Blog move...

I'm transferring this blog to my main photog blog for now, please follow the link...

http://ianforsyth.blogspot.com/

Trapped

I'm trapped in-land and need a F#*£$%# surf!!!!!! Doing my head in!

The Book is ready...

For those waiting for the release of...'Don't Jump off the Pier', researched and written by Saltburn surfer Simon Palmer - It is now done.


Published by Quetzal Books www.quetzalbooks.com and also available from local shops and from Saltburn Surf Shop the book documents the history and the introduction of surfing to the East Yorkshire coast either side of Saltburn by the Sea and mentions those people who brought the 'Sport of Kings' to us.

Filled with anecdotes and commentary the book will interest all those who surf in the chilly waters of the North East coast and indeed all those surfers wherever they may be who appreciate that, despite all the technology that now goes into surf boards and wetsuits, it had far more humble and basic roots in the early days.

I'm proud to say I was able to support Simon with his endeavour by providing many of the photographs within the book, I hope they do it justice.

Read it during the flat spells to keep your stoke fuelled!
Enjoy, and cheers for your effort Simon - looking forward to the next edition!

'Don't Jump off the Pier'
Priced at £13.95
ISBN 978-0-9533119-1-0

Practice for the Land Locked

I'm currently working out of a place near Salisbury and due to being in this location, which is going to be kinda long term and my work commitments whilst I'm there it is getting harder to get away not only to have a surf but to photograph surfing.

Not wishing to dwell on this point, for obvious reasons, but it is, to state mildly, doing my head in. However, with a healthy supply of surfing DVD's I can keep the cravings at bay, well sort of, although the down side is that the more I watch the more I want to go for a surf - it is a no win situation!

But fear not, there is one thing that the land locked surf tog can do to help improve your photo technique and keep your eye in - I've mentioned it in passing before and at the risk of getting loads of shit from my mates! Get your camera out and shoot your surfing DVD's.



It's good practice, and if you sit at the other side of the room you can even work on your long lens techniques and if you get really into it and want to live the full North East England surf photography experience you can even stand in the garden when it's raining and blowing a gale and shoot through the window - Just like the real thing! (No, I haven't actually done this myself!!)

Don't worry about the quality - they are going to be crappy, but concentrate on getting the peak of the action. The advantage is that you can shoot any breaks you want - Teahupoo, North Shore, Indo, Oz.....your only limited by your DVD collection.


Keep your camera on single shot and go for the peak of the action, work on your timing rather than anything else and you will start to see an improvement when your next shooting for real.

There might even be the chance to go for the atmospheric, scenics as well...

It may not be the best way of shooting surfing but when your land locked and stuck it's an option and besides, you can even get photos of the other great thing about surfing....

Don't Jump off the Pier

A friend of mine and dedicated surfer, Simon Palmer, has recently completed the final touches to his book 'Don't Jump off the Pier'.

The book, based on the surf scene in Saltburn in Cleveland highlights the rise of a sport and a way of life on the cold and windy North East coast of England that found it's way to our shores from the faraway surf spots on the Hawaiian coast.

The story starts in 1964 with three surfers and continues through to the millennium where over 300 surfers at Saltburn by the Sea now enjoy the 'Sport of Kings', a reference to the Hawaiian kings, the pioneers of surfing. The book captures the spirit of surfing in Saltburn which boasts a rich surfing heritage and world class waves.

I'm please to say that Simon asked to use many of my surf images to illustrate the book, which I was more than happy to do.

The book is available in May and can be ordered through Quetzal Books at...... http://www.quetzalbooks.com/

Priced at £13.95 plus £2.50 Post and Packaging.

Black and White

Sometimes even when the light is far from ideal, as it was here during a recent swell at Saltburn you can still try and get some decent pictures. Every photo from this session I turned black and white in photoshop. The light was grey and flat and far from perfect, but sometimes you have to work with what you have.

Look for strong compositions and try and shoot a little wider for a more 'arty' look to the pictures. Remember that you make the composition, you don't always have to place your subject - the surfer, right in the centre of the frame, the image may be stronger if the surfer forms only a small part of the picture, as he is in line-up photo below.

You can still get the action shots but they have a different feel to them...

Recent Sesh

Here's a few shots from a recent sesh that I was able to get to and shoot. The photographic conditions weren't the best by any stretch of the imagination and it was a bit on the grey side but there was good size surf so it was worth taking a few....

Wave Pics

When your photographing the surf, remember to keep your eyes open for the wave shots. It's one of my favourite shots and they can look very arty and atmospheric.

Photograph them with or without people near or on the wave. But if you do include people then they will give a sense of scale to the wave.

Try black and white and you could end up with something that your happy to hang up in your front room.

Look for nicely forming 'A' frames, or heavy, dark barrels. If the angle and the light is working for you get that offshore spray coming off the back off the wave.

