Rocks are My Friends

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERAThese rocks never let me down.

Playa Avellanas is my Costa Rica, home break.

Once I found this beach, I’ve never wanted to leave it.

Sometimes, because of crowds, or when life gets hard, I think of escaping to Mexico. Me-hee-co is the speedball of adventure. And one day I might get there again. But, until that happens, daydreams are cost effective.

Quien sabe?

Fernandina Beach, the town that I’m from, and where I learned to surf, has a dumping beach break. When I got down here at the age of forty, and discovered point breaks and reefs, I was a changed surfer.

The rocks make the wave more predictable.

I rely on my friends. I don’t need surprises.

Troubleshooting Life

IMG_4074bChris Igou – Fernandina Beach, FL

I took this photo yesterday. It was our first summer day. Maybe not on the calendar, but all the elements created sunshine and glassy waves. I could hear Beach Boys’ music playing.

Chris Igou is a stand out surfer, and I have many pics of him, but this particular move was exciting to watch. Being behind the lens and following the surfer is a thrill that I hadn’t expected. I’m fortunate to be a surf photographer; the local documenter of the Fernandina Beach, surf community.

Secondhand Surfer Blog is my journal and it helps me stay grounded.

I’ve been journaling since 1994(?). When first traveling to Costa Rica, I would keep track of my costs. I can look up what a liter of gas and the price of an egg breakfast was in 1996. I can tell you about people that I met, complimented by pictures. Continue reading Troubleshooting Life

Hitchhike to California

IMG_7617meThis photo was taken by John Lyman, at my favorite surf break, in Costa Rica. Of all the years I’ve surfed, and all the waves I’ve ridden, I have very few pictures. I have been on waves way bigger than this one. They are burnt in my brain forever. The battle to take the wave, falling over the ledge, and the drama of hanging on, is part of my senses.

A captured moment, such as this, can pull the memory trigger on not just one wave, but dozens.

I’m fortunate I have this image at all. I had to pay to get it.

I am not a ripper. My claim to fame, use to be, that I would charge waves that women were not on. But that’s history; something way in the past. For one, I’m not aggressive for bigger waves and two, the line-up can be filled with women.

I still sit out and wait on the set waves. I always like it when I get the wave of the day. But more and more, as my boards get longer and longer, I try to style it, on small waves. They make me laugh.

Each and every wave has a life of its own.

Every surfer is photo worthy.

As a photographer, I spend my time, working to capture the best of a surfer’s abilities. It takes time, patience, and sometimes giving up shots of the better and best surfers. I ply my trade on the beaches of Amelia Island.

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That and five dollars will get me a cup of coffee at Starbucks.

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If you’re hitchhiking to California, and you put your thumb out, then no one gives you a ride ~  If you stop walking you will never get there.

I don’t want to stop my photography, no matter what!

Under Construction

IMG_7630shs2My Blog

  1. Replace Heading
  2. Add page headings
  3. Write more in pages
  4. Track down side bar problem
  5. Possibly use a different theme

My Photography

  1. Go out today and shoot surf photos
  2. Implement new info learned in yesterday’s class
  3. Format my card

 

A Line in the Sand

IMG_9044fbwp

As a pre-schooler I watched Captain Kangaroo. Mr. Green Jeans and the Rabbit were cool, but the Magic Drawing Board was my favorite. Black lines would just appear on blank board and draw whatever!

Since then I have learned the power of the mark. When we make one, it is us. It is revealing.

I draw lines, in the sand.

Transformation

Metamorphosis

If Kafkahad surfed, would he have transformed into a bug more appealing, say a light and colorful butterfly?

Surfing lends itself to beauty.

Zack Miller

Zack Miller

Yesterday, I grabbed my camera and headed to the Spot. There were four surfers out and I enjoyed takings pics. I would never even consider paddling out in windy waves like that; not anymore.

Hurricane Sandy is headed our way here in Fernandina Beach, FL.

CR Sunset

I’m dreaming of the Costa Rica sunsets. Everyday, neighbors meander down and watch the sunset It’s ritual.

It’s getting cold here for me. And, I can’t comment that it’s cold in public, because all the people, from up north, that now live here, will take off about cold weather.

~ssshhhhhh~don’t tell anyone~

It’s all relative.

Personal Favorite -1

 

My favorite photo from yesterday’s surf session on Amelia Island.

One day  I’ll be in the water with my camera.

Committed

I started this blog to learn more about my computer and my camera. (and myself) So far, so good.