera- MOVE IT, STEER IT, and COMPOSE THE FRAME. Take out the distractions and leave the things that tell the story (while you are at it, go pick up that plastic bag sitting on the ground in your frame it’s good for the environment and saves time in Photoshop later).
Good composition is the biggest thing that separates your hack images from the big boys you aspire to be. Look at some real photographers work (not just surf photographers) and see how they do it. And, lastly, PLEASE stop taking 10 frame bursts for a while. You are killing us. You can’t take one good photo why the hell do you think we want to see 10 of them when they all suck ass.
2. You stand in the same spot
Why do so many of you A-holes stand on the beach all day in the same spot and shoot the same shitty image in the same direction with the same bad result? You piss me off with your laziness and your stupid photos. Move around. God gave you legs- use them (I’m not even going to discuss water shots this time because you can’t even take a land shot yet)! Get a different angle. Climb up something. Lay on the ground. Hide behind some trees and shoot through them. Stand on your head. I don’t give a damn what you do, just don’t stay THERE all day!
The light moves and so should you. Think about where the best vantage point is for the light at that moment and anticipate where you will go as the light changes. Contrary to popular believe there is no ‘bad light’, just bad positioning and exposure (that comes next). And remember what we learned in our last lesson. Put cool shit in your frame. Quit flaming out on this already. This is the biggest reason your photos suck. Are you shooting straight out to sea when you could move just a little and put something cool in the background like a boat or a pier or a palm lined beach? Maybe you don’t want any of that in your picture, that’s fine, then move again. Keep adjusting until you like what you see and then move some more.
This is good time to talk about lens choice because it affects your image as much as moving around. Try different lenses (or, even better, using two cameras with different lenses) to get a different perspective in your new position and see how it looks. Good lens choice can be the difference between a great shot and the photos you currently have in your portfolio. Some of you shoot too close and don’t let the photo breathe- Back off, you’re cramping the scene. Let some negative space liven up your image. Others can’t get up into the action and stand back while the real photographer is capturing the moment, and the action, up close. The trick is to know where to be and which lens to use. This comes from experience, which comes from Practice. It can be learned. Photographers that keep practicing don’t suck. Photographers that suck don’t practice. Giddy up.
3. Your Exposure sucks (program mode is for pussies)
No, this is not about linking your crappy website to your facebook and twitter accounts to get ‘exposure’ for your so-called ‘work’. Why in the world would anybody want to see your blown out pictures. No, this is about that overlooked little dial on the top of your camera that selects how you expose your photos to light. You know, that knob on your camera that is permanently stuck on ‘P’. You think that means ‘Professional’? You’re the knob.
Again, Google is your friend. If you don’t know how aperture and shutter speed work together with ISO it is time to go do some learning. Don’t be a dickhead- educate yourself. We’ll be here waiting for you…Meanwhile, if you are the person that thinks they understand it, and don’t, and continue to read this diatribe, shame on you. Your photos will never change and you will continue to suck.
Now you aren’t expected to be an expert right away. Take baby steps. Play with Aperture Priority (AV) and Shutter Priority (TV) for a little while and understand how they affect your images. Adjust your ISO for different lighting situations. Learn more about exposure metering. Set up your camera to indicate where your images are ‘blown out’ (I wouldn’t want to encourage more chimping than you are already doing, but it is not a bad idea for your novice ass to see the flashing of your burned out highlights to tell you how much you are sucking with your current exposure- see your manual to learn how to do this, or better yet, put it in your bathroom next to the throne and study it).
The most common rookie mistake in surf photography is overexposed white water with no detail. This will improve how your photos are exposed by 50%. You will start to become a real photographer and not just some pussy wannabe. However, Let’s be clear here- the grown-ups use manual exposure (hell, they use manual everything, but you can’t get your head around that yet). The more you can take control of your camera the better your intended results will be. You can do it by practicing (there’s that word again) and making MISTAKES…over and over…again and again. Mistakes do not suck. Gimps that don’t test their boundaries do.
