Winners and Losers

The Spring Equinox is upon us in full effect right now. And it's horrid! 

The west coast is always average for surf at this time of year, you ready yourself, prepare mentally for a frustrating period of onshore and wild seas. You think you can handle...and then you're in the middle of it. All that mental prep goes out the window. There's no surf and there's no sign of any.

Today was close but not quite

This week's forecast was shaping up to be maybe ok. Multiple meetings and conferences in Piha's carparks, valuable data on sand formation and local gossip shared... all to no avail. Mother Ocean just did not play ball this week. Not quite a clean offshore, no real banks and instead of being the predicted manageable 4-6 ft, it's a wobbly 6-8 ft. We lost out this week, ahhh well back to work. 

We Have A Winner!

In last week's E-bomb the new PhotoCPL T'shirt range was unveiled and there was a contest exclusively for you subscribers, buy a T and go in the draw to win a pair of Otis Eyewear...I said they were valued at $200.... turns out they are $250.00- oppps.

If you had entered, you would have had a 1 in 8 chance of winning these sunnies. Using Random.org's number generator John Charles from Gizzy gets the sunnies. Congrats mate, they are on their way.

New Releases 

With all the chaos of getting T-shirt orders to stores this one nearly slipped under the radar. 

Mount Dusk, click on the image to view it nice and big.

I'm stoked to have finally nailed a good Mauao panorama. Shot on film using the Fotoman 617. Using a neutral density filter to slow the shutter so the water would smooth out, the exposure ended up being 90 seconds. 

From The Galleries

Now there's a good segue for this image, it's a film pano too and it was shot in 2011 at the height of a wintery spring equinox storm. In 2012 it was awarded in the Epson International Pano's. 
 
Just click on the image to see it larger. 

Eastbound- Gizzy Time!

Any excuse to go to Gisborne is a good excuse.  Gizzy holds a strong allure for me. I used to spend a lot of time shooting in Poverty Bay when I was at the surfing magazine. Good friends, good waves, fun adventures and great memories. 

The big sky nights of Tatapouri Motorcamp

There is no better Gizzy mate than my old partner in crime Chris 'Budge' Berge. In 1993 we both started work at the magazine. He was the editor and I was the ad man/photographer. The three year partnership defined how the magazine looked for the next 15 years. 

Budge runs the Tatapouri Motorcamp, with unabashed bias, the best motorcamp in Gizzy. Set on the northern slope Tatapouri Headland the manicured grounds provide a protected suntrap.  And big star skies, just far enough away from Gisborne city.

Makarori at first light

Wainui in fine form

I'm on a new mission, I have a new book project.  Everything fell into place to start the new project in Gizzy.  I like that by starting something new it has taken me back to a well trodden haunting ground. To approach familiar subjects with fresh eyes. 

Gizzy turned on the weather and the surf. A nice south swell was running and the day time highs soared into the mid twenties. Blue bird days. 

Infamous Stockroute offering up the goods

A perfect morning lit Wainui peak

Is it fair to say it was a good week to be in Gizzy?

Makarori last light

Dawn day two, smaller, but still a day filled with waves

Into the blue and green swirls of Chalets

Worth a 7 hour drive? Always

Happy place

Selfie at the Mount homeward bound

This Time A Year Ago

This time a year ago Warren Hawke and I were on an epic South Island roady. We had decided to launch his book, NZ Surf- Captured By A Surf Lens, old school with a series of book launches at key Boardriders' Clubs. It worked, the book received the grass roots support Warren wanted.

Man, it was an exciting and strenuous three weeks of being on the road; maxing out the load driving south and working to make sure the drive home would be lighter. Wouldn't do it any other way!

Road Tripping Stateside Part 2

I'm back home after a truly awesome fortnight in California and Oregon. While it wasn't a photographic trip; and I did, quite rightly, get told off for lapsing into photo mode, there were some cool photo missions done. Here's the highlights;   

Fallen Redwoods, click on the image to see it bigger

The Avenue of the Giants

As a kid I remember having a colouring in book about the ancient giant Redwoods of America. I don't really think I thought it was a must do kind of a thing, but we had the chance to drive through the Avenue of Giants. It's touristy, it's the well trodden route, but there's a reason for that. A day hanging out with 2000 year old trees was not enough. Or maybe barely just enough to leave me wanting more. I was super stoked the set up the 617 panoramic camera in the forest. The exposure above is 6 minutes long.

Oregon/Cali border, how more American can you get! 

Sparks Lake Glass, click on the image to see it big

Sparks Lake

This was just such and beautiful evening, we arrived in plenty of time to scope out the best position. I finally settled on a spot where I had the two boulders in the foreground water balancing the mountains in the background, and then for a few moment the lake glassed off. Truth be told I actually like this image upside down. It was one of this mini adventures where you are walking back to the car knowing you just enjoyed something pretty special. 

