A warm wave for the Holidays
As the winter solstice and the holidays approach, I thought we could all use a warm summer wave (even if you live on the other side of the equator you can always use a warm wave). This one is courtesy of one of my favorite places to shoot – Padang Padang. I remember I was on the phone with a friend of mine when I shot this and said, “It’s coming up, it looks pretty good and there’s only two lids out!” (the other one behind the wave). werd! It’s great when you hit a spot right as it is coming up and noone realizes it’s on yet. This session would prove to be one of those times. The next morning was packed, but this evening session was pretty fun and uncrowded.
Big Wednesday – Waimea Bay
I think everyone knows I love me some Waimea Bay! Today looks to be pretty good over there and I am really missing it right about now. I tried to see it on the surfline cam and it is too busy- drats. I tried to call Sean Davey for a report and he didn’t answer (I don’t blame him I would be shooting too)!
This is a shot of Waimea from the water on a ’smallish’ day. It is real Waimea and not pinballs, but it is not big by any stretch. What I like is that you can see this is just the top of the wave. If you look down in the lower right of the photo you can see where the beginning of the bottom of the wave starts! This guy is in for a steep drop and he doesn’t know it yet. Most people eat it on the drop and get steam rolled by mounds of white water and get stuffed deep. That’s why I think making the drop is so rewarding, because you pull off what is often an air drop with your hands over your head and avoid total destruction!
HIRE A SURF PHOTOGRAPHER- This Friday and Saturday look good here in California and I am not hired yet, so let me know if you want me to shoot your session. The usual spots should be pumping including Rincon in the North and Pt. Loma in the South. Have fun wherever you go and charge!
Surfer’s Path Feature
I don’t contribute to the surf mags much any more. This is mostly due to the low editorial rates they are paying these days. In fact, I don’t know how some of these magazine surf photographers live from the checks they get. I just saw the new Canon Mark 4 camera is going to be $5,000! Take that and put it in a water housing (another $3,000) and buy a few lenses (the Canon 400mm 2.8 is 6K), other accessories (pelican cases, etc.) and around 10K in computer equipment and software and you would have to sell a lot of pages to get your money back! Do these guys do the math? Hmm.
A friend of mine was on his way to being one of the top surf photographers in the world. His name is Ben DeCamp. You may have heard of him. He was making a name for himself swimming some crazy Pipeline and other gnarly spots. He was on staff for Surfer Mag. He has a good eye. I like his vision. So what happened to him? He ejected. We never really talked about the exact reason, but we often discussed the difficulty in making a living off the surf magazines/surf advertisers. Am I anti- Surf magazine? Nah, I realize they are being squeezed as well (you can read my take on their future here). The truth is one must find other ways to make a living and keep the stoke. What was Ben’s answer? The Style Shark and his blog Killer Whale petting Zoo! It’s strange, I love it, and it is harder than you think to create those shots. Yes, it looks a lot like Terry Richarson who happened to win this year’s Fashion Layout of the Year with Harper’s Bazaar article ‘Thriller Fashion’.
So back to the topic…I shot Ryan several years ago in the Mentawais and he recently wrote an article for Surfer’s Path about his trip around the world and what they discovered. This was no ordinary trip. First, they sailed. Anyone who spends time in boats could start to understand what it must be like to sail around the world and face the ocean for weeks on end. But that’s not the story. What they discovered was how polluted most of the oceans are right now. They even witnessed the alleged floating plastic trash island twice the size of texas drifting around in the pacific. I recently saw an article about this on one of my favorite blogs- aphotoeditor and on the wall street journal site. Unbelievable.
Some of the photos that I took of Ryan during our Mentawai trip are in the feature, so check it out.
NOTE: At the time I was negotiating with Surfer’s Path for use of my photos the Padang Earthquake happened. Instead of paying their small editorial rate I had them give it directly to Surf Aid. You can donate to them as well because they still need help. Thanks!
You should have been here (Pipeline) yesterday!
I saw that the North Shore was pumping this weekend, so much so that Surfline put the Pipe cam on the front page! It gets me thinking, ‘Hey there’s gotta be a wave from that swell on our beaches somewhere!’. So, I go and check the forecast- 2 to 3 feet. I know what that means; waist high at best. ”What the hell,” I thought. Get wet.
I arrive with my new ‘Anderson fun board’ stuffed between the baby seat and the front headrest of my Toyota hybrid. I didn’t stop at Starbucks on the way, but I am still a stereotype. I put on my wetsuit, feed the parking meter, and tuck the board under my arm. It feels good. It’s been sitting in the shed with the black widows for awhile waiting for this moment. I am excited to ride the ankle snappers breaking on the high tide sandbar. It is miserably small, but I am stoked.
The water is crisp, but not cold and I paddle just a few short yards into the lineup and catch a wave right away. It’s a ’straight bowl’ closeout and I ride it just a little way into the beach and kind of kook it on the sand and hear a distinct CRACK! Damn- My fin! I know it without looking. My first wave and I destroy my board. The right fin is missing and the board looks like some toothless hillybilly missing a front chicklet! What the hell. I kept surfing my ‘twin fin’ for the rest of the session. Aquatech can deal with it later.