Practice using manual exposure in changing light by taking your camera out for a date (you can’t get one anyway, so you may as well become a better photographer). Shoot at different times of the day and try to make good exposures. You will improve. You will suck less.
4.You lack Creativity
Dude? What? Are you going to go down to Rocky Point with your 600mm lens? Let me guess your shutter is set at 1/800 or 1/1000 and your aperture is 5.0? Wow, well aren’t you the big man with your original photo. Never seen that one before. Did you shoot an Air? Do you want a medal or a chest to pin it on? Your creativity sucks! Please. Even surf mags have moved on from that shit.
How about taking a 50mm lens and see what you can come up with? How about a remote camera angle? How about bringing a ladder down to the beach for a different view? How about slowing the shutter down or shooting everything purposely out of focus? What have you got to lose? Your images are already the same as everyone else’s- Worthless Kack.
Try something different. Get out of your routine and comfort zone. Would you rather have 100 yawners or one ‘WOW’? Yes, you will blow shots when you experiment, but you got to gamble once in awhile to win big.I know you are scared, but you can do it. The real scary fact is this: If you keep doing what you are doing, you are going to keep getting what you are getting.
5. You’re technologically challenged
Yes, we are going to talk about your piece of shit camera now. The thing you think is causing all the problems. Two words- operator error! Did you notice that this is LAST on the list? Did you notice that this list has been building on itself with each lesson being LESS important than the one before? Can you get that it’s not about the camera? You could go out and buy a $10,000 racing bike and Lance Armstrong is still going to kick your ass on a pink schwinn beach cruiser. The same goes for your equipment. It’s not about the camera.
Don’t be a douche and drop 7G’s on a Lecia M9 and think you are going to be Henri Cartier Bresson. In fact, you don’t deserve a good camera yet. The same goes for lenses. Get good stuff in your frames (see #1) and then slowly buy the goods (i.e. Canon L series lenses). Just keep this in mind- you will always be one lens away from the perfect set up.
The technology I really want to talk about is your workflow. God, do you waste time- Sucking the very life from your computer sitting in front of it for so long. Will you just learn a method of image processing that incorporates consistency whilst protecting your images with backups? Read that again dimwit. Two words- consistency and backup!
I know you are whining, ‘Mr. mean SickShots man, what are you talking about?’ Well, Consistency, in this instance, means constructing a workflow that follows a set of logical steps to process your images.
Your workflow should look something like this: 1. Ingest photos to computer while saving the images on the card 2. select keepers (feel free to delete anything that sucks- even if it is the entire shoot) 3. rename images (incorporate dates and/or location) 4. backup images (mix in an external hard drive – the Pros ‘triple backup’) 5. format card (do this on your camera) 6. process and keyword images (Hey Lightweight- use Lightroom).
People with good workflow have more time to shoot and, hence, Practice more, and don’t suck. This leads to better images that need less processing (you can get exponentially better). Be one of them. Create good habits and think ahead. Have enough hard drive space for your backups. Keep posted on new workflow software and techniques by checking out online forums (Surf Photographers United, SportsShooter, Photo.net, Fred Miranda, etc.). Do it now!
There you have it fool. Get busy. You can do it. Even the top pros sucked at some point in their careers. Get out there! Don’t suck- SHOOT!
Head shots for Shep!
”He looks like the devil”- Dave Collyer
Written by assistant, Jobi Manson
This image was shot in the newly upgraded Dave Collyer head shot studio. The subject located in the photo is Shep. Shep is the man. He came to us in need to some tangible headshot material for some potential acting gigs. Both Dave and I determined that the crimson “Max Payne” effect was appropriate to showcase the menace underneath those rims. The shoot went very well both in and outdoors. He came, we shot, we conquered.
Grandpa Chris back in Hollywood
You may remember Grandpa’s story. The short version is that he was living in Bali and got into a motorcycle accident. His jaw was broken. His shoulder had torn ligaments. His elbow bone was poking through his skin. Oh yeah, and he lost some teeth! Here he is nearly 4 months since the crash and the only thing not repaired yet are his teeth!
