SURF: January, SoCal Swell Pt.1

[Jaewhy]

What a winter it has been for surf in Southern California! :D:D:D
Dating back to early December, we've seen back to back to back to back long period swells pounding our coastline. Not to mention, great lighting conditions for shooting. Here's Pt. 1 of 2 of this past weekend's swell (1.9-1.11). A mix of empty waves and good riders doing their thing. Hope you enjoy!

1.
http://i295.photobucket.com/albums/mm159/Jephree15/IMG_4779.jpg

2.
http://i295.photobucket.com/albums/mm159/Jephree15/IMG_4741.jpg

3.
http://i295.photobucket.com/albums/mm159/Jephree15/IMG_4693.jpg

4.
http://i295.photobucket.com/albums/mm159/Jephree15/Jan-11-2010-065-NathanielCu.jpg

5.
http://i295.photobucket.com/albums/mm159/Jephree15/Jan-11-2010-003.jpg

As always, C&C welcome.

MORE CAN BE SEEN HERE (http://liquidplayground.blogspot.com).

[Michael15]

Awesome! #2 is outstanding!

[Jaewhy]

Thanks Michael. That's Mr. Mike Dippel absolutely shacked silly.

[justincase724]

Man those are some great looking waves. Oh, why do I have to be stuck at work all day when these great swells come through?

[Jaewhy]

Oh, why do I have to be stuck at work all day when these great swells come through?

:lol::lol::lol: all us socal photogs are texting each other the same thing.... :(

[MMURAD]

great shot!

[christisdale]

5 looks pretty sick!

[MikeFairbanks]

I like number two a lot, but love number five.

Darn you for posting these shots. Darn you!

I haven't ridden a good wave in a long time. I live in Atlanta but grew up in San Diego and surfed all up and down the coast of Southern California. Never really surfed much above Santa Barbara (once in Santa Cruz), but man the memories of Venura Overhead, Rincon, Emma Wood, and many, many more.

When I was a young man, getting uncrowded surf was easy. Summers at Lowers would have ten to twenty guys out around noon. Now there are that many on each wave. ;)

[Jaewhy]

Summers at Lowers would have ten to twenty guys out around noon.

multiply that crowd by 10 and that's considered a "thin" crowd at Lowers on a GOOD day (as I'm sure you know). i'm only 32 and hearing stories like that makes me wish i was born 20 years sooner. :D

[eastcoastsponger]

#5 is my pick. It reminds me of a Chris Burkard style photo. Its got the beach in the foreground, a nice back drop and you nailed the bottom turn.

[Mark II]

YEA! ... #5 is da bomb!

Mike,
You respond to a LOT of surf threads on here. You should move back to the big pond and feed the hunger. You're starving to death.

I know because I'm sick with it also.:lol:
The gulf isn't much
... but its kinda like the saying: better to have loved than never loved at all. Same goes for the sport of Kings.

[beano]

These are all really nice! As i scrolled down and the 1st shot came up, all that went through my head is "That's where i want to be...." :D

What's your setup for these shots, if you don't mind me asking?

[Jaewhy]

What's your setup for these shots, if you don't mind me asking?

i don't mind at all. sharing is caring! ;)
those days i was shooting w/ a 40D and the 70-200 2.8 IS w/ a 1.4xTC.
with the exception of #1 and #2, i wanted to get more of a pulled-back look to incorporate the sand in foreground combined with the scenic backdrop. hope i got close to nailing my objectives!?!? :confused:

[scsurfdad]

I live w/in walking distance to lowers and there are 20+ guys out before the sun even comes up on a decent day. Parking lot was full by 7 am this morning.

Thanks for sharing your shots,

[Jaewhy]

I live w/in walking distance to lowers and there are 20+ guys out before the sun even comes up on a decent day. Parking lot was full by 7 am this morning.

Thanks for sharing your shots,

20!?! That's it? :p:p:p

[MikeFairbanks]

A long time ago I formulated a plan, but never put it into action:

Basically there are two ways to normally access Lowers (or uppers). First, of course, is the usual path by the bridge near Carl's Jr/Green Burrito. There's also the dropoff spot on the bridge south of there.

My plan, which I never tried (but I think would work) would be to "borrow" two or three of those wooden sawhorse things with the flashing yellow light on top (you know, where you see a closed road or something). Put a couple at one entrance and one at the other. Then, put a sign on each that says, "closed by order of the city" or something like that. Then, to top it off, add some of that yellow warning tape.

You would have to do this around midnight, get some sleep, and then hit up early the next morning.

I'm sure some guys would scoff and go surfing anyway, but I'm willing to bet most guys would turn around and head back to the car.

I never tried it, and (legal disclaimer): don't do it. I'm just joking around.

[windpig]

#2kills!

[Mark II]

Surf Trestles one time for 40 minutes .... until my board hit me in my cheek, cracked my cheek bone and needed 20 stitches (10 inside & 10 outside).

As I was walking up the road, I saw Jim Hogan. He said "I may need a butterfly on it".:rolleyes:

Three days later, after "observations" .... they let me out of the hospital.

That's a long walk up that road alone, injured. Had to beg a guy working at the rip curl shop to bring me to my friends apartment right down the road by the golf course. A "Southerner" would have brought me all the way to the hospital!

Sorry for the hijack.

[TristanCardew]

These waves are what dreams are made of. I can't stop looking at them - especially considering the current Australian Summer has been appalling for waves.

Great shots too, by the way..captured perfectly. We don't see enough surfing shots like these on POTN in my opinion. Pulled back a little and shot from a 45 degree angle to show more of the surrounding area and wave, rather than the typical 400mm close-up of someone pulling a big reo where their body fills the whole frame. You've won me over.

And now I shall go book myself a trip to SoCal. :D

[frameworks]

Very nice. Makes the winter seem a little warmer!

[Jaewhy]

We don't see enough surfing shots like these on POTN in my opinion. Pulled back a little and shot from a 45 degree angle to show more of the surrounding area and wave, rather than the typical 400mm close-up of someone pulling a big reo where their body fills the whole frame. And now I shall go book myself a trip to SoCal. :D

thanks for your kind words Tristan.

most surf photographers should have the 400 and 600 in their arsenal (for the mags). however, i have purposely chosen not to purchase with the sole purpose of discplining myself to be more creative. i hope it's worked so far as i still have so much to learn/explore. :)

[MikeFairbanks]

One thing I learned about surf photography is that it would be a very difficult job if doing it to pay the bills. I wouldn't want that job unless it was a staff position with a salary and some bonuses here and there (like photo editor type of job). But that takes twenty years of hard work before you get a good job like that (usually) unless you can start your own magazine or something. And even then, magazines come and go quickly, particularly with the internet.

Amateurs probably enjoy it a lot more. But what do I know? I'm stuck in a brick building all day and often go nine or ten hours without stepping one foot into sunshine.

[Jaewhy]

One thing I learned about surf photography is that it would be a very difficult job if doing it to pay the bills. I wouldn't want that job unless it was a staff position with a salary and some bonuses here and there (like photo editor type of job). But that takes twenty years of hard work before you get a good job like that (usually) unless you can start your own magazine or something. And even then, magazines come and go quickly, particularly with the internet.

Amateurs probably enjoy it a lot more. But what do I know? I'm stuck in a brick building all day and often go nine or ten hours without stepping one foot into sunshine.

i can be a daunting job to continuously market yourself to the mags,etc. IMO, it's best to join a stock photo agency specialized in surf photography. there are a few choice companies out there that make sure you're compensated fairly for your work. just my $.02