Jim was on the beach shooting the session and caught this photo of me (below) with his Nikon setup (D700- 500mm lens). He did a great job because I am convinced it was much smaller than this photo shows and didn’t look this fun. You can see more of his shots from this morning’s El Porto Session and others from his site here. I would like to thank Jim for the photo and for keeping my key for me while I surfed!
The only thing that’s bothering me is that Dave Wassell above at Pipe has a much better wave than Dave Collyer below at El Porto! It’s not fair! Look what Hawaii gets! Oh well, I’ll be buying that ticket soon enough…
Surf Contest at Swamis?
I just got this email and wanted to pass along the link to those of you that may be interested. Here is the explanation from the website calling for a petition:
It has come to our attention that a professional womens longboard contest is being proposed for Swamis. We think it is a bad idea, sets a bad precedent, and is unneeded, unwanted, and unsafe. There are plenty of other locations county wide including Cardiff, Oceanside, LJ Shores and Ocean Beach where contests are run. There has never been a contest at Swamis (well one way back in ‘67). The Swamis Surf Club makes sure they never run their contest at Swamis. Why? Because Swamis locals and visitors alike do not want one. A pro surfing contest does nothing for community surfers, does not benefit the city of Encinitas local surfers or make sense for the aesthetic and vibe of the wonderfully peaceful Self Realization Fellowship. What is the upside? A promoter makes some money, and the City of Encinitas promotes tourism.Please sign the petition below to STOP SURFING CONTESTS AT SWAMIS – FOR GODS SAKE – IS NOTHING SACRED?
Here’s the link: http://www.thepetitionsite.com/1/stop-surfing-contests-at-swamis
Swamis was one of the first waves I surfed when I came to California from Florida back in 89. I couldn’t believe such a place existed. I caught some great waves that trip and the crowd didn’t seem to bug me that much because the peak often moved around and let everyone get waves. Well now I know that only happens on certain swells and the crowd is thicker than ever. Still a great wave and if they do have contests here I might just have to enter! I mean can you imagine the place with 4 or 6 competitors? Incredible!
Note: Who cares that the wave in the shot is actually Rincon…Swamis looks like this a lot in the winter..coming soon!
Billabong XXL update
Well the Big Wave hype is upon us with this winter expected to be El Nino big and powerful. I hope so. I received this update today from Billabong with a link to an insane video of Mid Season highlights mostly from down under. It’s our turn now. Let’s see if this big Pacific can do some damage! YEA, Bring it! ha!
I went surfing today.
I went Surfing today. It was wonderful.
The last real surf session I had was in the Mentawai’s on the Indies Trader 3 way back in July. Martin Daly and I were surfing an unknown left that he discovered years before. It was just us. The guests were surfed out and watching TV, reading or playing poker. I was ushered to the top of the perfect point break by jet ski. I was not wearing a wetsuit and did not need one. There was no wind. The water was so clear it was like surfing over an aquarium. It was too good. It was too easy.
This may explain why I am sometimes so jaded when I return home to Los Angeles and make excuses not to surf. There have been lots of waves in California lately and I keep hearing about it from my friends and keep saying, “Uaaahhh, it’s too crowded” or “It’s small” or “The winds already on it…” It is easy to do; to make excuses. I have responsibilities. I can’t take 4 + hours out of my day for 2 foot windchop. I’m a busy man!
I was starting to get tired of my own wingeing when I saw the surf report yesterday. Ventura 4-6 feet plus! It was time to surf. I mean I own a surf blog for crying out loud! I should surf once in awhile! So I went into the shed and picked a ‘fun shape’ (beacuse I’m out of shape) and grabbed my dryed out wetsuit and loaded it all in the car. No cameras, no swim fins. I was just going surfing. I set my alarm for 5am.
The next morning I was so amped I was up at 4:45 and decided to sleep those extra minutes and woke up again at 5:37!- I had set my alarm for 5:00 PM! Arrggggg. I raced out of the house and luckily missed the traffic and arrived at C-street just in time to get a parking spot. The sun was rising and the sky was red. This was my first taste of the freedom I was missing from not surfing.
I had been in the car driving for a long time and needed to go to the bathroom. You know. Really needed to go. I was desperate. I slipped on my wetsuit halfway and sprinted for the dirty public restrooms without pause with an impending trouser mouse. When I get there..the horror- the door is locked! What to do? Get naked at the water’s edge and drop a bomb? Nah, too cold and too public…I start making my way back to the car when I see some chick bumping around in the bushes over near the condos. I know what she’s up to (the ladies was locked too). I race in there just as she is leaving and shat a small mound. Thank god for Starbucks napkins.
I felt dirty as I entered the ocean and was happy to get a healthy set of waves on the head as I paddled out. It was head high with bigger sets. I recognized immediately that my paddle wheel was rusty. I was huffing and puffing. It seemed further out than usual. This was going to take some getting used to. I was starting to wonder- Can I still surf?