Chris stopped by the Studio the other day to say hello. He’s lost some weight since I last saw him, but looks pretty good despite all that he went through the last few months. Here’s an excerpt of his notes as he traveled back to Los Angeles.
travel time…………36 hours, not counting customs at LAX………….the joys of traveling………like an 11 hour layover at the Singapore airport…………although a great airport to be stuck at as there is a pool, gym, free movies in a theater…………..free internet………not bad……except for the 11hours……..well only 6 hours left……….getting tired as I am trying to stay up, to beat the jet lag……..probably will not have any as I have only been here in this time zone since January…………..fun stuff the Indo to LA side of traveling…………..Singapore air is alright with me, forgot I ordered Indian vegitarian back in January, although they did not forget…………managed to stay awake for about 9 1/2 hours of the 11 in Singapore. f-ing with youtube……..a new experience………I might have to upload a few things my self soon……….heading to Hollywood via Japan…………6 hours from Changi to Narita……so that leaves……..about……..an hour to Japan…………..my brand new passport is almost full………..it’s good till 2018………..at this rate it will need more pages in 2010……… indonesians like the 1 page visa’s and lots of stamps for extensions…………..have to use the other one from now on…….it’s empty……….so Narita -LAX must be 11 or so hours………..getting close to the half way point………..it’s 2 hours to LAX……….must have slept for 4 hours, or so, not the good sleep, as the shoulder does not like the economy travel…………I still wear the sling while sleeping, it’s 4 weeks now so I’ll ween myself off that thing, it’s such a hassle…………just off the coast of San Francisco………I am going back to Cali………to Cali……..to Cali……….when I left George Bush was the President, and the Obama hoopla was in full effect………hope……..and……….change were the buzz words……….I hear it’s still getting worse as predicted………….it will be interesting to see what is going on………it will be really nice to see my friends……….and to hang out with my parents……………I am not having to watch for shoplifters, and hand-cuffed(golden of course)to Melrose………….the chinese………or anything else…….a new sense of freedom………freedom from the bondage of corporate America………..it was a good run in the fashions……….8 + solid years…………I saw one of my former Teenage Millionaire clients in Narita Airport while doing the disembark, re-embark shuffel in Japan………he’s on the plane now, heading to LA to rent a car surf tomorrow, then drive to Las Vegas for the Magic Show……….I wouldn’t mind going for a look, actually…….but probably will not……….Hollywood hear I come………..LA at last and the plane is touching down………the stewardess is handing the hot towels around……….from the terminal gate to the Todd limousine………….wow what a journey………..hopefully customs will not be a problem…………what constitutes food?………….we’ll they let me slide……..no hassles at customs……….sympathy…..for the guy who had an accident abroad………nice………..welcome home Sir he said………..home huh?……..it’s been 12,000 miles from where I was yesterday……….and yesterday is but a long long way away………….and my home is twelve thousand…….twelve thousand miles away…………….but I am here now………..now………..and Todd was at the airport to scoop me up………..a few wrong turns…………and we drove through South Central Los Angeles………..well let me tell you…..it was a nice…….to know………..I do not miss that………the first sign is that LA has nothing for me anymore……….a bunch of idiots hanging on the corners with 4X white t-shirts, and wearing blue, and red shoes……..up to no good………..crack heads………….hookers……….and 100+ degrees out……..late lunch with Digger, Adrienne, &Todd at Swingers……….good ol swingers……….and a stroll down Melrose………..one person is doing great in this economy…….Mr. “for lease”………many signs from South Central, city wide, and all the way down melrose, “for lease” are signs everywhere………first nite……..4 hours sleep, second nite………about 5………..third nite the jet lagg kicked in…….slept 2 hours. then up for 3 more………….sleep maybe another 3…………..here we go, and I thought I had the jet-lag beat……….yeah right………..well
Los Angeles fires
What goes best with scorching inland temperatures? How bout a little fire scarecrow (name that movie)? That’s right nothing goes with a heat wave like a nice blazing inferno. Here’s our personal fire. It is right near my house. I took these from Elysian park (near Dodger Stadium) shooting across the 5 freeway. In the foreground left you can see green grass like fields. That is the cemetery where Michael Jackson is to be buried next week. Last night the fire was 0% contained. That’s reassuring. The helicopters were going all night dumping what equates to droplets on the blaze. These fires are usually started by pyros and/or idiots. C’mon people will ya listen to smokey bear!??! I know what some of my old friends are saying, ‘Hey man, didn’t you burn down the woods behind your house in Florida when you were little?’ Well yes, but it was a small patch of land and I admit I was both a little pyro and an idiot. I should have listened to mom and not played with matches!
