Paddle power is back!
I got a call from a friend of mine today from the North Shore of Oahu. He was standing on a 3-story beach house where he was doing construction. There were a few guys surfing a well known tow-in spot in front of him and he was giving me the play by play. ”One of them just took off he’s higher than I am on this house! Whoa, they are all paddling! There’s no skis!” Whoa is right. How cool is that. Paddle power is coming back into vogue with all this swell around. Seems the old school hellman were just waiting to come out of the wood work. A big gun and your own power. There’s something to be said for the whole waterman process of getting out into the ocean, stroking into a monster and making it back in on your own.
I received this press release from the Billabong XXL today (see below). It describes what is being claimed as one of the biggest paddle-in waves ever at Waimea. Unfortunately it doesn’t look like anyone got another angle than this side view. I sure hope one turns up because a front view of this would really put it in perspective. Anyway, It is a monster and worth big congrats to Shane and Mark for an impressive display of bravado!
The photo here is of Kohl Christensen earlier that day (front view). Kohl is one of the paddle guys. He can usually be found in the gnarliest places when the surf is big. I’ve seen him as a little spec on the horizon out at Himilayas as I drove by Lanis on many a large swell. Sometimes he is by himself. I was stoked to see him in the Eddie. Now that I think about it, it was probably Kohl that was out paddling that tow-in spot my buddy was telling me about. Cool.
NEWPORT BEACH, CA — (January 8, 2010) — The promise of the El Nino winter appears to have delivered for big wave surfers, as many long-standing records are ready to fall in this year’s Billabong XXL Global Big Wave Awards presented by Monster Energy. And more than ever before, the Monster Paddle category (just for surfers who catch their waves without any jet ski assistance) has taken center stage as the elite of the sport refocus on this elemental man-against-the-sea tradition. Visual evidence of these landmark performances can be viewed at the event website at www.BillabongXXL.com.
While huge swells have blasted nearly every coastline of the planet in recent months, it has been the Hawaiian Islands which have had the most mind-bending proof of the power of the current El Nino weather phenomenon. December 7-8, 2009 saw one of the biggest swells in modern history batter the northern shores of the entire Hawaiian Chain, followed by another extraordinary day of outer reef waves on Christmas. From these historic moments of oceanic grandeur have come images which show several top big wave surfers paddling into what may well be the biggest waves ever caught by human power in the long history of the sport.
Among these superlative rides is a massive dark wall caught by Shane Dorian and Mark Healey which closed out the legendary Waimea Bay on Oahu on December 7. Also up for consideration is another mammoth peak at Waimea ridden by Chile’s Ramon Navarro which earned the South American hero a perfect score in the Quiksilver in Memory of Eddie Aikau event on December 8. And more recently, grainy, documentary photos have arrived depicting Garrett McNamara paddling into a distant peak at Outer Log Cabins, a rarely-seen outer reef far off the North Shore shoreline, previously only the domain of tow-in surfers with jet-powered watercraft.
All are likely to figure prominently as finalists for the Monster Paddle Award to be given out at the tenth annual Billabong XXL Big Wave Awards to be held in California in late April. A panel of big wave surfing and photography experts will analyze the available images and by interpreting the known sizes of the surfers and their surfboards, calculate reliable height estimates for the face of each wave. One will emerge as the Monster Paddle winner and will receive $15,000 out of the total event purse of $130,000.
The current world record for a paddle-in wave belongs to Taylor Knox of San Diego, California who rode a wave measured at 52 feet at Todos Santos Island off of Ensenada, Mexico during the last major El Nino episode in 1998. Many experts are expecting an update to the Guinness Book of World Records once this winter’s measurements are complete.
Dorian and Healey are veterans of decades of big wave hunting and both concur that their shared ride at Waimea was easily the biggest either had ever caught. “I’d been waiting 15 years for that wave,” said Dorian, of Kona, on the Big Island. “That wave, we could see it from when it was like two or three minutes away from breaking, we could see the wave coming in, everybody’s screaming on the beach and yelling and stuff… When the wave finally came in, it was SO big. The thing was a MONSTER. We both put our heads down and started paddling and somehow we both caught it.
“I was going no matter what,” Dorian added. “And I know Mark felt the same way. It was just fun. A party wave — a wave of that size, and it was for sure the biggest wave I’ve ever paddled into, and to do it with my real good friend, it was very….memorable.”