My first wave was a warmup. A couple of turns and out. My next one I will ride for the next few weeks. I stayed patient and waited for the right one. I paddled deep and outside. I waited some more and it came. A perfect peak right to me. I dropped in and immediately felt the rush of speed. It is this feeling of catching the wave that gives people the bug. A feeling so powerful that great careers have been destroyed to recapture it (I wonder what would have become of me if I never surfed?).
As I made a bottom turn the entire wave glowed orange as the morning sun beamed down the face; then the rush of speed as I set my rail and drove down the wall. I rode the wave from the first parking lot, past the condos and my little nugget, all the way to the 2nd to last set of stairs near the pier. My legs were burning. How far is that? How many hundreds of yards? It felt incredible. I was alive! I shouted-”California is good! They have waves!” It was the same feeling I get in the Indian Ocean. I ran up the stairs and around the point to do it again.
I went surfing today. It was wonderful.
Winter Season kicks off with a bang!
Words and Photo by assistant, Jobi Manson
It’s a regular thursday in mid-October. Dave had told me the night before that there maybe was surf on the horizon… I shrugged my head and said, “Ha, yeah I’ll believe that S@#$ when I see it.” The night before the first big swell of the season is expected, it’s kinda like when you were little and you wear your pj’s inside out and pray for snow… 10 years later I pull the cob webs off my board and leave it with my keys by the door. Cob webs are probably an exaggeration, but when you can’t remember the last time you got in the water- that’s never a good thing.
The next morning true to form I missed my alarm and was so bummed because I was really keen to shoot and surf that morning. I called the boss (Dave) and asked in a very nice voice if I could have the day off to shoot. He replied gracefully, and insisted I go.
I arrived at Manhattan Beach’s El porto around 10 AM and quickly set up to shoot a few rounds before my session. The swell progressively built throughout the late morning and was not bad when the tide dropped out slightly. Having never surfed here before, the break proved to be fun, fast, and close out barrels. I probably caught 4 waves that day. I was stoked. It was heavy for sure.
“The board’s gotta look like the guy!”
You may have seen this shot in Surfer Mag’s ‘50 greatest Surfers’ issue. I would have been stoked to have it in their mag, but they never gave me the courtesy to tell me, used it in the mag without photo credit and tried to get away without paying me! They also didn’t identify Jimbo or tell him they were going to run the photo. Shame on you Surfer!…But I’m going to save that thought and rip them in another blog entry coming soon.
So while this was going on with Surfer Mag I caught up with Jim in a few emails, which led to him sending me this classic story about Dick Brewer (who will be in Del Mar at the Sacred Craft expo this weekend)! Here’s the unedited story as only Jim can tell it- Epic!
I thought i would take some time and brief you on a great shaper story.
I was preparing to go to Bali for my first time in early 2003.I had been living on the NORTH SIDE of KAUAI for the past 11 years . I had just come back from an insane trip to puerto escondido . It was great and big the entire time as most always is. after packing many barellss on quiver of TERRY SENATES and a 9,6 jay riddle.even droping a good 20 lbs of body phatt i came back with no boards left . The fish and lobsters where good and breakfast, but the rest of the food was kinda blown and it was hot as hell so i managed to shape up.
after a small stint in california i picked up a few sick ass ” timmy pattersons “ and flew over to kauai .
I was fortunate to have many friends and i ran into ” DICK BREWER ” at my uncle JUKES pad that used to be mine. I started talking with RB “richard brewer ” and decided that i would go up and stay at his guest house for a week in princeville while we prepared some boards for bali. RB a big fan of bali as well as uncle juke where pumped, a little concerned about the possibilities of a big jim super roll . everyone agreed that it was a needed and worth while experience.
my first day up at RB was sick he was just mowin his yard on his big green acres style sitting mower smoking a few doobs fresh made lemonade real brother down ya know. later in the afternoon RB yelled from across the green acres
“THE BOARDS GOTTA LOOK LIKE THE GUY “ i was thinking fuck yea hes getting ready to shape my board. he then plowed a few more lanes of grass and had some lemonade and decided to go get a proper blank from a storage zone in kapaa. some of the boys heard i was back and came and grabed me for a cannons and cold pond session i never saw RB until the next day .
day 2 was another sick one . he was back with a van full of blanks and was preping up his skills on some stuff in the room . i was pumped !! his shaping room is sick , RB”S beautifull wife has a great house she is realy into homes and it shows. RB starts going to work blowing foam cutting blanks out and where really gettin into it runnninnnn all the machinery . RB and SB where havin a little war of the roses. she starts yelling dick dickkk close the f kin door RB couldnt here her, he was well at work . The position of the room is in direct line of fire to her home zone. she starts telling me jimbo jimbo hes blowin foam in my house. so i shut the door . RB NOT HAVIN THAT reopens the door and starts revin engines and blazin power planers . im thinking OH SHIT SHE IS GONNA LOOSE IT.
and i was right SHE LOST IT. stuff started breakin in the kitchen flying around profanity was graceing backround to heaving planeing . i was so pumped FUCK YEA THATS MY BOARD.