Mi Vecino
This is John. He lives down the street from me in the little garage behind him. He stands out front all the time and says hello to everyone and generally just smiles. I always wondered what his deal was and so I stopped and talked to him today. John greeted me with; “the lord has given us a fine day, sir!” and I thought, “Yes, he has given us a fine day.” So that is what I replied. Soft classical mexican music seeped from the garage door as we introduced ourselves and started talking. Soon it led to a few stories that involved drugs deals and gang wars and bike wrecks. His shades covered his missing eye and that story was not told. John has grandkids now and looked down when he said, “I don’t do that shit no more”. “Me neither,” I told him and then I asked if I could take his picture. He said sure and ran a hand through his hair and looked up at the distant horizon as if he could see something coming. As I left he said, “God bless you!” and just smiled.
Industrial Los Angeles
Last week I had an engagement photo shoot with a couple that is getting married in August. They wanted an industrial look to the photos because all their friends had pictures showing them ‘frolicking on the beach’. Now I am a beach guy and I even like to frolic on the beach once in awhile, but I hear what they are saying. Engagement beach shots are pretty cliche already. Fortunately, I had an opportunity to shoot in this old loft in downtown Los Angeles and got some great shots of them. This was one of my favorites. The afternoon light is incredible in this place. Want some shots like this? Get in touch. And don’t forget, I can be hired for surf photography too when the waves come back!
The Swamp Thing
On my last trip to the Mentawai Islands in Sumatra, Indonesia, I had a chance to take a canoe ride up into a jungle estuary. The further we slid into the jungle, the closer the sides of the canopy came in until we were surrounded. I was beautiful. We wanted to keep going, but we were worried about mosquitoes with a local village nearby and the recently reported cases of malaria. I shot these photos and love the colors. Enjoy.
You can see all the shots from this Mentawai Surf Trip here or read about the trip here
Ice Cream
In my neighborhood there are lots of ice cream vendors. Some ride around in trucks while others have carts like this one. I like the carts. These guys work hard pushing these things up and down the streets. My son is too young to know what ice cream is yet, but loves the sound of the bells they ring when they come around our house. It makes me want an ice cream.
I have known Ortiz (pictured here) for a long time and today he just happened to be in front of my studio. Ortiz only speaks Spanish. My skills are enough to ask him “Hey, how about letting me take a few photos of you?”. “No problema”, he said and wheeled his cart right onto the studio floor. I snapped a few quick shots of him with a single strobe (I used a Canon 580 with an umbrella – full low budget and fast strobist style!). Using a 70-200mm F2.8 Canon lens and my new 5DMark II, I snapped about 40 quick frames in 5 minutes. You should see the images close up – the detail looks great with this camera! Ortiz didn’t want to smile and that was Ok with me, I like the way he looks naturally. He’s the tough Ice Cream Man! A few times he laughed, but I didn’t like the way it looked as much as this one.
I told Ortiz to drop by later and I would give him a print. Then I bought an ice cream. I could hear the sound of little bells fading as he pushed his cart up the street.
*Note: SickShots was a bit neglected over the last few weeks because of the flurry of weddings I have been shooting. Hey, gotta pay the bills! I finally, got a chance to look through some of the images from weddings over the last few months and updated my site- check it out- www.davecollyer.net.
