Puerto Rico come and Gone

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Puerto Rico has come and gone. I sit in the San Juan airport reflecting on what was Puerto Rico for me. The ASP World Tour has been handing out World Titles for 30 years and over half of them were involved at this event. 4 X Stephanie Gilmore. 10 X Kelly Slater. 3 X Andy Irons. Total - 17.

In 1992 Kelly Slater claimed his first World Title in a year I was migrating from Primary to High School. Bordering on my teenage years and raw to teasing I filled in my application form and stated I wanted to be called by my middle name, Nicholas. By 1993 Slater had made my name more acceptable and I liked it. He was my hero, he made my name cool and well he surfed like a World Champ. Seventeen years ago I would never have fathomed the thought that one of my photographs would be the first the world see of Slater being chaired up the beach as a 10 X World Champ.

Stephanie Gilmore joined the ASP World Tour four years ago and taken the title each year since. How many more she will claim is up to her.

Andy Irons claimed three World Titles in '02 - '03 - '04. He passed away on 2 November 2010. He is the only surfer to have ever presented a real challenge to Kelly Slater.

Am I happy to leave Puerto Rico? I am sad to say yes. Its beauty is tainted for me.
I have shed many tears for many reasons. I smile as I turn my back and head to Hawaii.

Our event photos can be seen on the ASP website.

Silverware

France - update 4

France - update 4

The final of the French updates. Mick beat Slater in the final in some "pro-only" conditions. Mortal behavior would prevent average surfer joe from paddling that. That and the lack of a jetski. As after parties go people get drunk and injuries occur, I was the wildcard injury for the night. After a fantastic hot-rock, aka Le Boef, we took the few short steps across to Cafe Paris. My bladder felt it was time to evict the few beers I had consumed and so off I went for a pee. All was fine until the last step of the stairwell on my way back to have another beer. Shiny wooden floors with a mix of beer, sweat and urine do not make for a surface with the most traction. Slip goes the foot, ass and elbow on the floor. A dent in the pride is only saved by a thumbs up to the acknowledging crowd along with a split elbow. It was a big cut but it was split to the bone, enough to drip blood on my favorite shoes.

After heading back to the hotel to rinse and wash the wound a soldering on approach was adapted. Rock Food was full and charging at the door and Dicks Tavern was a sweat pit enough to convince me my night was over. 20 minute walk back to the hotel for an uncomfortable night of sleep trying not to bump the egg my elbow had turned into.

Contest is over and a sleep in will be had.

France - update 2

All good things French

A week into France and I've seen Round 1 of the Quiksilver Pro France completed and the first three heats of Round 2 finish. I've watched Freestyle MotoX in Hossegor Square, I've saved a child from a stampede. I've gone two days without tea and drank coffee while eating Sucre Au Lemoen Crepes. I spent Euros and not cared while drinking beer from Bali.

I am making proper blog entries about the contest on theBOMBsurf website. Be sure to give it a visit.

France - update 1

All the good things it takes to get here

My passport received its last international stamp when I departed Australia in March. Many things have happened since that ink hit the paper. I've experienced many personal trials and tribulations in the six months since then so it was both happiness and sadness when I departed home shores on Wednesday afternoon for France. It took one and a half days to get that fresh stamp in the passport. A one hour flight from Durban to JHB, a 6 hour layover in JHB, a 10 hour flight from JHB to London, another 6 hour layover which included a 1 hour bus journey from Heathrow to Gatwick, a 2 hour flight from Gatwick to Bordeaux, a 2 hour wait for my colleague to arrive thanks to the strikes by Air France staff and a 1.5 hour drive from Bordeaux to Hossegor.

Never has a shower felt so good. Being clean felt so fine that I nearly took another shower.

Hipstamatic Clayton

Hipstamatic Clayton

The hipstamatic session is viewable in slideshow on theBOMBsurf website.

With permission I took a stroll around the Clayton Surfboards factory after promises of zero secrets revealed.

Today I am off to France.

Brothers Wedding

Flowers - Check

My brother Calvin got married on 18 Sept 2010 to Heidi. I can only describe the day as magical, who gets married in the bush with Rhinos, Giraffes and Oxen as extra guests. The morning started off overcast with the wind picking up as the clock ticked on. After getting ready and driving to the ceremony the skies were peppered by spots of rain. Soft enough to cause concern yet light enough to hold hope. As guests gathered in the open veld sitting on hay-bails it really started to rain and the wind intensified. I could only close my eyes talk to mom and the powers that be and ask for some intervention. The rain stopped and the wind subsided but came back and my beliefs began to fail. I will forever hold onto my faith for what happened after that. Heidi and her Bridesmaids arrived in an Ox-wagon pulled by six very well behaved bulls. The rain stopped, the wind departed and the Rhinos arrived. At times the large male and female were within 20 meters of the guests. The Pastor noted that if they get any closer he is first up the tree under which we were standing. As the vows were recited the clouds parted and a brilliant golden light emanated with a perfect beam shining right down the middle of the isle encasing Calvin and Heidi in a beautiful halo. I smiled, closed my eyes and thanked mom. She was with us, there was never any doubt about that.