Mark Healey has lived down the road from Waimea all his life and has been one of its most dedicated practitioners. But he’d never seen waves like this.
“That was the biggest day I’ve ever had at Waimea,” said Healey. “And that wave in particular was definitely by far bigger than anything I’ve ever caught out there, for sure.”
The wave was so large it closed out all the way across the Bay, not allowing the surfers the opportunity to kick out over the top of the wave as usual, and forcing them to straighten out and take the endless tons of whitewater on their heads. But for Healey, a renowned freediver with the ability to hold his breath for over five minutes, it was a fun experience. The longtime friends surfaced unharmed right next to each other, hooting with excitement.
“We were pretty stoked,” said Healey. ”Big waves are different, there’s a lot of brotherhood involved, stuff like that. I’d rather have had Shane catch that wave than ride it alone. It was cool to share a wave like that with a friend, and someone I look up to.”
McNamara, another North Shore stalwart, likes his own chances in the Monster Paddle derby. A past winner of the XXL Paddle crown in 2007 for a huge wave at Northern California’s Maverick’s, “GMac” reckons his Outer Logs Christmas present was several notches larger. “I don’t know how big it was,” McNamara said. “But I do know it felt at least ten feet bigger than anything I’ve ever paddled into. The Mavs wave a few years back was small compared to it….”
Remarkably, there may be much, much more to come. This week the National Weather Service’s Climate Prediction Center issued an alert confirming that the current El Nino episode had intensified in the last 30 days from “moderate” to “strong,” adding that the condition would exert a “significant influence on the global weather and climate in the coming months.” And for surfers in the North Pacific basin, that means more enormous waves. According to Surfline.com, major new swell events are lining up in the coming days, impacting the Hawaiian Islands around Monday and the West Coast around Wednesday of next week.
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.
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…
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!
Old School G-Land, Java
Here’s a shot from G-Land in 2004. I was staying at Bobby’s camp (I always stay there) in the huts that used to be up near the beach. I got some great waves on this trip and shot quite a bit as well. I took this photo from a bodyboard with my ‘new Canon 10D’! So funny! I was using a custom built housing by that guy in Newcastle, Australia (I can’t remember Dave’s last name right now or I would give him a plug). I still have that housing, but the 10D is long gone.
Just so you all know…For awhile now I have been shooting Weddings and Portraits in Los Angeles and have freshened up my look a bit. I added a new logo, which will eventually change on my DaveCollyer.com site. The whole story can be found on my new blog! What? A new blog? Yep. This new blog will cover some of the other work I am doing so that you don’t have to suffer though wedding photos and the like- ha ha! I will still be writing about surf and taking surf photos as much as possible, but I gotta pay the bills too and surf photography can be a starving artist endeavor. To say again, SickShots is alive and well and I will continue to take shots and write about surf. In fact, I also have decided to start writing about surf photography itself because I get so many emails about it. I will try to include lessons and the so called ’secrets’ that I have learned over the years every now and then. So here goes my first Surf Photography 101 class…
Surf Photography 101:
So what is wrong with this photo? Look closely at the left side of the photo where the white water is breaking. That is one overexposed nasty white area that ruins this shot in my opinion. Too bad because it was a nice moment and I got drilled taking this photo! Back then one had to actually adjust the 10D down a stop to get the right exposure when using TV mode. Now it seems they have it sorted out, but it can still happen. Yes, I mentioned TV mode, which is also known as ‘Shutter Priority’. In other words you set the shutter (to say something like 1/1000 to freeze the action) and the aperture ‘floats’ (i.e. 5.6 or 6.3) and is determined to get a ‘proper’ exposure.
In this case it didn’t work, which is another reason you should be using Manual settings all the time! If you are using ‘P’ or program mode (No, that does not mean ‘Professional’ mode!) then you are getting some bad exposures, especially when shooting surf! The camera will often ‘blow out’ the white water (notice there is absolutely no detail in the ‘whites’) trying to guess the right exposure by using the rest of the photo (which is dark) when determining the shutter and aperture (or one or the other depending on the mode, TV or AV, respectively).
Hope this makes some sense to you. If not, go read your manual. Really, read it. There’s some good stuff in there. I was reluctant to read my flash manual when I got some of the best advice ever from Vince Cavataio. He said, “Put your manual in the bathroom and read it when you have some ‘down time’. Brilliant! More advice? Yes, start using Manual mode all the time. If you shoot in RAW you can save most photos that are over or underexposed by as much as 3 stops! Have fun and go take some shots.