Out to Lunch…
Hey Everybody. Thanks for checking out Sickshots. I will be on assignment in the Mentawai Islands for the next few weeks returning May 15th. When I get back I promise fresh content and cool photos from one of my favorite places in the world!
I have some new gear to try out including remote flash, remote cameras and board/camera mounted video! I am really looking forward to trying some of this out, but really I just want to shoot some pumping surf! I checked out the forecast and it actually looks pretty good. You can go to Mentawai Surf Photos surf report page and see for yourself with all the cool links they have set up over there.
I wanted to leave you with an article I read on ESPN about Kelly Slater and his ideas for the pro tour. He makes some really good points, most of which are dead on (i.e. ‘owning the events’ and better marketing). He even gets downright futuristic in his assessment of wave pools and how they will work. He is even claiming to be involved in one that is ‘being built in LA as we speak’. I have heard a lot of claims about wave pools over the years and have yet to see one that made me want to bypass Indonesia and stay home (Hmm, maybe there’s more to surfing after all…). This article is short and definitely worthy of your time.
Finally, Here’s some Hawaii stoke from this year from Volcom. How can you not enjoy Brucey surfing. Go to the bottom of this page and click on the TV and watch the madness! I especially like the crowds at Backdoor with all the photographers and Bruce talking about being a Dad! Pretty cool.
Ok, see you in a couple of weeks…
William Eggelston
I saw this video on one of my favorite blog sites called aphotoeditor.com. This is Winston Eggelston talking about his Father the famous photographer William Eggelston who is one of my all time favorites. Just look at some of these images! They are absolute genius. It is truly inspiring to see how Eggelston frames his images. Look at what he includes in the frame and where he places it to make it ‘look cool’. He made the mundane-everyday look unusal, no, artful. He saw art in life. I love it! Enjoy!
Sports Shooter
I am a member of a site called Sports Shooter, which I think is one of the most helpful photo resources on the web. The forums are completely addictive and I check them almost everyday. There always seems to be something useful there for the photographer. For instance, I was thinking it is time to replace the shutter on my Mark 2n and was wondering what it may cost. As I was perusing the site I find a thread on this exact topic! Amazing.
There is also an area for your own portfolio. I just uploaded some shots from Pipe where I did some speed blurs to the point you can barely recognize what is going on. I dig the images and had a lot of fun making them.
The site is a bargain at $25 per year, but you have to be ’sponsored’ to join (I am more than happy to do this for anyone that has a website with decent work). I think I have been a member now for about 5 years and I dig the environment. There are event announcements- For example, Did you know Dave Black is going to be speaking at Brooks institute in April? There are private classified ads and there is a monthly contest with some inspirational images. If you shoot sports or want to shoot sports check out Sports Shooter. Hey, and I didn’t even get paid to say any of this. I am just a fan!
Bye, Bye, Surf Mag
An unfortunate fact of my surfing life is that I grew up in Florida. When I was a late teenager I spent a lot of time around Daytona/New Smyrna Beach surfing and partying. It was the 80’s- Mtv Spring Break with Martha Quinn by night and Ponce and Smyrna inlets by day. Good times. Bad waves.
Our older mentor of trouble was a guy named Jim, but we called him Jim ‘Macrete’, or just ‘Macrete’ for short. He partied harder than all of us. He had this huge step van (think Charles Chips wagon) that we rode around and ’smoked weed’ in. It had a ‘mad rats’ skate banner on the ceiling that he had stolen from a skate contest. He was such a legend to us. Oh yeah, and Jim Macrete’s old lady was ‘Hot’.
Once Jim Macrete found a bale of weed on the beach near 27th avenue just before the cops did and it took three squad cars and seven officers to convince Macrete to let the pot be confiscated. He was taken away in cuffs while staking claim to the bale and was later released uncharged without so much as a doobie.
Every time we went to Jim Macrete’s house there would always be new surf mags. We would just sit there and pour through them one photo at a time wishing we could walk right into the perfect surf in the photos rather than slog another knee high Florida ’swell’.
