Billabong Pro Jeffreys Bay 2010

Jordy Smith and Sean Holmes

Morning pull back and Morning close-up

VIP aerial view and Boardwalk view

Jordy Smith - 2010 Billabong Pro Jeffreys Bay Champion

As we all know along with the entire surfing world and mainstream media, Jordy Smith won the 2010 Billabong Pro in Jeffreys Bay. Not only did he win his first ASP World Tour event but the first South African to win a modern day World Tour event since Shaun Tomson in the 1980s and his victory coincided with Nelson Mandelas 92nd Birthday.

I had more pressing family issues to attend so I bailed JBay on the second day of competition but from Day 1 to Day 4 conditions were what you would hope and expect for a surfing event of professional level whose swell window spans 12 days.

Sean Holmes was the other South African standout where others faltered. In one day he demoted 12 ASP World Titles to the sidelines. First he upped his tally, Sean Holmes 3 Andy Irons 1 before finally having his chance against Kelly Slater. All in a days work with a sore back sending Slater back to the dry deck and giving Jordy a helping hand to number one in the world. This time saying Jordy is #1 is legit.

Next stop Tahiti.

Sean Holmes Wildcard of all Wildcards

Standard Jeffreys Bay Golden Morning

Two water views not many spectators see

Opening Ceremony Dancing

2010 Mr Price Pro Ballito

2010 Mr Price Pro Ballito Website

One of my water photos has been selected as the 2010 Mr Price Pro event image.

The event will commence in nine days time 2010 Mr Price Pro Ballito and is certain to be an action packed surfing extravaganza. Again the event will take place in Ballito and as this years edition coincides with the FIFA World Cup the number of international competitors will unfortunately be lower than before as a result of "World Cup" travel prices. This means the odds of a local surfer, including World Tour competitor Jordy Smith who lacks this one title in his already impressive list of accomplishments, is greater than ever before.

SA Surf Photographer of the Year nominee

SA Surf Photographer of the Year nominee

I have been named as one of the eight SA Surf Photographer of the Year nominees. We were asked to select 10 of our favorite images from the past year (Jan2009-June2010), it is no simple task whittling things to a handful of photographs. Whilst there are photos that jump out and stick in your mind marking themselves as no brainers for such things there are photos which have to fight for your attention amongst a handful of other equally impressive images.

I chose my Top 10 surf related photographs, they do not give a full representation of the surf lifestyle but more so of what I love about surf photography, the photography that butters my bread.

At the moment the galleries are only open for viewing on the ZigZag website with voting live from Friday 18 June 2010. You can view mine and the others of Greg Ewing, Louis Wulff, Alan Van Gysen, Craig Kolesky, Richard Johnson, Richard Hambloch and Luke Patterson.

The final decision will be based on 50% online votes and 50% from a panel of two judges including non other than Mr Chris Van Lennep himself. The winner will be announced at the awards function on 4 July 2010.

Archive Archive Archive

Love Thy Archives

Love your archives. Caress them. Treat them as a lover. Shower them with descriptive words. Label them lovingly. Bestow upon them affection enough to make them blush and glow with images that will jump when you push their magical buttons.

Image submissions are so much easier when you have a simple brief and an archive adequately maintained. Something that would have taken a day quite some time ago today took an hour.

Yesterdays Encounter

Friendly Black Tip Sharks

Yesterday a friend and I decided it was time for a "Backline Diaries" surf session. Backline Diaries are were we can talk about matters of the heart in a manly environment while performing a manly activity. The spot chosen for the surf being Cave Rock. We had dilly dallied a fair bit so by the time we arrived the wind was kicking into third gear and the tide was dropping. We lolly gagged some more so by the time the inconsistent good looking waves convinced me it was time to get wet the wind had shifted another gear and I had to use all powers of persuasion to get my friend in the water. All tales of look its fun, you wont hit the rocks, there are no sharks, only a 40 minute session. I even offered to buy him a Green Dolphin mega toasted sandwich, considering my beyond stretched budget at the moment that was a big call. Luckily he declined stating "I want healthy food".

Suited up and negotiating the rocks next to the tidal pool I start hearing his screams. "This is scary" followed by screams of panic and fear as the white wash swept him off the rocks and into a tiny gully which was to his benefit in the end as we paddled out in two minutes. And then I broke it to him, "now I will tell you about going back in. The tide is dropping and you cannot just ride a wave in, you can only go so far and then you have to walk back in over the rocks".