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.
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.
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…………
Return to the Mentawai Islands
I was in the Mentawai’s back in May on the Indies Trader 3 and will be returning again in less than 2 weeks. We had a few small days on the last trip like this one, but anytime you can rip a turn like Australian Eddie here, it’s a fun day! I am looking forward to getting back out there and shooting a group of friends I have had on several trips in the past. As always, if you are looking for a photographer or videographer to capture your surf trip check out Mentawai Surf Photos.
Grandpa’s day
Here is one of those days my friend Chris aka Grandpa likes to surf at Uluwatu. This photo is taken from right in front of Peanut’s place where he hangs out and waits for days like this. It doesn’t look it, but that is solid Ulu’s. Easily double overhead with much bigger sets. Damn it looks so easy and perfect in the photo! Thing is, the restaurant is so far above the arena it is hard to get a feel for what is really going on. I remember there were a lot of people nibbling nasi goreng and watching sets and very few waxing boards. Grandpa was waxing up and going up the coast to find a bigger wave.
I have been thinking about Chris a lot because of his recent accident. He’s been living the dream in Bali for months until the nightmare happened. He got into a motorcycle crash. This happens a lot in Bali. Uluwatu hold downs, Padang Padang reef, even king cobras are much further down the list of Bali’s dangerous things compared to riding a bike. Most indonesians don’t wear helmets and stack an entire family of four on the family bike. That’s living dangerously.
Chris was on the by pass road somewhere near the McDonalds where you turn off to go to Ulu’s. Just driving along on his motorcycle like he had a hundred times before. Then- Blackout. He doesn’t remember anything. He wasn’t drinking or on drugs. He woke up in a daze on the side of the road. His shoulder was out of it’s socket and his elbow bone was exposed. He picked up his phone and tried to call a friend to help and realized he couldn’t talk – he had broken his jaw and his front teeth were missing. Unbelievably he picked up his bike and started riding for help to meet his friend at a restaurant because they didn’t know where he was. It was dark and it began to rain and then storm. When he made it there they took him to a clinic and upon seeing him in the light immediately headed for the Hospital in Denpasar. Later he had surgery and had his jaw wired shut.
Since then we have traded a few emails and yesterday he said he took a walk for the first time in two weeks. I was stoked for him. I know he is itching to get back in the water. I know he is waiting for a day like this. When he is ready, and Uluwatu is too big for most, I know he won’t be nibbling nasi goreng. It will be Grandpa’s day. Get well soon my friend.
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…
Mentawai Trip now posted!
I finally posted an entry on Mentawai Surf Photos from my recent Mentawai Trip. If you go to the website you can find the entry in the lower left portion of the site where it says ‘Photos’ or you can follow this link to my latest Mentawai Trip.
The entry includes photos and the ‘photographer’s light table’ that is pretty cool to see all the top 100 shots. There are a few more things coming including video and a time lapse of the trip.
The videos were shot using the go pro cameras, which are all the rage at the moment and I am quickly becoming a believer. I will fully review the camera and give you some pointers on it in a coming post, but for now you can read what my friend Mark Anders wrote about the camera in this gopro article on Surfline. You can also look at this video of me surfing Macaronis with a go pro during my Mentawai testing stage, but it is nothing like the cool video of Jon Jon getting shacked on Go Pro’s website. I did this so you could see what a an ‘average guy’ looks like surfing with the go pro.
I really like the time lapse feature (photo every 2 seconds) and have some great footage to share, but it takes time to stitch – I thought photographs took time, but moving pictures are a whole other thing! I am getting into it and loving the results. I will share it someday soon and it is worth the wait if you are into the artistic.
This photo was taken inside of the Indies Trader 3 from the dining room table while I was working on some photos behind the computer. The window was right in front of me and all I had to do was pick up my camera. The boys had just eaten lunch and were resting before paddling back out at Macaronis while it continued to peel off the boats stern with just a few guys out. The surfer in me always gets kind of restless when I see perfect empty waves going to waste, but we can’t surf all day and there’s going to be more, so I am slowly learning to relax when I see the perfect set reel off. If you look to the left on the photo you can see a bulletin board with some random photos that changes every now and then. At the moment there is a shot of two guys on the boat – Martin Daly and Laird Hamilton. Above that another empty wave and so on. I really like this boat and it’s history.