One day I asked ‘Dude, do you have a subscription to all these magazines?” Jim laughed and said casually, “No, I buy them for a quarter at the 7-11″. I was, like,”uh..what..how do you do that”? Macrete went into story mode and started…”Ok, so I’ll tell you this but you can’t go blowing my hustle at the 7-11 around the corner…go over to the one near the Beacon breakfast joint, but not this one.” We all agreed. “So, you just go in there and pick up a newspaper and then browse the magazine rack…when the coast is clear you slide a copy of the latest mag inside the paper…and then just buy it for a quarter.” We were in awe. Such genius.
After that I bought most of my mags for a quarter. The 7-11 on Silver Beach in Daytona was one of my victims. It was too easy. Sometimes I mixed in a coffee or a 7-11 burrito to make it look legit. At the time I thought it was cool. It is not until one gets older, stops smoking weed, and gains a bit of conscious and perspective that they figure out how lame they are. I probably owe someone some money right about now. I just don’t know who. Upon writing this I realize a charitable donation is in order.
I digress. So all those mags were studied, nay, worshipped. I knew every ad, read every article and knew every 80’s surfer from Scott Farnsworth to Joey Buran. I hung the posters on my wall and cut out the hot ‘blue man’ bikini girls and put them on my door. The photos were discussed again and again and spawned dreams of faraway lands and exotic travel.
Right now there is probably a grom somewhere doing the same thing. Just like us. Or is there? Wait a sec. Hmm? Is today’s grom more likely to post things on their facebook ‘wall’ than in their room? Will walls in kids rooms become digitized so my son can post video clips of Jon Jon’s little brother ripping? Will he be more likely to read articles on his ‘digi pad’ (whatever that ends up looking like) than from a surf mag stashed in his trapper keeper? Yes. Yes to all of it.
Tired is the title ‘Print is Dead’ (here’s one from TIME). Magazines are going under at an alarming rate, not just because of the economy, but because the media is outdated. There is even a death pool for magazines that has some pretty impressive titles on the list (including water mag). Mags are outdated when published and costly to produce compared to their website counterpart. Now one sees websites and blogs in some industries taking over the entire media. A good example is TMZ in the entertainment industry.
So what about our little surf industry? Yes, major surf mags are toast and I will predict that one of the major US Surf Magazines (or all of them) will crash and burn by this summer. Is this bold? Hell no. It is inevitable. Why? They are slow to adapt. They are out of touch. They are not profitable. They can’t compete. Do I need to go on?
I am not exactly stoked about this as a photographer. This will effect the magazine’s ability to buy photos from us. Internet sites pay about 1/4 or less of what magazines pay. The world is changing, but there is plenty of opportunity. I don’t want to be slow to adapt like the surf mag. The future is bright and dark, but this is an article for another time. For now read Vincent LaForet’s article The Cloud is Falling.
So what does our future media look like? Well you have Surfline and the wannabe wetsand.com, which seem to be taking Surfer and Surfing magazines place on the internet. I would expect a few more of these. Yes, there will also be the old mag sites, but they will probably fold along with the publication. Next you have sites that promote their products and try to serve as media outlets – ASP world tour, Clothing companies, etc.
Finally, you have the bloggers. I expected someone would gear up and do this, but I have so far only seen a few. My favorite is PostSurf.com written by Lewis Samuels. Strangely enough he just wrote an article about Transworld Surf’s new issue that is basically a catalog (The timing is coincidental as I had been working on this post since last week). Funny stuff especially for the cynic.
I would like to officially say ‘Bye Bye Surf Mag’. It was nice knowing you. You were a big part of my life. It makes me wonder about Jim Macrete. I haven’t seen him in 25 years. I have this vision of him being some old, out of touch codger pinching Surf mags from the 7-11 in New Smyrna. If so, what will happen when he rolls up to the convenience store one morning and finds that ‘Surfer’ went out of business and the only way to find good surf stoke is going online. Hopefully he’ll just go surfing and not worry much about it.