The board came out sick . It did kinda look like me . RB AND SB MADE UP LATER. and evrything was fine.
i returned to kauai the next winter and i had an incredible new years eve at the princeville sherraton with all this cast . sherry and RB where super cool she was like” damn big man can dance”. as i am known to bust up dance floors. After a stint on the dance floor i steped to the bar with RB sherry asked hey how did that board that dick blew all over kitchen work ? i laughed and said it was the sickest shit ever and pulled a japanese,brazillian ,indo, americam mag shot on it for her (the one above).
” THE BOARDS GOTTA LOOK LIKE THE GUY ” DICK BREWER.
JIMBO P.
REMINDER: Please help Sumatra and donate to SURF AID INTERNATIONAL today!
ASP Hurley Pro
Photo and words by photo assistant Jobi Manson
3:45 am the alarm goes… I leave my apartment in West Hollywood to venture slightly farther south to Lower Trestles, to witness the only ASP event located in the continental United States. I met my friend John at Carl’s Jr. where we proceeded to make the journey down the path to the hidden gem located at the San Mateo State camping ground.
Not being a native Californian, I knew the legend of Trestles, but had yet to experience its magic. Now let me preface this entry by saying, the surf on Day 2 of the Hurley Pro was less then magic. However, that’s not to say that magic didn’t occur. Arriving at the break just before sunrise, John and I found a spot on the pebble-laden beach and set up shop in order for me shoot. Lurking just behind my left shoulder happened to be the athlete’s only tent, to which I gazed star struck at all of my childhood surfing idols (the boys). In the tent warming up slash playing hacky sack were Cj. Hobgood & Marlon Lipke. Fortunately for me a very nice gentleman who happens to be the highest voted surf repair shop in San Clemente scored me a VIP pass, which allowed me to get stalker status on these gentlemen. Some even said hello.
The morning heats started off well enough in my opinion the better surf for sure. Cj rocked out beating Lipke… Taylor Knox proved that age doesn’t matter at all when it comes to surfing talent walking all over Australia’s Drew Courtney. Take that Australia, not so seppo now eh mate? And now I’m skipping to the part where I do what Dave refers to as “hating”. I am gonna “hate” for a minute on the results of heat number 8 concerning my official favourite surfer, South African Umhlanga boy JORDY SMITH and Tiago Pires. Jordy pulled two 360’s and blasted a superman air and lost? What is the surfing world coming to when progressive manoeuvres are being shunned? Okay, maybe I shouldn’t say shunned.. But Tiago’s roundhouses and slashes off the lip were far less entertaining…very vanilla. Where as Mr. Smith’s manoeuvres are more easily equated with a banana split? How do you like your ice cream? Because personally I like a little flavour. Okay, done hating…
As the afternoon progressed I ventured into the VIP section to grab some free food (yes!) and linger. I happened to bump in Rob Machado who was intrigued with my tilt shift and began to inquire what type of lens I was shooting with. Pretty cool meeting and greeting some of the pro’s. All in all a very fun day, I even went home to discover I had a bit of sunburn. I guess twelve hours in the sun will do that to you.
Billabong XXL update
Looks like they have been getting some great waves down in Africa for the XXL. I see the usual suspects charging Dungeons including Grant Baker and Andrew Marr. I really like this image and want to compliment Kimi Stewart for capturing this moment. Check out how the shot is pulled back and includes the jet ski for scale and is taken at the crucial airdrop moment. Very nice!
Sea of Darkness
Last night I saw Martin Daly’s new movie ‘Sea of Darkness’ at a screening in Santa Monica. The documentary tells an amazing story of surf discovery and drug smuggling in the 1970’s. Quite simply, it is one of the most compelling movies in the surf genre I have ever seen. The stories are so unbelievable at times that if this was a feature film you would consider it to be too outlandish, but the narrators collaborate each others versions of the story and the mysterious truth of the tale leaks through the film. I am not sure when ‘Sea of Darkness’ will be released or how it will be distributed, but when you get the chance it is a must see. You can see the trailer above and the first three minutes of the film here
Shark stories
When I was up in Stinson beach this past week I saw this sign. Most people will skip right over the part about rip currents (which in my opinion are far more dangerous to your average beach goer) and read about the great white. Hard to blame them. There is the menacing shark picture and the fact that ‘great whites live in these waters’ and ’sharks attacks HAVE occurred here in less than 6 feet of water’. Impressive. Just beyond this sign was the beach and beyond the beach the Farallon Islands one of the sharkiest places on the planet. There was a surfers journal article about the Farallon Islands that said what you don’t want to hear- the surf can be good there, but the chance of a great white attack is 99% during surf season. Just read the amazing book ‘The Devils Teeth and you won’t want to surf there anyway.
When approached by non-surfers I am often asked about sharks. A friend of my Mom in the grocery store might ask, “I heard you are a surfer, don’t you worry about sharks?” While I have seen sharks and know they have seen me, I don’t really think about it that much. The encounters have been so spread out over my 30 years in the ocean that it seems trivial. My shark stories are not intense dramas and I prefer to keep it that way. I have several shark stories from South Africa and Australia and the South Pacific, but I prefer to tell those around a campfire or on a long flight. Instead, I will give you my Caribbean shark story and hope to trade a shark story when I meet you (again).