Now I'm the first to admit that generally speaking the colour of the water in the North East is not the stuff of the exotic surf locations that frequent the covers of the surfing mags, and I reckon that they are unlikely to do so in the near future, but if you have an awareness of the wave shots and what can be achieved then the next time you have the opportunity in some exotic locale you'll be able to nail it.

Besides, who needs all that deep blue turquoise crap - give me rain and dark grey any day!!??
If you can get good shots here you can get them anywhere.

Point of Focus

You don't always have to focus on the wave for an interesting shot. Look at foreground details and use the wave as a backdrop. This can be handy if your restricted by your lenses, especially if you not shooting on a big 600mm!

Shoot at an aperture of around f4 or 5.6 to throw your background out but still keeping it identifiable but there's no hard and fast rule, so go for whatever effect you prefer.

Experiment with different angles to see what you can use as foreground interest. Depending on how busy it is where you are there will be many options if you look for them.

Wipeouts

It happens to everyone who surfs, and anyone who surfs regularly and says they have never had a heavy wipeout is lying to ya. It's part of the surfing game. Some are more spectacular than others but when photographing the action it's always worth keeping your lens trained on the surfer as he is either taking off or after his ride appears to be coming to an end.

If he creams in on the take off be prepared for it, alternatively if he has reached the end of his ride the surfer might decide to end it in a spectacular way by launching himself off the lip so keep following with your lens throughout.

Knowing that the take off is one of the more critical moves the surfer is going to perform try and pick up the surfer as he lines himself up and gets ready to start paddling for the wave and keep him in your view as he starts to paddle. This can be harder than it sounds depending on the break your photographing. Many of the breaks I have photographed are problematic because once the first couple of waves in the set have broken then the view of the remaining in the set can be restricted. Add to this a crowded line up and it becomes difficult.

But it's worth pursuing because wipeout shots are dramatic, especially on a heavy wave. I maintain a folder in my photo archive that I keep stocked with wipeout shots, surf magazines always like to see them so it's well worthwhile keeping one.

Also keep an eye out when it's a windy day because a strong offshore can catch the board after the wipeout and lift it right up to the full extent of the leash making a dramatic shot, just remember to leave space in your shot when your framing to ensure you get the board in.

People really do get into some weird positions when they're wiping out so try and capture that, don't be afraid to keep your camera on continuous shooting mode and 'hose' them down as the action happens and they go flying through the air, your almost guaranteed to get some good shots.

So, pick the surfer up early, follow them throughout their ride, right to the very end but remember, be prepared, when it happens it will happen very fast so be ready for it. Concentrate on your focussing, your more than likely going to be shooting on autofocus so keep the focus point on the surfer. This takes practice, you can almost put money on losing your focus as you follow the surfer just as he reaches the most critical part of the ride. But stick at it. You'll get some good stuff.

Vincent Laforet

Photographer and video maker Vincent Laforet has been following professional surfer Jamie O'Brien to produce a surf video with a difference. Filmed entirely on Canon 5 D DSLR, one of the first able to record hi def video and the 'RED' Canon (see this link for more on this camera...http://blog.vincentlaforet.com/2008/12/19/the-red-canon/ )

The 'First Look' at the project has been posted on Vincent's blog, check it out..... Make sure you follow the 'Smugmug' link to see it full screen, it's well worth it!

http://blog.vincentlaforet.com/2009/02/12/first-look-jamie-obrien/

Awesome!

Surf Image slideshow

A collection of some of my surfing images dropped into a quick slideshow...enjoy.

Shoot the waves

After a long day on Saturday of waiting to see if the surf would pick up at a local surf spot it eventually became surfable at about 4pm. The hardy souls who had waited all day with me went in for a surf I took a few photos, unfortunately, the light was dropping fast and it quickly became clear that the 'action' shots weren't working.

So what to do? No point in calling it a day and heading home, especially when I had hung around in the cold all day waiting to see if it was going to be on. I might as well get something for my trouble.

So the opportunity to get some wave shots was helped by the failing light, allowing me to drag my shutter and see what effects I could get.

As far as technique goes all of these were shot on a 300mm f2.8 on a monopod with a Nikon D2x, my shutter speed is a 15th of a second at f18 for all the shots apart from the first one below which was shot at 1/25 at f14. ISO was at 200.

As you can see you can get some good effects, each wave is obviously going to be different and keeping an eye out for these opportunities can provide some interesting results. Don't be afraid to take plenty of shots, for each one that works there will undoubtedly be many that fail but don't let that put you off.

To get the ball rolling...

To get the ball rolling here are some recent examples of some surf photographs I have taken...

Below each I have included information on the camera setting and lens used etc for those who may be interested and a couple of general points on the pictures.