Oregon's Broken Top Mountain x2

Smith Rock Dawn, yep, just click on the image to see more detail...there's a lot of detail

Smith Rock State Park

I fully got my Ansel Adams fix at Smith Rock. We were up at 6 and waiting for dawn's light to hit the rock faces. It is exciting to watch the tips of these monoliths light up and progressively witness the sun illuminate the scene in front of you.

Come, Look, Stay....ummm no thanks

Millicans, click on the image to see it larger

Abandoned Millican Store, Oregon

This was one of those moments when you just see scene begging to be photographed. I set up in the shade of the Dr Pepper sign and exposed for that sign and the store front. I moved the camera just enough to get the sun flare through the sign.

Portland

I'm not sure if Portland was a highlight, but it certainly was an experience. I was shocked at how many homeless were living rough on the streets of downtown. I didn't feel at ease. Inversely I got all my film processed at half the price of NZ in two hours, no worries about airport X-ray machines - and yes, despite what they say X-ray machines do f@ck your film. Unfortunately I have the evidence.

And then there's VooDoo Donuts! Ok, Portland is all good. 

Now the task of editing and scanning images from this, non photographic trip. There's more to come over the next few weeks. 

In Print

The latest issue of Damaged Goods Mag is out and I'm pretty stoking on this image of mine in there. It's Elliot Paerata Reid on the Bar. But what do you reckon? Seriously, let me know, should they have used the next shot in the sequence? ohhh tough call huh! 

Road Tripping Stateside Part 1

In 2012 I did road trip down the 395 Highway of California. I teamed up with my old friend and fellow photographer Rob Hansen . We concentrated on shooting large format film. We scored. That roady has become hugely defining in what I want to shoot and how. Some of the 617 panoramas from that roady won Epson Pano Awards. Other images have gone on to be client favourites.  

This is one of the award winners from 2012

I'm back on the West Coast of the USA right now, halfway through another epic roady. First mission; hooking up with Rob for a quick desert run.

This time we headed to Salton Sea. The modern sea was accidentally created by engineers 1905. In a bid to increase water flow into the area for farming, irrigation canals were dug from the Colorado River. Due to fears of silt buildup, a cut was made in the bank of the Colorado River to further increase the water flow. The resulting outflow overwhelmed the engineered canal. The river flowed into the Salton Basin for two years, filling the ancient dry lake bed.

The Salton Sea had some success as a resort area in the 1950s. Now many of the settlements are abandoned because of the increasing salinity and pollution of the lake. Many of the species of fish that lived in the sea have been killed off by the combination of pollutants, salt levels, and algal blooms. 

What more perfect place could there be for shooting desert grit. Salvation Mountain was a firm favourite, but Bombay Beach and Salton City are definitely on the have to return list.

Bombay Beach, not your average beachside resort

The 24 hour dash done and dusted. Film processed back in North County, [I've got some great panoramas to share with you later] Time to hit the road North to Redwood territory and on to Oregon.

But that will be in Part 2 next week.

When Bad Things Go Well

I'm not a morning person, especially before caffeine. This is a terrible trait for a surfer and it's a disastrous one for a photographer. I'm jealous of people who can go to bed at 8 or 9 pm and then spring out of bed pre dawn. Two of my good friends, Kev Emirali and Dave Gilbert are annoyingly chirpy at 5 am, I don't go on surf trips with them.

Getting up before dawn is a bad thing. But for a photographer it's a necessary evil. The unavoidable fact is the best light is in the first and last few hours of the day. 

Last week bad things happened, the alarm was set for an hour before sunrise. Horrible.  Time for a photo of Rangitoto and today was THAT day. It's raining, f2ck, sh#t, grrrrrrrr what the bloody hell am I doing sitting in the Takapuna reef car park. Kev and Dave wouldn't be so angry....grrrrrr! I remind myself that clouds make for good sky colour and detail.  I remind myself that these marginal conditions are what make great images. Andris Apse would go. 

This image has been added to the Beach Gallery, want to see it bigger?Just click on the image

And then, 20 minutes before dawn, good things happened. The squall moved through, it was going to be a beautiful morning. The shoot could not have gone better. Rock scramble; sweet. Angle found; no worries. Camera set up; too easy. Exposures dialed in; nailed it. Ewwwww maybe I am a morning person. Nah crazy talk. 

In Print

It's always a stoke to get work published, and it's even nicer to get paid! International magazine Australian Surfing Life latest issue hasn't hit the NZ book shelves yet, but I'm stoking on getting a page in the issue as part of their 'The Swell That Smashed The World' featuring a pic from Shippies and some badly crafted words from yours truly.

