Firstly I just have to get it out of my system, America...wow, really...THAT guy? Ok, sorry, not the place, moving along.
Yesterday I came home to a courier box sitting at the front door, don't you love that, a mini Christmas. I knew what was in it.
You may remember just a couple of months ago, late August there was a great swell Eastside, the images from that swell are HERE
Cale from Copious Clothing had a plan; his retailers wanted an iconic Mount shot T-shirt. It's an ambitious plan, a big ask to try and get a banger of a shot. A shot good enough to design a T around. The weather and waves played ball though and we spent both the morning and the arvo in the water. There was a certain amount of ruthlessness in the way these water shoots were approached. My favourite water housing lens is the 15mm Fisheye, I love that you have to position yourself right in the barrel with the surfer to get the gold, I love that the Fisheye opens up the barrel. Here's a good example;
Elliott Parata-Reid, we're both in our happy place
The downside of a Fisheye lens is that you HAVE to be in the barrel, and backgrounds get pushed away. The brief was to have the Mount as a dominant feature, so the decision was to go semi telephoto. The ruthlessness was the camera was firmly pointed at the Mount and every image was framed up with the Mount, there was no getting distracted by what was happening up the beach.
This is what we were trying for ....
You can click on the image if you want to see it larger
But we decided on a shot that had a human element in it. It is actually Cale in there, but that went against its choice, Cale didn't want a photo of him on the T. We came around to the fact that you couldn't tell it was him and regardless it's a pretty perfect barrel from an iconic New Zealand surf beach. Here's the shot...
Definitely a 'from where you rather be' moment!
Wait... you're thinking; yeah sure good single shot but he probably got clamped... hahahah NAH! Here's the sequence...
The T-shirts are now in all the Backdoor Surf Shops and lots of the independents too. Available in any colour, as long as it is black, and in either short sleeve or long sleeve. Love it when a plan comes together!
New Zealand Wave Print Sets
The NZ Wave Print Sets arrived early. All the pre-orders are out already. And the shops are starting to get it out on display. What, you can't find it yet? Well the inter web shop is open all day every day HERE
The Big Little Beach Book
Distribution is trucking along for the book. Shops are starting to place re-orders! Can't be bothered finding it??? Well the inter web shop is open all day every day HERE