Best of Slideshow
Here’s a few of my favorites from last week’s swell. While it wasn’t big or really even epic, it was definitely good and there were some great moments if you were in the right spot. I think I went to different places at the wrong time on this swell after seeing some of the other photos around. San Diego looked really good late in the swell and the direction sure seemed right!
Hey, I want to welcome the Ventura Surf Club to the site! These guys are the coolest! Thanks for the link and I want to welcome all of you to Sickshots that have never checked out the site. One lesson I learned from this last swell is to post the galleries in increments of time rather than the whole thing at once. Sorry for all the work sorting through the 1,000 image! Next, time I will go like this ‘part 1, 9am to 10pm’, etc. Just to help you out with this gallery, I started shooting at about 7:30am and finished at about 11:30am. If you remember when there was smoke from a local fire you can see it in some of the photos and that was near the end of my gallery.
Thanks again for checking out SickShots and with all the rain forecasted it might be time for the mountains to go snowboarding! Get up there!
Where’s the massive swell?
I think we got downgraded. I feel like I had a first class ticket and got stuck in coach. Where is the swell? Usually it is a good sign when Waimea breaks over in Hawaii, but this time it looks like the macking sets got lost on their way to California. Oh well, it is still in the fun zone just about everywhere and you didn’t have to look very far to find a wave.
I shot at a break I will call ‘Bulls Balls’ to protect its identity. If you were there you know where I am talking about. If not, then I can’t tell you. Here is a shot of it this morning. It is located somewhere between Morro Bay and Point Loma. Go search!
The gallery will be up tomorrow. There are some great photos with some of you pulling in. Check back and check them out!
Ventura’s C street is fun!
When I cruised through the mountains this morning on the way to ‘C’ street, it was so clear you could see halfway to Morro Bay! It was a beautiful day and perfect lighting was met with fun surf. While it was on the inconsistent side and a few surfers got out of the water claiming the crowd was a bit much, it sure looked good from the beach. That’s why I shot around 1,000 photos! Now I am uploading them, which could take awhile. Plan on seeing them in the next day or so as I continue to shoot around LA and Ventura. It is supposed to come up more, so get out there!
The Ventura ‘C’ street gallery from January 17th is NOT loaded yet, but is coming soon!
El Porto gallery loaded
The El Porto gallery from January 7, 2009 is up and running and fully loaded. This photo is one of over 400 from the session. The waves were good and there was some ripping going on in the cold water! Check them out and see if I caught you making a solid turn like this unknown surfer.
I spent the better part of the morning shooting in front of the bathroom on the north end of the beach, so if you were surfing between 7am and 9:30am there’s a good chance you have a photo in the bunch. If I missed your wave, sorry about that. I am trying to shoot as much action as possible and sometimes two people take off at the same time (and even then I sometimes can get a shot of both)! The other option is to hire me for a private session which is really affordable if you get some of your friends together.
Looks like the surf will stay on the fun side and this weekend I hope to make another appearance at a mystery location on Saturday. Get out there, have fun, and no drop in!
Merry Christmas
Wishing you season’s greetings and Happy Holidays to all. Here is an image I really like from my recent Hawaii trip. It is Pipeline on a really good day. That is actually Jamie O’brien in the tube. I remember he was just owning it. Everyone else was getting scraps and he would score the perfect set waves every time. It was pretty unbelievable. He really knows that break.
The main reason I like this shot is because it is a surf check. The guy on the bike just rode down the path and saw this wave. That feeling of excitement when he left his house is confirmed – It’s on! I hope the same holds true for your Holiday.
Thanks for checking the site and your support over the years. Peace on earth.
Valentine’s Waimea is back
There have been several requests for last season’s Waimea Bay session on Valentine’s Day (February 14, 2008). I have reposted this gallery and made your photos available one last time. If you want your photos, please order them as soon as you can or they may be gone forever. The gallery is huge- over 1300 photos! Which means it takes a lot of room on the server. As soon as new sessions come in old sessions like this one will disappear. Every week I get someone saying ‘oh man, I forgot to order my photos…do you still have them?’ Most of the time I have to say, “Sorry, bro..they are gone…” Don’t let this happen to you! Ok, enough said.
