September 25, 2011

Boday Bashing



Body surfing sounds far more graceful but often the reality is that our local "body bashing" nickname is far more apt. I know I had a lot of fun getting some close out views last summer with some fins I picked up for $15. Stoked.

September 23, 2011

Lady Slides



Michelle on her 100% hand crafted Sealegged stoke enhancer.

September 19, 2011

Summer's Coming



With all this warm weather of late it's clear that Summer's just around the corner. Short interval, locally generated and wind affected swells abound, but in a way I know I'm still looking forward to it! Must be something to do with the long days, barbeques, warm water and all the rest that is part and parcel of our Summer.

September 17, 2011

DP



Surfer Dane showing how it's done on a longboard.

September 16, 2011

Mid North Sliders



Some slides enjoyed last winter on the mid north coast. Photos courtesy of the Smithmyster.

September 14, 2011

Small Corner Runners



Small fun waves with a small mellow crowd, I didn't hear any complaints out there.

September 12, 2011

September 10, 2011

Classic Inspiration



One of my favourite sections from one of my earliest favourite surf movies, Searching for Tom Curren. This was the first time I became aware of the fish design.

September 7, 2011

September 5, 2011

A Different View



From the water and black & white, as captured by Jason Smith.

September 3, 2011

Epic Winter




Here's a short video with a few of the heavier waves that were ridden around these parts this winter. I haven't actually taken many photos recently, been busy being a new dad : ) or getting out amongst it myself. It was such a good winter though. Lots of swell, with offshore sunny days and good crowd numbers and water temperatures.

September 2, 2011

Sealegged Stubby



Depends where you wanna go on a wave of course, but I reckon Azza's onto a super fun, super functional shape with his stubby. Check them out on his new Sealegged site. 

August 31, 2011

Either Side



Two beaches on either side of one headland on the same day last Summer. The water was cold after a sustained northerly. Farewell today an epic Winter, let's hope Spring is uncharacteristically good!

August 26, 2011

Surf Rules



Here we see the old first up and riding taking precedence over the surfer who's deepest. The funny thing is everyone's right in their own eyes. Etiquette's generally not too bad this time of year. There are moments in the cooler months for sure, but dramas seem more regular in summer when the lineups are busier, there's less waves and less familiarity with the subtleties of turn taking and right of way. No one ever explained those basics to me, it took years of stink eyes and surf mag references to get the basics down.  

August 24, 2011

Corner Carve



Ahhh.. a session to remember. Fun rights running along a well shaped hunk of sand and regular rain squalls keeping it relatively quiet for a Saturday. 

August 22, 2011

Grouse



I was going to leave it just titled grouse, but for our overseas friends and any younger local ones; 'grouse' is classic Aussie slang for great. She's a grouse sheila. The party was grouse as. Grouse feed they put on. Or as depicted above, a grouse moment in the surf.

August 20, 2011

Different Waves



I was stoked I gave this the minute 46 seconds of my day...

August 10, 2011

Fried Fish



Azza with speed and space to burn on his Sealegged sled.

August 6, 2011

Rasta at Backdoor



Showing us surfer joes how it's done on a 6'6 2+1 at Backdoor Hawaii.

August 5, 2011

Flying



Must be close to flying, sure feels good.

August 1, 2011

Master & Apprentice



Shelly styling, Azza watching on approvingly.

July 15, 2011

July 9, 2011

Careless & Bronzed

"standing upright on his board, carelessly poised, a young god bronzed with sunburn"
So wrote author Jack London on observing a surfer while visiting Hawaii in 1907.

June 24, 2011

June 20, 2011

Kyal & Jason



Two shots of my good mate Kyal Demrich as taken by another good mate Jason Smith. Killer shots Jas! This was a local beachie a few Saturdays ago. Apparently Kyal was the only guy out... Having only just returned from a bit of winter's respite in Bali & G-Land, Kyal must of been stoked to find a hollow right so close to home, not to mention uncrowded.


June 14, 2011

Send Your Photos


A week or so ago someone I know well, who shall remain nameless, passed comment on my photos. To paraphrase they reminded me that I've been posting photos here for over a year now, but went on to tell me that they've seen little improvement in my photos and if anything the quality of my posts may be getting worse... it's just that you don't take enough time, they said.

Ouch. The things people close to you can say! So after about 5 seconds contemplation I conceded that yes, it was a valid point. I guess I know that I'm a surfer first and a photographer second (actually there's a number of other things in my life that would go in that equation, but as a figure of speech I'm a surfer before I'm a photographer). 

And when I do have time to get out and amongst it, my passion is for riding waves rather than watching them being ridden. But I do like watching and capturing them being ridden sometimes, when I'm in the mood, or I've got an injury or a cold... 

However I will try and lift my game, spend a bit more time on the beach catching the moments, and sorting out the digital pile of photos in the folder. I'm still a big fan of celebrating the everyday surfers getting out there experiencing some pure surf stoke. 

I'm actually hoping you can help. If you have some photos of regular 'surfer joes' then feel free to send them my way and I'll post them up here. They can be of you or your mates or family, longboarders, shortboarders, bodysurfing - whatever. You retain the copyright etc and I can add a link to your own blog/page/site, just email them to surferjoephotos@gmail.com 

Looking forward to seeing your photos.

June 8, 2011

To The Bottom



Bottom turns both look and feel great I reckon. And their execution can make or break a good ride too.