Now I don't want to taint his 'Redemption & Justice' reputation so I will admit that when the waves get beyond 8ft and into the sketchy realm he is one of the very few who do not develop and acute case of tennis elbow or repetitive strain syndrome. He does have back issues but forgets them for a taste of the punchier action and then goes home and doesn't walk for two days with a legitimate excuse.

Not 10 minutes into our session he states "what is that" while pointing to a swell bump. It was a chip packet. But what I didn't say was what else I had seen. Whilst land lubbing and lolly gagging I had seen a pod of dolphins folicking 30 minutes before but they were a good distance from what I had seen. For fear of causing a stampede and missing out on the few good waves on offer I felt the obligation to investigate the shadow once or twice more. Okay decision made it's a shark. It didn't buzz us circle us or even try give us a fright, it was further than spitting distance. But still I knew if my friend saw it his reaction would be the least desirable one, so I paddle over and calmly say "don't want to panic you but go in". He says what and again I say as calm as if it were a sunrise "just go in". Thats all I needed to say. Before I even considered a wave in he had beached himself on the sand with little regard for his board which is now missing a fin and has a new hole all while I wanted to stay out and get closer but figured I best not upset the visitor so calmly turned and went it riding the wave all while looking back wishing I was still out there.

I can't tell you what species of shark it was but I can say it was not a Great White. Had it actually popped up right next to us I would like to say my reaction would have been the same. I love the sharks and hopefully they will continue to love me.

Slots & Pretty Shots

Where were you?
This mornings effort at redemption was nearly dealt a complete dose of failure. Out of bed bright and early ten minutes after my alarm, two doses of "5 more minutes" as opposed to my usual hours worth and I was up getting my oats and surf reports when my eyes on the ocean Goose phones in "it's a bit broken up from the east and still looks good but I broke my hand last night so I wont be surfing". Oh well jump in the car set the compass and burn some petrol.

Casey Grant

Checking in with Casey Grant as I pull out my drive-way reveals a surfer out getting milk for his breakfast and a confidence boosting surf report. Emitting these CO2 gasses might be worthwhile. It wasn't quite working but Casey would be hitting the water in an hour, the amount of time it takes me to reach the spot.

Chris Leppan

Matt Bromley

Mid drive Chris Leppan rings in, he has Matt Bromley with him up from Cape Town and they are looking for waves and photos. Telling them where I'm going the phone call ends as all photo mission phone calls end "see you there". Arriving at my chosen photo studio punches through the second failure. It's not barreling, the wind is up and there is a rip right where I would want to be with fisheye. The cool thing about this spot is you can get right up in spitting distance of the take off zone so observing the goings on is not too painful. Another phone call, Rudy Palmboom Jnr is checking in, his spot is a bit wonky but so is mine. The phone call ends as some photo mission phone calls do "it's nothing great, check you later". Chris and Matt check-in again, they looking at a spot 3 minutes drive away, they take 15 minutes to arrive.

Slade Prestwich

And then it happens, the first dredger swings on to the sandbar. Then a freight train arrives and in my head the clouds part the skies clear and angels sing. A cup of coffee and suit up. That was the plan before failure number three sends its greetings. Flat batteries. I don't use the auto power off feature on my MKIII because before I've had a camera develop errors when waking from slumber and when locked in a housing in the ocean that is not fun. Because I had last used the camera a few days ago and never turned it off the little blinking battery icon sent the obligatory curse word or two from my mouth. It's not exactly what I wanted to do but my 7D was okay to attempt fisheye. I use the auto power off feature on my 7D because I use it when doing photos while free diving with sharks and the time from sealing the housing to getting in the water can be quite long. Another blinking battery. What? Followed by more expletives. It's a strange trick but it works, remove the battery place it back and the camera thinks the battery is full. By this time the rip makes swimming not an option unless doing long lens pull back but that by default of a flat battery was not an option. And this is were redemption comes in. With only one option you are forced to create more. Lately I've been admiring the pull back action shots by my friend Greg Ewing. He has been doing them for a while but lately I've been enjoying them more and more so into his shoes I step and walk

And walk away with a few good frames in the bag and a smile on my face I did.