This photo I took on that day at Waimea. It was shot from over on the rocks on the west side of the bay towards Alligators. I love the way the sun is lighting up the wave. It may not look like it, but that wave is HUGE. It was so perfect I was actually thinking- ‘if I could just get into the wave I could make it!’ I mind surfed it while shooting the bay in the other direction. This is another photo that may make my print section of the site, which is coming someday – I promise!
Happy Holidays everyone!
Snow, TSA, Books…
Welcome home from Hawaii. It’s snowing. C’mon. Are you kidding? Snow? Really? Yes, snow. Right behind my house in the mountains. So close I could drive half an hour and touch it. I am freezing my ass off. I talked to a friend who is driving to Colorado to go snowboarding and got stuck in San Bernardino. Snowed in. Didn’t even make it out of California yet. He’s got the whole Rocky Mountains to deal with.. “Dude, you should be flying..” I said as if he hadn’t thought of it.
So my wife and I made it home after a 5 hour flight with a 1 year old. Thing is, he was the easy part. The worst of the flight was clearing TSA security. Now they are an easy target and I know they have a tough job, but the whole thing is just so silly sometimes. When I left California I was told to ‘take the laptop out of the thin protective cover’ for scanning. I did so and started to explain that radiation should successfully penetrate the cover, the entire bag that I removed it from, and probably our complete luggage load placed in a pile. I trailed off and realized it was useless. Then I removed my shoes and shuffled through the metal detector. I was thinking if TSA would have been on hand for George Bush’s speech then he probably wouldn’t have gotten shoes thrown at him.
As we were clearing security in Hawaii, I knew we were in trouble when the family in front of us with an infant was getting hassled for caring too much liquid. What was the dangerous item? A bottle of breast milk. They let her go with a scolding. (until you have a baby you have no idea how valuable breast milk is). With our son in a baby sling sleeping, we were told he had to be removed and passed through the metal detector separately. So there we were passing sleeping baby through metal detector wondering what happened to our life as travelers. Meanwhile, I was preparing my computer to go through the x-ray machine and even took it out of the cover when the guy says ‘oh, don’t worry about that..the machine will scan right through it’. I laughed and said, ‘Exactly’.
So today I made a book of my son’s first year on the planet. I used the ultra cool site ‘Blurb’ to create the book, but unfortunately I didn’t make the Christmas deadline. Looks like a coupon for the folks, but the damn book is so cool they will forgive me. In his first year our son has been to Hawaii (twice), Japan, and Indonesia. Mommy and Daddy are pretty stoked about that and want to continue to travel with him as he grows up. We want him to experience the world. We just hope TSA will let us through to catch our next flight.
Aloha means…
Aloha means I am going home. Saying Aloha is more fun when you arrive. Today I am on a plane back to LA. While the rain made it less painful to go, it is never easy to get on the plane and say goodbye. I love shooting surf and perfect waves and Hawaii was kind enough to provide some great surf while we were here.
Check out this shot my wife took of me shooting on her iphone. That is a day at Pipe back in early December I believe. There are a lot of shots I haven’t posted yet and I will work on that when I return home. For now ‘Aloha’ to you all and thanks for helping to support SickShots.
Pipe Masters?
Well, I wonder what they are going to have to call it? The Ehukai Beach Masters? I am not saying that the surf is tiny. At several feet overhead, it isn’t. It’s just not what you want the last contest of the year to be. We all want huge waves. Life and death sets. I think most competitors agree. This is THE contest everyone dreams about and to have small conditions is a let down. Don’t get me wrong there were barrels and it was fun to watch, but take one look at the promo poster and you see what we all want!
Today I played with a Tilt_Shift lens from Canon (the 45mm). This photo was taken with it and I really like it. I used the lens with the 40D so the multiplier of 1.6x didn’t let the full effect come through, but it still looks pretty cool. Notice how the focus is only in a certain part of the image. You can control the focus area and make some neat pictures. I will post more of these later. So stay tuned!