At a wedding a lot of concentration is placed on the bride and this is fair as it is usually the girls childhood dream day. But why forget the groom? As my wedding gift I photographed my brother getting ready for his big day.

The smile that says "I do"

All suited up -lets get married

Schotia Safaris

White Rhino

King of the Jungle

The past weekend was my brothers wedding. It was a magical day which took place on a game farm owned by his wifes parents, Schotia. We were treated to numerous sightings while driving around doing this and that. Being a photographer my camera went almost everywhere and now I feel like joining the wildlife photographers club.

Wildebeest

Giraffe

No light? Go Black & White!

The Mound showing what it is capable of

Many alarm clocks were set to crow before the rooster on the morning of Tuesday, 7 September 2010. The days preceding had been wind swept with not a vast amount of surfing taking place. Afternoon sessions the day before took place in 2 foot mush thus with favorable gifts from the ocean looking set for the morning many a surfer kissed their loved ones on the cheek, cashed in their morning pass and tucked themselves into bed as if it were a school night. The Quiksilver Goodwave, an event with a one year waiting period, had been placed on alert only to have that power disconnected by the municipal powers that be because the shark nets had still not been placed back in the water after a history setting sardine run.

And so the early birds arrived in their numbers but it was only the motorised early birds that ate. A combination of high tide and big surf had washed sand up onto the World Cup promenade but not with enough veracity as to put the Wimpy staff in any danger. The swell had arrived but it was not clean. It was not friendly. It was not for those who only had their arms. A jump off the New Pier if poorly timed saw you washed into the Far Bowl in five minutes. I witnessed a crazied water photographer attempt this, what he was hoping to photograph I'm not quite sure. The shark pod attached to ankle was overkill.

Three tow teams were in the water, one being Twiggy and Ryan Butcher. Everyone had their fill. One team hit the throttle out to The Mound. They looked like lint particles. The Mound didn't produce enough of a thrill to keep them there but the mind surfing was monumental.

A slideshow is viewable on theBOMBsurf website.

The ocean is their stadium

The Photo from that letter

First ever published surf photo

Two posts ago I related the story behind the letter. Today I show you the photo. Above is the first surf photo I ever had published. It is actually the first photo of any kind I ever had published. My friend Darryn Mountford in the barrel, a tiny barrel, at East London's Bonza Bay Beach. The wind was a stiff NW Burg which kept us warm in the icy water.

The magazine was ZigZag Vol 22/3 May/June 1998 on page 14. When a certain day of the year becomes fateful for some catastrophic reason be it human action induced or Mother Nature response the statisticians play around with numbers and coerce them into meaning something. This particular issue the cover featured a photo sequence shot from the water at Pipeline Hawaii, my favorite place in the world since I live there for three months of the year. The photographer credited with the photo is my part-time boss and friend Pierre Tostee. I am of the belief the photo credits were mixed up as I have never been recounted stories from the boss about water shooting in Hawaii, and I too have been miscredited on numerous occasions. Sometimes to my credit sometimes not.

Flipping through the pages you see faces of current and gone, surfers I love photographing, places I love visiting and some now good friends.

Time is a strange thing, without it you wouldn't need a watch.

The frame I thought was better

Mandatory friend photo

(L-R) Me, Darryn and the Beach Buggy

Feeling nostalgic

Sean Holmes post Billabong Pro R2 heat win

Today far away from any surf competition I feel a little nostalgic. Up till the beginning of July I'd been "unemployed" if you wish. The Mr Price Pro was my first event I'd worked in 3.5 months. From there I headed down to Jeffreys Bay for the Billabong Pro where I was forced to bail the event mid Round 2 for a family emergency. Family comes first! Down in Cape Town today Greg Emslie won the O'Neill CWC keeping all three South African surf event trophies in South Africa.

2010 - Mr Price Pro Ballito - Jordy Smith
2010 - Billabong Pro Jeffreys Bay - Jordy Smith
2010 - O'Neill Cold Water Classic Cape Town - Greg Emslie

My next event now lies two months away in France.

Shooting the Moon

One day late of a full moon

Yesterday whilst sipping a beer on the uShaka Pier the moon stopped me mid sip. It was one of those "have I got enough time to race home 20kms grab my gear and race back 20kms in time" moments.

Today I went back to the pier and the moon wasn't there, strange but true. Departed after buying a bag of sweets for my sour sweet quest. Leaving my friends house I see this glowing orb above the trees. Guess what, the moons up.

First International Cover - Swell#23

Cover of Swell#23

Swell Magazine is a Belgian surf culture mag, the cover of Swell#23 features a photo of mine from the Hawaii 09/10 Winter season. It is also my first international cover.

Being the season it was of big swell after big swell I took to shooting Waimea from the channel for a change of scenery when I felt comfortable. The surfers are (left) Bart Willems and (right) James Taylor, both from South Africa were there chasing waves in the Norther Hempisphere.