Cape Town, RAW Awards and Barrels

They were a year in the making, the O'Neill RAW Courage Awards and finally the prize giving was upon us. For a week I had been checking the cost of flights, I'd already decided I was going down but being budget conscious I scoured all the "low-cost" airlines websites. Somewhat humorous to find the one airline that brags about the lowest of prices was the most costly even with a 15% discount from my medical aid. Perhaps they need the funds to pay for all those witty commercials they create only to have their removal lawfully enforced. My chosen winged chariot was 1Time Airlines whom I shall recommend to any and everyone as they were the cheapest even without a discount and I booked my rental car through them at a favorable rate.

I travel a lot, 6 months of the year really, and this was the first time I departed from the new Durban King Shaka International Airport. This time being in the North and driving against the traffic it was a pleasant quick drive there. Only a rolling tumble weed would have confirmed my suspicions the airport was deserted and the old airport was in fact still operating. Straight to the check-in queue, pleasantries exchanged, baggage checked-in which was underweight for a change and I had my boarding pass. Wimpy breakfast later and I was sitting in my seat staring out the window heading to Cape Town for only the third time in my 30 year existence on this planet.

I don't know my way around Cape Town but my GPS does and I still managed to take a wrong turn. Why do trucks choose the route with only one lane up the mountain? At least I got to scenic route at a viewable pace. I was staying with Bromdog and his family and needed to arrive before a certain hour which never happened thanks to said trucks. Internet on my iPhone kept me entertained while I willed away the hours.

Pierre De Plessis is not a person I met, he may have and was most likely in the lineup on the occasions I was photographing Dungeons but the inescapable feeling of camaraderie while standing on the beach before his memorial paddle out made me feel part of the fraternity. Friends, family, strangers, kids, ballies and dogs all gathered in a circle on the beach said a few words, remembered their friend and proceeded to paddle out to the ocean where a large circle was formed for more words to be said prayers offered and champagne drank. I was moved, not only physically by the oceans rip current but spiritually by the human emotion.

The O'Neill RAW Courage Awards water ceremony might just have been a first of its kind. I've never heard of an awards taking place in the ocean before and I was happy to be attending not only because I had two photos depicting the feats of two surfers in contention for prizes but because it was a beautiful day for such things. Some said I was big headed some said well done, I told them power of positivity. I was adamant my photos were going to be the winners and thus I came to Cape Town. And my photos did win. Matt Bromley - Grom Charge Award. Frank Solomon - Phsyco Freak Award. Well done guys, told you we would win. Great fun was had on land after the intimate awards ceremony in Kommetjie. Tequila, beer and pizza all make for a good night.

A big girls blouse is what I am when it comes to cold water. I like the cold, I love snow but I have a deep seated hatred for cold water. It is not pleasurable to surf in a 4:3 wetsuit with booties and gloves. This was my third visit to Cape Town yet my first surf ever in the icy waters of the Cape.



Who goes flower shopping when visiting a friend for coffee? It was Friday and I was leaving later in the arvo yet I had to return my car before 12:30 to avoid paying for another days rental. My "Heeere Fishy Fishy Fishy" friend Hanli Prinsloo (free dive champion, trainer and fellow shark lover) invited me over to Kalk Bay mid-morning. We had breakfast at a little corner cafe a few steps from Kalk Hobbitville. Best damn omelette I've ever had. She then proceeded to give me a tour of Kalk Bay, it's only one road in and one road out so it wasn't too difficult and then we went plant shopping. More like I stood there thinking a plants a plant while Hanli promised to talk to the plants so they didn't die like the ones being replaced. I rubbed a plant whose leaves smell like lemon citrus and renamed some plant to Shrek Ear.

Flew home with a dose of the flu and waited an hour as my dad insists I told him a different arrival time to the actual time I touched ground. Avoided the Friday night activities as Saturday morning promised fantastical waves. And that it did. Semi-secret spots are great. Finally waves with a bit of juice behind them, one chom out, sheet glass barrels and blue warm water thank you very much. Three and a half horus later we were looking to the skies asking for the east wind to blow so we could head to the Green Dolphin for a maxi breakfast and not feel guilty about leaving the waves behind. The wind blew and we left.