Waiting it Out

This week we had a drive by Hurricane, turned Tropical Storm, finally dying out as a Tropical Depression. The only significant weather phenomenon from it was an easterly surf swell not usually seen here. Most of the time it’s a Trade Wind swell not storm generated. Plus, the direction allowed for surfing in spots that rarely get good action.   This shot was taken looking across to Makapuu Lighthouse.  The surfer paused, waiting for a good moment to walk the rest of the way on the rocks and into the surf.

Wawamalu Beach

On my way out to Makapuu last week I saw how unusually good the surf was at a nearby beach.  PHOTO OP!  For the next two hours I clicked away and ended up with 1800 images!  Almost every wave was ride able and the surfers and boogie boarders were doing their best to catch them.  This was the first time I had used my a77M II to capture so many surf shots. It did a great job focusing on the constant movement.

 

Now Don’t Move

Surfer in Sequence

I’ve done a bunch of sequence shots with my hang gilding and paragliding friends.  Today I saw the same possibility while getting some surf shots.  There’s a spot called China Walls.  A shelf along the shoreline of Koko Head where a south swell will run almost perpendicular to the ledge. A surfer gets a nice ride if the wave breaks at the correct angle to the ledge. I got this handheld and at noon.  I’m generally pleased but it does lack a sense of depth. I don’t get a sense of the swell as it moved thru the frame propelling the surfer along. Maybe earlier in the day or late afternoon would improve the composition.

Almost Down

If you take a lot of photos it’s always worthwhile to go back to previous years.    
Your photo eye has certainly improved since you took your earlier images. Plus, if you use Lightroom, as I do, or Aperture.   It’s an opportunity to rework an image that might have been so so at the time.

Surf with a view

Surf Shot

Fishing for a Surfer

 

 

Blurred Surfer

I made the leap to a DSLR in 2005 with the Konica Minolta Maxxum 7D.  The photo ops that pushed the limits of my 7D and lens combination were lowlight with alot of movement.  I took a bunch of pictures that I knew weren’t great but they had potential if I knew how to work with them.   Surfing subjects within an hour of sunset were a challenge.  I could push the ISO up to 1600 but I wasn’t happy with those results.  The highest I would go was ISO 800 with my 28-200 Sigma at full zoom.  With the lens as wide as it would go the best shutter speeds I could get were 45th or 60th of a sec. After my initial post processing I set those pics aside to wait for a better day.  Today is the day for one of them.  With recent upgrades in both hardware and software plus additional skill with the software (Lightroom and Photoshop), I’m revisiting those early efforts.   What ya think?