In the 80’s I was surfing a right point break at a desolate beach in the Northwest coast of Puerto Rico with only another friend. I dropped into an overhead wave and as soon as I started going down the line a hammerhead shark started following me from underneath. The two sides of his head were sticking out from either side of the front of my board and I could see the entire body stretched the length of my twim fin. The thing was big; maybe even huge.
It was as if it was attached to a metal pole like a Disneyland character in a ride and controlled by a machine that steered it along the bottom. It glided eerily and mechanically with ease along with me with what seemed only subtle movements. As I continued down the glassy wall I realized I would be stuck in the channel with the shark at the end of the wave, so I decided I would glide a little more and then straighten out and tumble in the whitewater and ‘disappear’. As I kicked out my board and went under I had one last glimpse of the shark’s tail whipping past and then taking a left turn as if to find me.
I was horrified and after getting spun by the wave I grabbed my board and paddled straight to the beach in one swift motion. The beach was fringed by reef and like most reefs in Puerto Rico were overstuffed with urchins. I paddled right up to the reef and ran through the shallow water to the sand. My friend had already caught a wave in and didn’t even see the shark. To this day he doesn’t believe my story. My feet were covered in black dots – urchin spines, about a fifty or so. My friend told me that if you pee on them that something in the yellow liquid would help ease the pain. Later that night I would pick through my spines with tweezers and think it could have been worse. I never let him piss on my feet and to this day I still don’t believe that pee actually helps pain from urchin spines.
Grandpa update – week 5
I got this email a few days ago. For those of you following the ‘Grandpa’ story (original post here) or know our friend Chris, he is having a tough go of things after his motorcycle accident. I was going to write this email into a story, but it speaks for itself. This shot is Chris on a smallish day at Padang Padang. I can’t remember if he hit bottom, but he definitely got tossed around a bit. It was ridiculously shallow (always is). For something even more impressive, see Grandpa’s xray with wired jawbone and missing teeth on the bottom of the post! Wow.
Now here’s Chris…
so I got up, saddled up the black knight, and headed up to the Bukit, to go for a swim, as I had not touched the water at Uluwatu for 5 weeks…………..it was nice to see old friends, and see that Big Jim, Edward, Ryan, were at (Spot edited out), and ‘ol Diga was at the Racetrack, pullin in……….a tea and a banana milkshake, was all I could do, there was no banana pancake today……….3 days ago I went to the dentist to have an overall look at what options I have…………the dentist brought in the oral surgeon, who throw the plastic surgeon (who set my jaw) straight under the bus…………in other words, he said we must try to reposition your jaw, now to fix your “open bite” before they have to do a major surgery and re-break your jaw……………the breaking of the jaw was bad enough, just ask Todd & Diga, a re-break was not part of my plan………..2 days ago the oral surgeon put braces on my teeth, closed my jaw with rubber-bands, and said come back tomorrow………once I showed up and sat down, he was so pleased with the rubber-banded jaw, that he pulled them out, replaced with wire and cranked it down tight, “repositioning” the jaw……….UNCOMFORTABLE……………….to say the least, but not as bad or painful as my head thought it would be………so it’s another 3 weeks eating through a syringe……….again……..juice and soup, but I have a new tool, delivered from the good ‘ol USA, actually a present from Piper, that Huey delivered, it’s a hand crank, food grinder, to mush food for baby’s, when I first got it, was when the plastic surgeon, cut the wires so I could open my mouth, and I didn’t need to grind any food, Piper said you could grind a steak or a cheeseburger in it, although those 2 items do not sound appealing to me, Dan brought me a cannelloni last nite to test the grinder…..
……it worked, it made mush, it was a bit hard sucking it through my missing teeth and into my mouth, actually hurt to do it, I did it, then put the other 1/2 in and cranked it down to much and finished the cannelloni……….thanks Piper…………now the shoulder is on hold until after the braces come off, I see the dentist every 3 or 4 days to crank down the wires and “reposition” the jaw……..my visa expires on the 17th of July..
……..exactly 3 weeks from when the dentist wired me shut………and he said it will take 3 weeks no sooner……….I changed my ticket to Bangkok to the 18th………can’t wait to see what the doctors in Bangkok have to say about my shoulder…………hopefully it can be fixed and I can surf again………only time will tell…………….that is my story……..and I am sticking to it…………
Surfing Java, Indonesia
This is G-Land. It’s not an epic day or a bad day. The place always seems to have waves. I have ridden some of the best lefts of my life here. The atmosphere is what a surf trip should be- a dense jungle with basic accommodation, offshore winds and nothing to do but surf!
While it doesn’t have the variety that, say, the Mentawai Islands offers, it is still one of the best waves on the planet. If you go to Bali there is no reason not to spend a few days over in G-Land.
Padang Padang, Bali
I have been going through my archive of surf images lately in hopes of someday getting it all online. It is a long process. Lately, I have been working through the Bali section and keep finding some epic images that I forgot about. This shot is just an average line up photo taken from the beach with a telephoto lens. A monkey could have taken this shot, so I did. Click. I then processed it to make it summer hazy, but it came out just plain ugly.