On The Web

You should be buying your books from PhotoCPL but if you want to buy them on the web elsewhere then The Market is the place. This month's Collection is a nautical theme and look there, The South Seas book is staring. Thanks to the crew at The Market for featuring one of the books.

So SociaL

Last week's email was all about the Rewinds that have been happening over on Instagram. It has been quite a trip down memory lane and the response and messages have been so cool. Thank you to everyone that left a comment and liked the Rewind series. Today is the last one for a while, but I think it's ending on a high note. The rewinds only got as far as 2004, so there'll be another series later. Just click on the image above to see what happened...and give us a follow :)  

Rewind

I've been going through the archives and found a bunch of drum scans that where part of the edit for my first book PhotoCPL, some made the cut, some have been sitting in the archive waiting their turn to be aired. Just for a trip down memory lane, I'm going to post some to Instagram over the next week.

I always get worried about recanting former glories, I'm concerned that people will think I'm lost in the '90's. I'm not- honest! Yesterday I posted the first image and I was stoked with the reaction and comments, in fact it created a pretty cool conversation.

Here's the first one, it actually made the book as a double page spread. Richard Hodder aka @inthedrink always says this is his favourite shot, he reckons it was one of the images that inspired him to get a water-housing. Big call, and I'm sincerely flattered. 

The surfer is Marc Moore who has always been one of my favourite surfers to do roadies with. The laughing organiser, he'd always get the groms ready with an insightful piece of advice, like when you do your road trip shopping tie all the bag handles up so your food doesn't roll about the boot. 

Marc's brand Stolen Girlfriends Club celebrated their 10th anniversary last week. Congratulations to all the partners, Dan Gosling and technophobe Luke Harwood for navigating a turbulent decade so well and coming out on top. Love your success guys!  

This shot was taken in Taranaki, The Mountain is in the left of the frame, at Rocky Lefts in 2002. Shot with a Canon A2 Body and Tokina ATX 17mm with Velvia 50 iso film. I still don't know how I didn't end up with a face full of fins. 

Here's the one I'm going to post later today.

This photo did not make the final cut for the book PhotoCPL. The cover shot of the book was of Maz from the same boat trip, so this one just  missed. We had been surfing such full-on barreling setups, surfing this little hot-dog wave was a nice variation. 

The boat trip is the best I've ever had to privilege to be a part of. In 1999 the Metawaii's was where everyone wanted to be. There still were only a dozen charter boats and just about everywhere we surfed, we surfed alone.  We scored great swell and Macca's, Thunders, Ht's and then in the Wavepark. Epic times with Damon Gunness having his 21st on the boat and Chris Malone and Brent Rasby in full force. Timing is everything. 

The photo did make the pages of NZ Surfing Mag as a double page spread. A week after the issue came out, Matty Bedford, a former cover star of the mag made a point of telling me how sick this shot is. He frothed that it had made him go surfing. I think that's the biggest compliment a photographer or an editor can get, If you stoke someone to make them want to get out there.

And here's one exclusive to you; 

Luke Harwood on Whangamata Bar 2003. This was shot from a small boat and ended up being one of the most expensive photoshoots I've ever been on. The driver of the boat had a shocker and panicked, putting us side-on in the impact zone. A 3 foot wave landed perfectly in the middle of the boat, $9000.00 of camera gear was lost. The boss was not happy. Amazingly the roll of film in the drowned camera had rewound and wasn't too wet. We got all the shots back from the session. Shot on a Canon Eos-1n with a Canon 400mm F4.0L on Velvia 50 iso film ...damn I miss that camera!

 

Good Swim

Last weekend was one out of the bag for Auckland's West coast. We had a run of great surf again.

The sun even lit up a few of the bombs coming through

I have to come clean, I haven't been able to swim out with the water housing for 7 weeks. I'd like to say I go for a water shot at least once a week. It just hasn't worked out. But Saturday did, time to don the flippers.

It's all about the texture

I don't really like photos of small wave studies. You know, those shore dump shots. That's not to say I'm diss'ing photographers that do them. They just aren't my thing. I like images with a bit of volume in the wave.

There's a hole in the sea

It's exciting swimming out in solid surf, Saturday was exciting. The lungs were burning and the legs weren't flipping very well, clearly someone needs to spend more time on the rower...or swim more that once every 7 weeks. 

The perspective surfers around the world crave

A nervous wait between sets

CPL Photos All Over the Show

This week Motorhome Republic used a whole bunch of images in a web log about New Zealand Surf spots.