Again, I want to say I had a great time on this trip with Eddie and the boys and just want to send out a big thanks to everyone!
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.
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!
Sharks Sighted at Waimea Bay!
Seems the ‘man in the grey suit’ has been seen around the Bay lately. I have never seen this sign before and it made for a shameless photo op. That’s me and my little boy who just turned 1 year old! All we really need is one big pumping swell to clear them out!
Looks like we will be getting more larger waves about midweek just in time for the Haleiwa contest. I saw them setting up the scaffolding today which signals the start of the Triple Crown. Haleiwa is a great place to watch the event, so grab a beach towel and come join the fun. Event should get underway as the waiting period starts and the swell rises on Wednesday.
Goodbye, old friend…
The old Sickshots site is going to be trashed starting tomorrow (it is so large it may take all weekend). There has been plenty of warning for you to get your SickShots, so please don’t come crying to me about “dude, I forgot to order my photo!” Sorry, it’s time to move on. You’ve only had 6 months!
Having said that, I have waited so long for all of you because I hate trashing your memories. Some people come back months or years later and ask about photos. There have been some epic moments over the years and I thank you for letting me be a part of them. Waimea, Padang Padang and the Mentawais come to mind right away. These are my favorite places to shoot and I have fond memories of every single session I have ever shot at these places. Maybe I will have to reload some of the better sessions on the new site? Hmm…that’s a good idea. Now if I just had time.
I was feeling kind of sentimental looking at the old site. I remember building it during a surf charter aboard the ‘Pelagic‘ in the Mentawais several years ago. After shooting all day, uploading heaps of photos and then showing the guests a slideshow, I would stay up until the wee hours of the night and listen to Gansta rap and bust it out. I finished the entire thing in 5 nights. The new version of Sickshots took 5 weeks with help from two programmers- and it is still not finished! The truth that no site is ever finished. There is always something you can do better or want to add. Completion of websites is an elusive goal for sure.
Some of you have criticized the new site because it lacks the simplicity of the old site. I get it. I guess I got bored with the old look and wanted to bring some new features. A good example is the automation of the buying process so you can now get your photos right away. It is also more of a signature site for my work. I decided not to become a free for all site with a lot of photographers contributing. I just wanted to do my thing and keep it simple. The old ‘SickShot of the day’ is now on the blog and I haven’t changed it lately because I haven’t shot much surf in the past few weeks. When I am in Hawaii starting in November, expect that to blow up everyday!
I like the new site and know it can improve, still looking at the old one I can’t help but feel some sort of passing..RIP my old friend. Here’s to all the epic sessions that you held on your server and here’s to you my loyal fans and supporters and special thanks to all of you that bought photos over the years from that site.
Hey, this is not the end of SickShots, but the start of a new era. Welcome aboard!
Cheers!
Sunset Beach, California
The truth is that I never planned on shooting Sunset Beach today, but I was just too late getting out the door to make it down to Newport with a few of my friends. They reported head high sets with overhead waves and lots of closeouts with the odd hollow corner for a head dip. Sounds pretty good to me!
I gotta admit I was kind of stoked on Sunset today. I mean there were some good sets in the head high range and despite the lulls when it came there were some fun long lines! Here is an unknown surfer girl catching a wall and showing what I am talking about. Hope you had fun out there. The photos will be posted either tonight or tomorrow…
Don’t forget next week is the Trestles contest and your opportunity to see the best in the world compete for the Title. Kelly could put a lock down on it, but I am not going to jinx him like I did in Bali. Instead I will pick Mick Fanning to win it all. If so, it will again be a contest coming into the final stretch, but if he flames out Kelly will have an easier road to Hawaii. See you down there.
Martin Daly – Keeping Secrets
I just read this interview on Surfline with Martin Daly. If you don’t know who this guy is you need to read the interview. Martin is a modern day Christopher Columbus of surf. I have had the pleasure working with Martin over the past few years and I may not always agree with him and his angle, but I always respect his knowledge and gift for ‘lucking’ into good surf. The guy just has this knack for finding and discovering spots and he is a talented surfer to boot. I have some amazing photos of him ripping over the years. His fleet of vessels (www.indiestrader.com) are the best and most professionally run charters anywhere.