I like that it is just a simple line up shot with no one on the wave….wait a sec. Look down in the lower portion of the wave where the white water is hitting…there’s someone there (click to enlarge the image)! I’ll be damned. Oh well. It would have been a hoax anyway (like many line up shots that capture crowded or closing out days at just the right angle at just the right moment).
It was pretty crowded this day with the usual locals – Rizal, Bol, and a few traveling pros like Shane Dorian. I love shooting Padang Padang because it offers so many good angles and opportunities. It is very photogenic and well lit. My favorite angle though has to be the water. As you can see in the foreground the tide is just right for a surf or a camera swim. There is a pretty strong rip right off that rock that sucks you right into the lineup. The problem is coming in. Just like breaks in Hawaii, one needs to time it right and have a set wash them in. When the tide it gets lower than this it breaks nearly on dry reef, and when it gets too high the wave doesn’t have its famous barrel (unless it is really huge). The guys on the rock are hanging out with a video guy that is shooting and probably getting some great footage. I like the guy on the extreme right with his arm just kind of casually resting on his leg without a care in the world. Wouldn’t you like to be hanging out on that rock after a surf right about now? I know I would. Boy, missing Bali…
Rory Russell in the Mentawais
I am a big fan of the 70’s surfing scene and the history surrounding that era, so I was pretty stoked to run into Rory Russell in the Mentawais a few weeks back. We chatted about waves, his life and his most recent near death experience- heart failure. A history of partying led him to heart disease and literally dying on the operating room table before being blasted back to life by the doctors (and probably some God or creator of the universe or whatever you believe in). Rory is stoked to be alive and surfing again.
He was aboard the ever classic Indies Trader 1 with Martin Daly and other legends of surfing including Jeff Hakman. One of the cool things about the Trader 1 is that the boards all sit on pads in the middle of the boat above the cargo hold. It was in this stack of boards I noticed one of Rory’s shapes – a vintage 70’s style winged pintail only with thruster set up. I thought I would really like to try that board. I asked him about it and he said he had been working on some boards for collectors and limited distribution in the US and Europe. The boards looked great and even had the famous Lightning Bolt logos on them! Wow. Love that. I used to draw those on my notebooks at school.
At the end of our conversation he handed me a card that had his title on it: Hawaii Surf Legend and Two time Pipeline Surfing Champion. Damn, how cool is that? Some may say that it’s a little over the top to have that on your card, but, hey, those are the facts. Legend? Yes, absolutely. He was charging Pipe with Gerry Lopez back in the day and won what is now the Pipe Masters not once, but twice!
Rory runs a surf school where he resides on the Big Island, so if you want a lesson or want to contact him about one of those cool boards check out his website www.roryrussellsurfschool.com
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…
Return to Mentawai…
Hey everyone I just wanted to start by saying that my opinions weren’t too far off on the Billabong XXL. Check out the last post and compare. I missed the event again, but heard it was a great time. Truth is, I would rather be with my family and shoot the surf they are all hooting and hollering about! Werd.
So the countdown has started. I am returning to the Mentawai Islands in 10 days and am stoked about it. As I begin thinking about packing for the trip I realize that I have a bunch of old clothes that I need to get rid of. So the solution? I am going to pack the whole lot and take it on the trip for the people out there in the Islands and the boys on the boat. I highly suggest you do this. Think of it as spring cleaning with a cause. The cool thing is that you can pack all the stuff, wear it during the trip, give it away, and then fly home with nothing (except your boards or in my case tons of camera gear). How cool is that. The locals will be stoked! Here’s a shot of me with some of the locals in the village of Katiet (where HT’s/Lance’s right is located). This was 5 years ago! I wonder how much these kids have grown now? They could probably wear some of my clothes!
I wrote about baggage fees in a previous post and just wanted to talk about some resources for your Mentawai trip if you happen to be headed that direction this season. First and foremost, I work with Mentawai Surf Photos and can be hired to shoot your trip. A Mentawai trip can be a once and a lifetime experience and scoring the best surf of your life is possible on any given day. Why not have epic photos and videos of your adventure? You will wish you had hired us right about the time you come out of that perfect barrel! If you just want to see some insane shots or keep up with the season as it progresses, then put the site in your favorites and check it out. I also like the Mentawai Surf Report page they have over there. It has all the right links to make predictions. I am looking at it right now and see a very active Indian Ocean! YeeeHaawww! Let’s hope it stays that way.
I always like to mention Surf Aid as they really help the locals out there and it feels almost like a requirement to me that a small donation is made for everyone that makes a trip. I donate both money and images to help promote their cause (many of the photos you see on the site and in their brochures I shot on location over the years). Check it out.
I would also like to give props to the surf charter company – Indies Trader. These guys have it together and I am stoked when I have clients that hire me for a trip with Indies Trader. I always seem to get waves on their boats and one of the reasons is that they stay out for two weeks rather than 10 days. Martin once told me the reason he does that is because the odds are better for ‘two distinct swell episodes’ and that what usually happens on a 10 day trip is that you are driving back to Padang just when the new swell is hitting rather than scoring right before you go. I know this has happened to me more than once! For this trip I will be in the Indies Trader 3 one of the nicest boats in the Islands. Stoked. Sure it costs a little more, but if you are going on a trip of a lifetime, don’t go cheap! Go for it! (and hire me)!