View the story HERE

The Day Between

We all know this time of year can be a tough season for surfers in the upper North Isle. The huge south swells don't make for fun waves around here. Raglan and Shippies, and Gizzy for that matter, have had great winters. But unless you can travel, you're stuck waiting for the days between. 

Northern views

Yesterday was one of those days. A strong offshore wind finally grooming the swell into controllable surf.  I opted to shoot rather than surf. I stayed warm. 

Southern views

Local lad Peter 'Greedy' Harding

The shorey show was fun to catch too

A somewhat tame wild west

Another Piha local, Nigel Grayling braving the chill

Inside bowl

Surf Books...Not by CPL

Luke Williamson created one of the most important NZ Surfing documents made. It was the book 'Gone Surfing- The Golden Years of NZ Surfing 1950-1970'. While Luke always goes to great pains to stress it is not the history of NZ Surfing, by being the only book that covers this period, it is the best and most concise snapshot of those formative years. The South Seas- New Zealand's Best Surf book does also cover the timeline, but it is a chapter in that book- it's not the full and rich history. Someday. Gone Surfing is sadly out of print. 

Luke has most recently turned his talented hand to children's tales. I've read the first one and it's a stonker.  

Here's what Luke says of the project; The series “Surf Tales – Bedtime stories for surfing parents and grandparents to read to their gremmies”. The first story 'Magic Sandals' is free for everyone so please pass it on to any of your friends and relatives.

I have released the first six stories on my website so you can follow me on Facebook and www.surftales.co.nz to stay up to date. Send me an e-mail at lukegonesurfing@gmail.com and I will let you know when new stories are ready.

I’m asking readers to support this project via a small PayPal/credit card donation and I will use that to continue writing Surf Tales and to pay Fraser to illustrate the rest of the stories. My dream is that there will be enough interest in the stories that, when I have released all of them as digital books, I will be able to do a beautiful, printed, hard-cover collection of all the stories and sell that on Amazon.

I would love to think that the book could pass from generation to generation and still be read to gremmies in distant days to come.

Framing Ideas

I've been kept busy with commissions. The current trend is traditional framed pieces. While the site PhotoCPL doesn't offer ready made framed images, seeing a piece through to wall ready is a huge part of what is done.  Here's two really nice pieces we did this week. Black box framing with a white matt, archival satin photo paper. The inks and paper are rated to 108 years...dunno why it is 108, but hey that is 8 over the traditional 'archival' rating.

Just email me Here  if there's an image you'd like to get framed, there are so many cool options. 

Getting Out There

I used to sell handmade greeting cards at Piha Surf. Using a then state of the art photo printer and some nice machine cut card blanks. The production line was set up in the spare room. The little photos were glued to card, and packed in a plastic bag with an envelope. It wasn't rocket science but it was fun making them. Nor was a retirement fund created by any means, more like a feed down at the Piha RSA every other week. 

Scotty Casey starring on the old school cards!

It was shocking how satisfying a simple one to one transaction is. Even a $5 greeting card. Maybe I crave vindication, maybe I need my ego stroked, I dunno. I'd like to think it is a more positive emotion of making somebody else happy. Of them entertained by what you do enough to want your work around. 
 

Going, going fast!

This last week has been a nice week for that. There has been a spike of print orders from PhotoCPL.co.nz.  And now Sitka in Ponsonby is stocking Photo CPL prints. In fact 3 of the first 5 sold in the first few days. It has caught both Sitka and I short; we didn't expect that. The plan is to keep Sitka in stock with affordable framed prints. The prints will be changed up as wall space comes free. Pop into 133 Ponsonby Rd to see the prints in the flesh.  

Here's the next five prints that will be in store next Wednesday:

New Release!

Did you spy that top shot and think wait I haven't seen that before. It's new, it is loaded into the Wave Gallery now. Click on the photo to view it big. 

Print Vs Web, the war is over

I get involved in a lot of conversations about the state of surf media. It's a huge part of what I've done for 3 decades. We all have been a part a massive shift in how information and entertainment is soaked up. There was a glorious time when the printed page was king. There just wasn't such a thing as the Interweb or surf websites.

The A Team, 1993, L to R, Luke Darby graphic designer and in fact the designer of PhotoCPL.co.nz, Editor Chris Berge, and then some suspect longhaired grungy guy. 

I was working at NZ Surfing Magazine for those golden years. The audience was there, the advertisers knew it; the travel fund was flush. I had written at the start of this paragraph that I was lucky. I deleted it, it is not accurate; I was grateful and respectful of my position as the Editor. But I had worked through the preceding lean years too. I was a part of the teams that built up the title. It used to rile me when strangers would say, "you're so lucky to have a dream job". Of course I'd just smile and agree. 