Surf photographer and surfer Al Mackinnon: 1/8000 @ f5.6, ISO200, Nikon D2x, 500mm f2.8

The picture of Al Mackinnon was taken early in the morning and as you can see the sun was very low in the sky and almost coming directly into the lens, this can present a number of exposure problems if your not careful and it is very easy for the 'highlights' in a picture to get blown out.

I always shoot in manual exposure mode, allowing me to control both the shutter speed and the aperture, and as long as your aware of the potential problem it can be overcome or, in this case, used for effect. It becomes a trade off, in the picture here I have sacrificed details in the shadow areas in order to control the highlights as much as possible. The result is a nice 'contre-jour' (towards the sun) picture showing Al, almost in silhouette with nice 'specular highlights' on the face of the wave. Check out Al's work at http://www.almackinnon.com/

Unknown surfer, 1/180 @ f8, Nikon D2x, 14mm f2.8 lens, ISO 100

Photographed from a high vantage point on a very misty day on the beach in Saltburn, (I can name Saltburn beach in the photos as this can hardly be regarded as a secret spot!) as a lone surfer walks back from the water after a session. Don't disregard the chance to take surf pictures just because the weather might not be the typical definition of 'perfect' sometimes you can still get good atmospheric pictures without the action. And let's be honest, on the North Yorkshire coast your more likely to get crappy weather than good!

Surfer Robbie Hildreth, 1/6400 @ f5.6, Nikon D2x with 500mm f2.8, ISO 200

Similiar conditions to the shot of Al above, this time the picture is turned into a black and white version in photoshop, no other photoshop trickery here really, apart from a levels adjustment and probably a crop to tidy it up but that's about it, the key things with this picture, away from the technical issues are 1) The viewpoint, yes, it's shot from the 'beach', nothing special there but it's behind Robbie as he performs his move and gives a slightly different perspective than you would normally see and as a result makes it different, and 2) Timing is everything! As with any sport, if you actually 'see' the height of the action through your viewfinder then you have missed the shot, it's about anticipation and following the action and knowing when to press the button, there is only one way to get the hang of this - practice, practice, practice and take loads of surf photos. It's digital, it's free.

TOP TIP: One way to practice your surf action photography if there is no surf is to get your camera, lens and monopod (more on equipment later), stick your favourite surf movie on and sit on your couch and photograph the action as it happens on the screen in front of you, then review your images and see if your capturing the height of the action. You might feel like a bit of a prat and your mates will definately take the piss if they catch you but you get good practice and your 'hit rate' of good shots will improve! Trust me, been there.

Tom Davis, 1/3200 @ f5.6, Nikon D2x, 12mm f 2.8 lens, ISO 200

This was part of a series of pictures I did for local surfer and shaper Tom Davis (more on this in another post coming soon). The shot is a relatively simple silhouette. Taking silhouette's is technically pretty easy: In manual mode, expose for the sky (not the sun), compose and shoot. Job done, pretty much anyway, have a play with the exposure for different levels of effect and also consider your composition. In this picture I used the sun directly behind Tom to create a 'halo' effect, (It's the only way Tom's gonna get a halo!!) which helps to lift the picture.

To work well, a silhouette should be a subject that is quite dynamic and recognisable because the shape of the silhouette is where the strength lies within the picture.

Check out http://www.morning-glass.co.uk/ for Tom's shaping work.

Paul Ross, longboarder, 1/1000 @ f4, Nikon D2x and 500mm f2.8 lens, ISO 250

One of THE most important things in photography is, LIGHT, no surprises there really when you think about what photography actually is. It applies just as much to surf photography as anything else. Good light will lift a picture so much and will make your job easier and harder in equal amounts. Easier because the quality of the image is improved so much with good light, the 'depth' in the picture is more apparent instead of a 'flat' picture and this makes a big difference.

(A 'flat' picture example- imagine a photograph of a surfer, in a black wet suit, surfing on dark, grey waves, in the winter on a wet day off the North-East coast - Sounds like every day surfing in the North East!! - The final picture will be flat and lifeless. My advice then is to leave the camera in the car and go for a surf.

But good light is also a potential problem because you have to be aware of how the light is falling on your subject, in this case, Paul. The light here is falling onto his face as he rides towards the sun which improves the picture, but if he was surfing on a lefthander and was going away from the sun then his face would probably be in dark shadow which might spoil the effect. So be aware of where the light is while your photographing and consider the time of day.

So there you go, a few brief tips to be getting on with, any comments welcomed. Now get out there and take some pictures.

This blog

This blog is going to be about surf photography.

I will attempt to post new surf photos that I take as soon as possible so you can keep up to date with my current work. I will also try and post about techniques and equipment issues for those budding surf photographers out there.

Comments are welcomed - I'm thick skinned!

But remember what it says at the top for those photographers that may not know yet - Never name your secret spots, ever!

Protect the spots from overcrowding.

Protect the environment.

Enjoy your surf photography