Billabong XXL – my picks
So I sat down this beautiful Easter weekend and watched the videos/photos of the Billabong XXL. Although we didn’t get many XXL entries on this side of the planet (except for Mavericks), there were some whoppers to be had elsewhere- namely Tasmania and South Africa. So here are my picks with a brief explanation:
Ride of the Year: Ryan Hipwood – Tasmania
I was asked by Billabong to rank these 1-5. Ryan Hipwood wins this category hands down for me. He is a Tasmaniac! This freaking wave is the poster child for Ride of the Year. You got your late drop…your thick lip…your huge barrel…and then…then…dude jumps the speed bump and launches an air and lands! Are you kidding. Sick!- and I don’t say that much on SickShots. Never mind he is barely hanging on for life the whole time. He may even be a one hit wonder. Who knows? Who cares? Props to you Mr. Hipwood (cool ass name too) I have never even heard of you and that was incredible!
Rounding out this award was #2 Greg Long’s insane wave at Dungeons, #3 More Tasmania from James Holmer Cross #4 Brian Conley in Mexico who gets an A+ for presentation for taking a camera on board for the ride and finally, #5 Garrett McNamara for a very impressive Teahupoo layback tube. I could see good arguments (which some of you had) for all of these. I took your suggestions and considered them before choosing the above (as well as what follows).
Biggest XXL WAVE award – Mark Matthews
It will always be hard for me to vote for that big wave face in Belharra, France. It just doesn’t seem to have the same consequences that some of the other outer reefs have. Notice I was careful not to call it soft or criticize the riders, but truthfully, it is a wave for XXL wannabes. A practice field for the Junior Varsity perhaps. You get it. So I didn’t consider any of those entries.
What was left were the two entries from Cow Bommie and Twiggy’s entry from Tafelberg Reff in SA. It is too bad for Grant ‘Twiggy’ Baker that the footage is shakier than a bigfoot sighting video. I mean I think the dude won. But wait, the frickin video gets tossed out of screen at the biggest moment! Bummer. I can’t tell…Did he win? Maybe? I will give the video man his props because he shot that while riding on the back of a ski whilst being chased down by the beast (which I can tell you from experience it is not easy)!
So that leaves the Cow Bommie footage. Mark Matthews wins. Not by much, but he gets my vote. The wave looks just a little bit bigger and scarier and steeper. Enough said.
Monster Paddle: Grant ‘Twiggy’ Baker
This is not a make up call! He really wins this one. I think. You already know Axi gets shafted for riding Belharra. Although I want to vote for James Taylor who may just sing a song on stage when he collects his 15G’s, I have trouble selecting him to win riding a closeout. Seems that one should be in the wipeout category.
So that leaves us with the Mavericks rides. With a broken femur on the mend Nathan Fletcher is the sentimental favorite (and that may make the difference). I want to vote for the guy because he is the real deal charger. But sorry to say Derek and Twiggy got slightly larger waves. It is a tough call between the two, but Twiggy wins and gets my vote.
Monster Tube: Mark Healey
Of all these entries, Kerby Browns wave is the most interesting and I think the ‘helicopter’ looking angle may hurt his chances (although I love the view). Ryan Hipwood’s wave has already been discussed and as great as it is should not be in this category. I want to see a deep tube and exit (why is Brian Conley’s wave not in here)! Dylan Longbottom is dealing with more of a Monster than a Monster ‘Tube’, so I nixed him.
That leaves Garrett at Chopes and Mark Healy at Yeti Oregon. No one will be with me on this one…Sorry Garrett, your wave is worthy and you may just win, but Mark Healy’s act is just a little more daring. Think about Mark Healy’s photo for a moment. It has got to be freezing cold and the wave looks so dangerous and they call it ‘Yeti’ that’s f’kin scary. You can’t even see what is really going on, but you know he is just shacked off his head in that cold water version of chopes, while the rest of the pacific impacts the reef. Incredible. I like it. Props to you Mark. You get my vote.
Wipeout Award: Dean Bowen
They gave this vote to you – the ’surfing public’- to decide. If you don’t agree with my take then go to Billabong XXL and vote for yourself!
Greg Long and Twiggy get buried under mountains of white water rubble and don’t even get my consideration for this award. Shame that. My Chilean friend Ramon Navarro skips down the face before total disaster and doesn’t get my vote. Sucks man. Ross Clark Jones (a.k.a the wrestler) has been putting in his time and gets the whole ocean dropped on his asss and gets passed by for this award. Hard life. Congrats Dean Bowen. The video guy that framed the rocks in the foreground of your wipeout won you this one. Split the prize money with him and go celebrate. Cheers.
Mens Performance: Grant ‘Twiggy’ Baker
Sorry boys Twiggy wins. Easy.
Women’s Performance: Maya Gabiera
This one is difficult. I know all these girls. They are all chargers. Mercedes was on every swell that broke at the Bay. Jamilah is my sentimental favorite because she is a Mom and how many Moms go out at Mavericks?