Dream jobbing in 2005, bobbing off the tip of East Java with Brent Courtney. Brent was NZ Surfing's graphic designer for 2 long periods, he's also the art director of all the PhotoCPL Media books bar one. 

We always knew the Interweb would take over as the primary source of information. In fact it took a lot longer than we estimated for Print to lose the crown. The magazine strategy meetings would go like this. "Yep it's coming, how do we battle it". "Well, we need a Myspace page. Then we create a website that provides sneak peaks into what's coming up in the next issue. It has past features online, current surfing affairs from NZ and around the world. We need an online editor that does daily updates.” We got a quote for the website build, $60,000!!! Wow... we did make the Myspace page. 

Surf Magazines worldwide failed to harness the new technology. They struggled with the concept of providing hard earned content for free. Publishers thought they were producers of pages, rather than carriers of content. Many have withered up, failing to adapt. It's brutal, people have lost their careers. 

We now live in a world of digital natives that have no nostalgia for the printed page. They don't know the stoke of having an issue delivered to their door and flicking through the inked pages. It is sad in some ways, but in many ways, it just does not matter. We are conversant, now more than ever, in what's going on. The best content makers of the past are on the web or even in the print that has survived.

                         The current cover of NZSM

I left NZ Surfing Magazine 7 years ago, it was time to do my own thing and 15 years was enough. NZ Surfing Magazine is still kicking, in fact this year is its 30th.  Respect to the current staff that have weathered these turbulent years of cascading revenue.

Things are looking up for print. Magazines like Damaged Goods and White Horses have found a healthy niche. Readers are coming back because the printed page is a relaxing and tactile experience. It’s a break from our multi-screened lives. 

The current issue of DGZ, and look there, a feature by...me!

The successful magazines have become book like in content. Stopping the battle with websites for current affairs and event reportage. Opting for well researched in depth interviews and timeless stories of high adventure. Maybe the successful magazines are the ones that spurned Digital Natives from the start. Magazines like White Horses and The Surfer’s Journal have always been cross haired on the over 40 market.

The conversations will continue I'm sure. Here is to another 30 years NZSM, may you navigate well and true.  

Getting Close

Offshore. Click on the image to see it larger

The parting caption in the book PhotoCPL was about how formulaic magazine photography was.  I needed to step away from it. I had started to not shoot things, knowing that the image would not make the cut.

Thirds. Click on the image to see it larger

The only photo you regret is the one you didn't take. I do wonder if these 3 images would exist if I were still working for a magazine. It has been hard to break the habit, but it sure has been fun doing it. I often crack up thinking that now surfers don't make the photo, they are in the way! 
 

Pitch. Click on the image to see it larger
 

Of course that's not true, long gone are the days of rationing the 36 frames on a roll of film. Now we all get to shoot everything that moves. Some photographers lament the advent of digital, I'll admit I have too. It has meant more photographers in the water and the water angle is not so revered. But it has also meant the expectation is higher. And who doesn't like a challenge. 
 

This Week's Mini Adventure

Speaking of challenges, believe it or not, this mini adventure was. Find a carpark, not get confronted by a homeless drunk. Get confronted by said homeless drunk- make a new friend. Have your new friend become your self appointed camera minder. Oh yes, taking on Auckland's Queen St has its own set of unique challenges. I'm amping to see the panoramic camera results....but that will be next week. 

The Wait

It has been a tense week for West coast surfers. While the waves have been pretty good, there has been the ever present tease of a Nor-west swell. Our predominant swell direction is from the south, from the roaring forties. Everything changes in a Nor-west swell. Instead of waiting for high tide, we are amping for low tide. Instead of hoping the swell is a manageable size, we are willing it to be as big as it can. The more north the better, it means the swell runs acutely down our long flat beaches, becoming pseudo giant right hand point-breaks. 

A VINTAGE NOR-WEST SWELL AS FEATURED IN THE SOUTH SEAS

A Nor-west is an all too rare treat. Some years we'll get none, but every once in a while we'll fall into cycle and get 3 or 4 NW swells in quick succession. Boards get stepped up, boards get snapped. This week was supposed to be one of those weeks, it just didn't happen.

Matt Ziegler enjoying this week's perfect but small South West swell

Pumping all by itself

Mike Spence wagging work from Freeride- just as well he's the boss

On any other week you'd be fizzing to see this

Matty Ziegler impressing the on-lookers 

 Sitka Is Back

Andrew Howson, stoked to be in Ponsonby Road, and stoked to have the Sitka pop up- up

The darling of NZ surf scene, Sitka has relocated from it's Newmarket location to Ponsonby. Crippling rent and lack of foot traffic saw the Canadian founded surf brand rethink their flagship store. Closing the doors on the iconic Osbourne St store straight after Christmas, Sitka effectively became homeless for 6 months, peddling their wares at the Silo Park markets.