So you want me to tell you his ’secret spot’. No chance. But I bet if you if booked a trip on his boat he would take you there himself (and then you could take me to shoot it!). Werd
Return to Hollywood…
I am back in the Hollywood scene next week and working on a TV commercial with the very cool and creative Snorri Brothers. I love working with these guys! Check out the Toyota commercial I worked on with them two months ago. We used a ’secret technique’ to achieve the motion-action-skippy-thingy. Pretty cool look I reckon. How they did it will not be a secret much longer and I will probably talk about it in my blog when it becomes more frequently used.
They are from Iceland and are talented photographers as well. Here is some of their work- a picture of one of their fellow Icelanders- Byork. I got to admit I love Byork! Man, I guess I really need to go to Iceland or something because there is a lot of love for them in this blog. Hey, wait a sec…is there any surf there? Well, yes, but it might be pretty cold! Maybe I’ll just have to skip Iceland and go back to Indonesia again and buy a Byork CD.
Speaking of Indonesia. The Rip Curl Pro Search event is being held as I write this entry. I think the webcasts are so insane and they just keep getting better. Remember, I picked Kelly to win it all and it explained why a few entries ago. Let’s see if I am right (I am a genius- It’s like picking Tiger woods to win another major!). The waves for the event will be peaking today, so I hope you are watching it now. Sampai Jumpa.
Rip Curl is on…at Uluwatu!
The cat is out of the bag. The Rip Curl Search event is being held at Uluwatu. You can watch the ASP event, but you will have to stay up late if you are in the mainland US. The early heats will get underway right around the time Californians are starting to go to bed (Bali is 15 hours ahead- 9pm here is 6am in Bali).
Apparently Kelly Slater has been up to his old tricks surfing impressively and even going ’switch foot’. I will go out on a limb here (not really) and say Kelly will win this event. Why? Kelly is on a roll and he is good at keeping up his momentum. Kelly loves Bali, knows the break and has a support system in place. Finally, it suits his style. Uluwatu can be a difficult wave. It is moody and changes with swell and tide like no other place. Kelly is one of the most versatile surfers on the tour and reads conditions better than anyone. I think you will see him sit in different locations than his competitors in some heats exploiting his innate ability to catch the ’set of the day’. Don’t be surprised when he gets completely shacked on a day that isn’t really tubing. It’s just what he does and what makes him one of the greatest (the greatest) surfers of all time. I can’t wait to watch this contest!
Uluwatu’s Outside Corner
Check out this photo of ‘Grandpa’ Chris laying down a mean bottom turn at Outside Corner. I know this is one of those days he lives for. Dude is always down at the Bukit hanging out waiting for swell. Usually when it gets big and gnarly and the crowds seem to evaporate, Chris is there with a few other guys that like the real deal.
I have to tell you I didn’t take this photo. It was taken by one of Made Lana’s guys at Uluwatu where you can buy your shots right after the session. Ulu has turned into a full on photo fest. There are probably 7 photogs shooting down there and the chances that you got a shot from a session at Uluwatu is really good. Don’t worry the boys will find you and offer you the digital images. I have to be honest, I saw this coming and I see this as a BLurse (part blessing, part curse).
Nearly a decade ago, I shot this place alone (save for the odd mag assignment) for a few years before some Japanese guys set up shop and started making bank. When the locals saw this they became interested and fortunately they set up their own franchise and started to work it. I am stoked they did. It is their land and they are now benefitting. If you think you are going to come here and make a bunch of money selling photos, think again. It is full on. I selfishly long for the days of shooting here and selling photos, but things change and it is time to move on. BLurse.
Small but hollow!
Timed it with the low tide today and managed to get a few shots of the small crowd pulling into the green room. Yes, it was small, but fun and about the day of the year anywhere else in the world.
Just another reminder. I am returning to LA in a few days and will upload the galleries soon after so stayed tuned and be on the look out for you in the pit!
Speaking of pit…the swell will be coming up on Monday or Tuesday and my plan is to shoot until the dying seconds of my trip. So get out there and pull in! I’ll be waiting…
Another good day of Bali surf
Hey everyone and thanks for checking in to SickShots. We had a good day for surf around Bali again with head high waves and bigger sets. My wife and I had a beachy surf at our favorite ’secret spot’ and took turns watching our son who was much more interested in the kites! Here is another shot of Padang Padang from yesterday that I took right before I went for a swim. I hang out at the first Warung (Ibu Made’s) and this is the view I have as I prepare to go out. It is a classic and sometimes when it is really good I just amp out trying to get ready watching all those perfect waves go past. Beautiful spot and one of my favorites. Sampai Jumpa