Maya did a Tow-in Session in November on a flukey day on Oahu’s North Shore and ended up catching a bomb that was featured all over the place by Red Bull. That wave sealed it for her. I would have liked to see more swell to give these ladies the chance to get more entries, but Maya gets my vote and she deserves it- again.
WAS I RIGHT?
You will have to check back on April 18, 2009 to see if I was right. Don’t like my picks? Give me your comments and make your predictions. It is easy to make the call after the awards ceremony. Don’t be a lightweight. Give me your take rookie!
I will review my picks in a future post…stay tuned.
Mentawai trip- Baggage fees
I am less than a month away from a Mentawai surf charter and I am really looking forward to it. My office looks like some kind of mad scientist’s laboratory. I have some new gear that I am experimenting with and can’t wait to use it on the trip. Packing it all and shipping it over there is always a hassle and baggage fees come with the territory. I thought I would take a moment and write about baggage fees for those of you traveling soon.
I am flying on Cathay Pacific with a connection through Jakarta with Garuda. Not the usual way to go to Padang, but I am following the surfers that have frequent flyer miles. The normal route is to take Singapore airlines and connect with Tiger Air.
Recently Surfline did an article about fees for surfboards and I highly suggest reading that to see what charges may be coming. Remember this – Airline baggage fees are subject to change without notice. They also seem to be connected to how the agent feels that day. The best thing to do is to BE NICE and see what happens. Here are a few other tips to get you on your way:
1. Be nice. Oh yeah, we said that, but it is worth repeating.
2. Take less stuff. Easy. Do you really need 4 boards? Do you really need all those clothes? If you are going to the Mentawais you should bring two pairs of shorts, a few T-shirts (that you give away to the locals when you leave) and the clothes you travel in (wear long pants it is more respectful). That’s it. You are going to be on a boat for two weeks surfing. What else do you need? Really.
3. If you show up to check in with just one bag and a board you are more likely to get them both on for free. Singapore airlines does this as do others. If you bring less stuff it costs less.
4. Watch the weight of your bags. Some airlines have rules on the weight per bag and will refuse your luggage if you can’t slim it down (I have seen this vary around 50kg – sometimes more, sometimes less). This includes your board bag, so keep it as light as possible. Try to evenly distribute the weight in each bag before you go to the airport rather than repacking with a huge line behind you.
5. Avoid a huge line behind you (or worse, in front of you) by arriving early! Your boards are more likely to make the flight if you arrive more than 2 hours early (get there 3 hours early. What’s it going to hurt to insure your boards get on the plane? You have been planning this trip for a long time!).
6. Tiger airways gives you the opportunity to buy excess baggage allowance and ’sports equipment’ (i.e. surfboard) before the trip on the website for a discount. Do it. Buy as much as you think you will need and more. It will cost you 3 times as much if you go over and have to purchase excess baggage allowance at check in.
7. Listen to your ticketing agent about connections. Don’t try to make unrealistic connections (especially to the destination) because your boards may not make it and even worse it may take several days to get them! The general rule is at least 2 hours. In airports like Jakarta or with airlines like Garuda allow 3 hours or more and even then you have no guarantee.
8. Now if you are a photographer….well, you are screwed! ha ha. Actually there are a few tips… a). Use a board bag to bring equipment like light stand or pelican cases b). Seats on Tiger are cheap, so buy an extra SEAT for your valuable Think Tank roller bag loaded with Camera bodies and lenses (same if you have a guitar). c). Pack everyting like fine china and bring back ups! d). Call ahead and tell the airline ground staff that you are a professional photographer (if you really are) and explain that you have a lot of equipment and need assistance. Sometimes they help. Sometimes they don’t.
I just found this site that has other helpful tips for frequent flying photographers and he even wrote a blog entry about TSA’s new policy that lets you shoot photos around the security area (are they trying to turn over a new leaf?).
Happy travels and remember – be nice. You are going surfing and having fun. You aren’t even allowed to be grumpy if you get skunked because you got away from life for a week or two and most other people in this world are stuck and some don’t even surf! ouch.
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.
South Swell approaches
It looks like our first south swell will be visiting this weekend and it is predicted to be at least head high. Here’s one of your options – Malibu! Just don’t expect it to be a solo session! ha ha. Wherever your south swell spot is, check it out starting Saturday (probably more like Sunday/Monday). Does this mean the water is going to be warmer? Hope so.
Hey, I am always getting updates from the Surfing Heritage Foundation. This place has some of the classic boards of our sport in their ‘museum’ and it is definitely worth a visit. You may even want to see their website for some Ron Stoner images and other cool stuff.
I just saw that Joel Parkinson won at his home break at Kirra in some good looking waves. Congrats to him, but really, it is about time! Dude is a great surfer and that is his local. He should have taken this one years ago. I think the real surprise is that Kelly slumped in with a 17th. Does that mean he has some supermodel he’s tuning? Looks like the usual suspects in the top 10 with the Hobgoods, Mick and Taj. Next stop – Bells Beach.
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!