Mr Price Pro Ballito Jordy WINS

Taylor Knox won the event the year Jordy entered his first Mr Price Pro in 2000

Jordy helped make the call on the first day

A common sight when Jordy is surfing

Well the 2010 edition of the Mr Price Pro Ballito came to an end on Saturday with Jordy Smith being crowned the winner. Only the second South African to win the event in 32 years, the third in its history. Shaun Tompson and Ricky Basnett were the previous winners.

Jordy defeated South Coast Bruce Ironsish ripper Casey Grant. Casey supposedly could afford neither a cup of coffee or sandwich throughout the event, perhaps the literal hunger that drove him to the final. From Quarter Final to Semi Final to Final I was saying Casey is the only one who has what it takes to stop the reigning ASP #2 Jordy Smith. Were the ASP running its one tier system Jordy would be #1 in the World, a fact misquoted by the mass media now claiming he has overtaken Kelly Slater.

These are just a handful of images of Jordy through the event.

From the Magic Morning

He beat us but we will still carry him

Only the third South African in its history to win the event

Mr Price Pro Ballito Day 7

Greg "BIGfoot" Emslie

The 2010 Mr Price Pro Ballito had been trudging along till this morning. I say trudging as the waves were not the greatest, the photos I was producing were not the greatest and moods were certainly not the greatest. Yesterday hit trough bottom when I attempted a shortcut across the storm water drain slipped ended feet first knee second and gear bag third in water I would corner off with hazard tape. Only thing damaged being my pride and I quickly figured laugh it off and so I carried on walking back to my office laughing. Moral of the story, shortcuts don't always save time.

This morning we expected good waves, I didn't expect anything as beautiful as the conditions on offer. Barrelfest, sheet glass, aquatic gold, amazing. Just a few of the adjectives used. Happy is an understatement when describing the photos.

Greg Emslie needed an 8.50 to advance, he was awarded an 8.2something and he was eliminated. My opinion and that of many - Greg was robbed and deserved at least second place.

The Making of Page 8

Page 8 Underwater - Black & White

The Winter 2010 issue of theBOMBsurf Magazine has been delivered and readers are pouring over content from the past three months. One of the photographs, page 8, is an image stemming from a vision John and Iain had and asked for my help in creating.

The issue is full Black and White, something we think has never been done before and something John and Iain say they will never be doing again. So much was learnt about color management in the production of this magazine that they are looking forward to bringing brighter more vibrant issues in the future.

I have built a bracket that allows me to mount my HD Go Pro camera to my housing to capture high definition video at the same time I create stills. A simple contraption with wonderful results at times from which my plan of developing a series of videos called "Making of" which goes about explaining how a photograph was created. The title explains itself. At the moment my video skills are very limited. As I progress and the learning curve takes an uphill turn I will redo each video. Here is a link to watch the video for the "Making of Page 8".

I also prefer the color version of the image.

Page 8 Underwater - Color

Mr Price Pro Ballito Day 2

Davey Brand

Today, 3 July 2010, was Day 2 of the Mr Price Pro Ballito, of which I am the event photog, and the conditions last years edition was blessed with have failed to make a repeat show BUT that has not stopped the top South African junior surfers from showing they don't need perfect conditions to show a perfect repertoire. Morning conditions were more favorable than yesterday and a feast of airs, wafts, drops and flops were delivered.

Shark Freediving . . Again

Me & Scuba "Shark Whisperer"

Last week Friday saw me spending more time underwater with my big fishy friends at their home of Aliwal Shoal. This time I'd talked a friend into joining me. Slowly they will see there is nothing to fear but fear itself.

My friends at theBOMBsurf are running a slideshow.

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.

Hipstamatic yes I am 002

Hipstamatic yes I Am 002

I've developed a small addiction to this Hipstamatic iPhone application.

Clockwise in order taken.

1. I am on a quest to find the most sour sweet in existence. To date all attempts have resulted in nothing but a sugary disappointment.

2. My friend in the quest. She's a little camera shy.

3. Today, 20 June 2010, is Fathers Day. After a plate of moms Lasagna, two and a half bowls of Tiramisu and a bowl of Tipsy Tart and Custard I felt the need for a cuppa tea the moment the electricity went out thus resorting to the skottle and a pot of water.

4. Literally the moment I'd filled up the tea pot with hot water the power came back on. My dads family hand me down Italian coffee pot was put to the boil immediately.

5. A little light bulb, a meshed screen and a bottle of wine make for happy times.

6. Between my dad, sister, aunt and two of her friends six bottles of wine were consumed.

And if Michael Jacksons concerts ever happened I would have spent a little life savings for Golden Circle just because he can burn takkie like no other.

Hipstamatic yes I am 001

Hipstamatic yes I am 001

I've seen results from the iPhone app Hipstamatic and while simple and novel it is rather entertaining seeing the final output. I had to upgrade to OS 3.1.3 for it to work but that's the geek in me. Clockwise shown in order taken.