           Yep, he's stoked! 

After a couple of false starts, Sitka NZ's Managing Director Andrew Howson has secured the perfect venue for the brand, albeit temporary, the new Sitka is already doing a roaring trade at 133 Ponsonby Rd, just up from Ivan's, just down from Bhana Bro's for us old school Ponsonby noters :) 

Four Corners of New Zealand 

Last week's web log featured a wee tease of Richard Hodder's [aka@inthedrink on Instagram] first solo exhibition Four Corners and last night was the opening of the event. The 23 works are beautifully presented on fine art photo-rag paper in white box frames. Cleverly, there is a scaling of limited edition prints- in my opinion far too fairly priced, but that said, on opening night there where already a nice amount of red dots [signifying a sale] under the feature pieces.

A happy and relieved Hoddsy

If you are in Auckland over the next month get along to the Allpress Gallery for a shot of stoke. More details HERE 

Big Swell, Big Picture

Shippies at the peak of the mega swell in mega, mega pixels. Simply click the image to see more detail

The downside of shooting film is that everything takes more time, there is no checking the back of the camera to view what you've shot or how you've exposed it. There's no instant correction or instant digital gratification, there's just a long nervous wait, a mental tussle of self doubt and excitement over what could be on those rolls of film. The lab only processes film on Tuesdays now, long gone are the days of 1 hour processing, so for these rolls it was a week long wait.

Last week's panos ghetto scanned, to do side by side comparisons and final choice

This time around there were choices a plenty, in fact, that then became the issue, which one! The top one was chosen because the waves are the best shaped and the set is stacked around the top of the point, there's a feeling of anticipation.

Edit decided, then scan in full resolution, grade and 'clean', it's intensive and laborious. It takes about 4 hours to get a single panoramic image print ready. The work could be farmed out for sure, but really only the photographer who took the photo knows what they envisaged. 

Why put yourself through this for one image?  Simple, peace of mind. A film panoramic like this one is over a gigabyte in size.  When someone orders through the website it is actually a reduction from the image's native size... this is getting real photo nerdy huh? It all means every client is going to get an even better print than they expected, because of the fine detail. It's a stoke to drop off a piece or get an email back with the familiar 'I liked the photo, but I never expected it to look this good in real life!' The devil is in the detail.

The Fotoman 617 Pano camera has been getting a workout! Just click on the image to see it larger, oh, there's even a video on the page

 

Meet Hoddsy

Hodds just out of the drink for a change [ahhhh Dad joke!]

Say hello to Richard Hodder, aka @inthedrink on Instagram. You're probably following him already, the quietly spoken surfer [yes, he surfs as well as he shoots!] is the most followed Kiwi surf-photographer on social media. His daily post of inspiration clearly hits a chord with us all. Hodds has spent the first half of 2015 travelling to the the Four Corners of NZ shooting in only the way he can. I've been trying to cajole him into making a book, but that's another story. In the meantime come support and enjoy his fine work off screen and on gallery walls.  More details HERE 

This Week's Swell

 

Shippies at the height of this week's swell pulse

Surfers around the world were watching and waiting this swell. The biggest Antarctic storm of the year so far has generated a massive swell that has been surfed in Indonesia, Western Australia, South Australia, and Tuesday was our turn to sample its power.

Camping under the stars, waiting for waves
 

So much of surfing is about the thrill of the chase, identifying a storm that could create swell, figuring out were and when that swell could reach landfall. Taking a punt, committing and just go. I travelled up the Shippies with Jessie Peters and Luke Crouch ahead of the swell to be there for it's arrival.

Supertubes on the evening the swell started to pulse. Click on the image to see it larger and for purchasing options

It's exciting to be in place waiting to welcome waves. The points slowly filled with other surfer/campers. There's always a friendly vibe of a shared goal and maybe even a mutual appreciation of a shared methodology- be there, be Johnny on the spot. It's really quite a privilege to enjoy Shippies' beauty. 

Jesse, stoking on the evening camp vibes
 

Fellow photog Lindsay Butler, back from working on the Rigs in the Bass Strait, and hating being on the frontside of the lens

 Best bach on the beach! 
 

Everyone slept lightly, the swell, very literally, started to roar at 1am. Moonlit lines of whitewash pushing further out and along, is it peaking now? Will it last until dawn? Am I parked high enough up out of the washes? 

The mission I came for, pano camera in place
 

No one slept in, that said no one hurried out either, the swell was huge and the tide was only going to get better. I had my own mission, and I was not relishing it. On my [ever growing] Need To Have image list is a series of images from Shippies super dune. It's a daunting dune for a film photographer, but I wanted to take up enough kit that I had everything covered.

Simplicity and muted morning tones, Click on the image to see it larger and for purchasing options
 

 Time to shoot some surfing

 Old mate Dave Gilbert giving the swell some scale

Tom Shand was ripping on his snubby

How stoked would you be with this wall to scribe on!

The swell that made many a camper very happy

That trek up the dune was appreciated, Surfline ran one of my images. 

Cold is Good

Star Trails 

It's cold out, and that's a good thing. A southerly snap often brings crispy clear skies, and as much as a dramatic cloudscape exciting and well, dramatic, clear skies offer up a chance to stretch the camera's [and owner's!] capabilities. While I'm a advocate of analogue photography it has to be acknowledged that digital cameras can create some great effects fast. It's a matter of choosing the right tool for the right job. 

 Last night while you were huddled around the heater 

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  Star trail images are not that easy to make, apart from living in the very aptly named Land of the Long White Cloud- where cloudless nights are all too rare, you do need some pretty costly toys. An upper end digital camera, a high quality fast wide angle lens, a very heavy duty tripod, an electronic release and a powerful computer that's going to handle 160 high resolution images getting stacked into one massive file. But a welcome side effect of making a star trail image is that you can use the very same files to make a time-lapse like this; 

Here's a star trail that was made last winter; 

                Just click on the image to see it larger

And this is what it looks like framed up in a client's living room...

#Vanlife

#Vanlife

  One of the best ways to spend a Sunday

Just over two years ago I bought my most expensive photo accessory to date, yep a camper van! It's been an obsession for a very long time, the idea of hitting the road and staying on the road, of being able to pull over and make a coffee while you wait for the light to play ball. Of being in remote places and having shelter AND a lot of camera gear....fair to say I had highly romanticised camper van life before committing to the relationship.

Under the stars mid winter northland

It's been a wonderful couple of years of semi regular escapes. The camper van has been everything and more that I thought it would be. And I've been really surprised at how many people have enjoyed my previous blogs and stories on camper van [mis] adventures. There are over 230,000 posts under #vanlife in Instagram, check it out sometime.

 Castle Point, Wairarapa

Last weekend's mission was to the Far North for the big swell that hit, the same swell that went on to push up to Fiji for the WSL Fuji Pro. It's always a buzz to think the same swell line that as hit our coastlines may also been ridden further up in the Pacific I reckon. 

 Last weekend's waves

Shippies has always been a firm favourite for me, it's not just the waves, it's the whole experience. The drive around the reef, the timing of the tides, the huge dunes and the curve of 90 Mile Beach...everything is an adventure.

Shippies 1993, click on the image to see it larger

This image was originally used by Rip Curl in their Search campaign adverts in 1993. At the time it was a huge coupe for a NZ photographer to get a shot used in The Search, which is now regarded as one of the best surf branding exercises ever.

Hey Sparkie!

Photographic Mini Adventures

My partner in crime Ange nailing the technique

Ok Ok, I'm desperately trying not to pun this E-bomb up with calls like a spark of an idea, bright spark or some other terrible fiery call.... there I think I've got them out of my system. Earlier this week I got the chance to try the surprisingly simple photo trend; #Steelwoolphoto. As you can see it makes for a nice dramatic image.

Here's all you need:  

A $3.00 wire whisk, a $4.00 dog-leash, a lighter and some super fine grade steel wool- the type used in painting prep or polishing- you'll find it in the paint section at Mitre 10.

Picking your day is key too, you need a still day with no wind, or a location out of the wind. And of course the time of day; pre-dawn or post sunset are generally the best times to get a bit of after-glow colour in the sky. That said, there's some pretty cool black'n'white night city shots around the web once you start trawling. You also want a location that's non-combustable, it's probably not a good idea to do this in a hay barn or a petrol station, the sparks will fly! [dam-it there's a pun!

Test pilot Daryn McBride in a non-conbustable location, but with just a bit too much ambient light

The photo technique is pretty easy, because you're doing a long exposure the camera has to be on a tripod. The steel wool burns for about 10 seconds, so you simply set the shutter speed for 15 to 30 secs, I metered the available light pre-ignition and then underexposed a stop for the expected shower of sparks. The lens was manually focussed it wouldn't track during the shot. The tripod and camera was set up out of spark range- but there are spectacular shots where the camera is in range and protected with a sacrificial UV filter in front of the lens and wrapped in material so the sparks don't hit the camera.  

Now we're starting to get the light balance right
 

The whisk is attached to the leash chain, the whisk is the holder for the steel wool pad, you simply stuff a pad into the whisk cage and then light it. It doesn't burst into flames, it sort of smoulders, but as soon as you start twirling sparks go flying. It pays to wear clothes you don't mind getting holes in.  

My best selfie- ever! Looking pretty volcanic and chaotic

As we got more confident, we started changing the length of the chain, the speed and direction of the twirl. All effect the final result and it's pretty cool to see variations pop up on your camera screen. I started using my flash, hand held, set on full and manual to give me a single burst, this froze the twirler enough to get a bit more detail in the figure.    

In this one, the chain length was changed during the exposure, hence the double ring of fire

And that's steel wool photography 101, it is a very easy and fun way to have a mini photo adventure with your mates. 

Summer In The Wintertime

New Release 

                 
June is officially the start of winter, but with the cold snaps and wild southern storms we've already had, it felt like winter was well underway before. Winter is a great time for photography, the sun tracks low in the sky to the north which gives photogs angular light, it's exciting chasing storms and getting dramatic cloudscapes.

That said it's hard not to get nostalgic for the amazing summer we just all had, those beautiful evenings spent in the water with no neoprene needed, just a pair of boardies - the after work rinse. Today the image above has been added to PhotoCPL in the Beaches Gallery- a wee ode the summer past. Just click on the image to see it large. And please share it with anyone you think may like it. 

Winter hasn't stopped the waves completely, last week we had a nice run of surfing days, here's a video of one that got away from the crew last friday. 

Being Criticised Is Scary

                   
                    There's nothing like the smell of fresh book in the morning 

          
Getting your hard earned labours of love reviewed is a surprisingly stressful event for any creator. The way that we make books here at PhotoCPL is that you've spent the best part of a year living, breathing, celebrating, internalising, externalising and fretting over every single tiny aspect of every page. It's very easy to lose sight of the end game, which is that fine balance between artistic endeavour and commercial sensibilities. To be really honest the latter is only very loosely adhered to. Both The South Seas and Warren Hawke's NZ Surf books were done with the old Wayne's World adage 'If you build it, they will come', both are projects of passion, with a belief that that passion will be shared with the reader. They really are our babies.  
         
                       

The original image used for The South Seas book birth- not far from the truth

         Last week the latest issue of Pacific Longboarder magazine hit the NZ bookstands with this review.

Both Warren and I shared another sigh of relief...'ahhh the reviewer got what we did!' Actually in this case the reviewer, while still giving the book an extremely positive review, sort of missed the point that the book was about Warren's career as the South Island's most prolific and published surf photographer. But that's kind of nit picking; it's a great review.

Here's the best review NZ Surf- Captured By A Surf Lens has had so far;
                 
            

Warren scored the cover and lead feature of The Press Escape Magazine. No biggie, not scary, just a readership of 182,000 according to the AC Neilsen surveys. And that's why reviews can be so scary, you're putting your baby into the hands of a stranger. They could be in a bad mood, the book doesn't hit a chord with them, you just don't know. But you have to do it if you want to share your labours of love. 

I Love Being In The Water

When I started shooting surf from the water in 1994, no one else in New Zealand was. There had been others, but at that time I became both NZ's best water surf photographer and it's worst.  

It was almost impossible to find out what to do and how to do it, back then surf photographers were notoriously protective of their techniques and formulas. This is why I actively mentor new up'n'comers now. I could say I learnt the hard way, but that's not really how I see it, it remains a fun challenge. If I'm not actually surfing myself, swimming out into the surf with the camera is the next best thing, in fact sometimes I'm frothing more to get water shots than actually surf.  

Swimming about and getting images like this makes it all worthwhile 

From 1994 to 2007, that's 13 years, everything was shot on film. That meant when you swam out you only had 36 frames on a roll of film- you learnt fast to shoot carefully and make every frame count!

Making it count with Former National Champ Blair Stewart on film, in the Pacific 2006

This was a huge reason why water shoots were held in such high regard. In 2007 digital was finally viable for the water, now we all swim out with a memory card that holds over 1000 high resolution frames- gotta love it! 

Current National Champ Billy Stairmand caught with pixels 2015

Of course, there's another reason water shots are held in high regard, it's more dangerous than standing on the beach with a big lens. There's the ever present thought bitey things that might want to take a sample, the worry of housing springing a leak and then there's just the waves themselves. 

Pacific reef pole drive 2004, severed ear lobe, face grate and a dislocated shoulder, I saved the housing though! This is one of the most commented shots in the book PhotoCPL

Every time you swim out you do it knowing that to get in the right place you have to be in the impact zone. It's exciting, it gets the blood pumping but it also means you're probably going to go over the falls or have that sinking feeling of slipping down the mine shaft... what, you don't know what that is, well here's a little video from my last outing.