Surf, Natural History Photography Blog

Grant “Twiggy” Baker, on his way to winning the 2006 running of the Mavericks Surf Contest. This was one of my two favorite frames of the day. I hope to get up there again for the 2007 contest. These guys are superb athletes taking on a truly impressive wave in style. Amazing.

More 2006 Mavericks Surf Contest photos.

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Heaving tube-lets in South Carlsbad this morning:

Carlsbad morning shorebreak, heaving little 6 tube. Image: 17901

Carlsbad morning shorebreak, heaving little 6 tube. Image: 17902

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Another nice morning in North County, surf was still strong and fun. Thanks to the surfers who let me poach some shots on their waves.

Cardiff, morning surf. Cardiff by the Sea, California, USA. Image: 17884   Location: Cardiff by the Sea, California, USA View this Image in Google Earth!

Cardiff, morning surf. Cardiff by the Sea, California, USA. Image: 17883   Location: Cardiff by the Sea, California, USA View this Image in Google Earth!

Mike Thomas, Cardiff, morning surf. Cardiff by the Sea, California, USA. Image: 17877   Location: Cardiff by the Sea, California, USA View this Image in Google Earth!

More photos from today or all sessions.

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Another nice morning in Carlsbad. Full sun, ocean was not too cold, glassy and calm, and a few big bottlenose dolphins swimming in the lineup. However, the water was full of sand from the lagoon so it looks sort of dingy in the photos, and there was a longshore current the whole time.

Don Gaunder, Ponto, South Carlsbad, morning surf. Ponto, Carlsbad, California, USA. Image: 17855   Location: Ponto, Carlsbad, California, USA View this Image in Google Earth!

Ponto, South Carlsbad, morning surf. Ponto, Carlsbad, California, USA. Image: 17854   Location: Ponto, Carlsbad, California, USA View this Image in Google Earth!

Ponto, South Carlsbad, morning surf. Ponto, Carlsbad, California, USA. Image: 17856   Location: Ponto, Carlsbad, California, USA View this Image in Google Earth!

More photos from today or all sessions.

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Can God create a wave so big that even He couldn’t surf it?

Ponto, South Carlsbad, morning surf. Ponto, Carlsbad, California, USA. Image: 17833   Location: Ponto, Carlsbad, California, USA View this Image in Google Earth!

Waxing philosophical today.

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Got out this morning for a three hour session in some fun surf, first time in the water in about a month. A solid NW swell, light offshore winds, full sun, water not too cold, occasional freight train barrels — empty. All the surfers were packed at the jetties so I had the barrels at the south end to myself for quite a while. The lines were shifting alot and it was tough for me to position properly, so today’s haul of photos is not too impressive. The surf should be a little larger tomorrow, hoping that the sky stays clear for good morning light and another try.

Carson Smith, Ponto, South Carlsbad, morning surf. Ponto, Carlsbad, California, USA. Image: 17828   Location: Ponto, Carlsbad, California, USA View this Image in Google Earth!

Ponto, South Carlsbad, morning surf. Ponto, Carlsbad, California, USA. Image: 17827   Location: Ponto, Carlsbad, California, USA View this Image in Google Earth!

More photos from today, or all the sessions.

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Smaller and less consistent than the past few days but also less crowded. Click here for the shots I decided to keep from this morning. Below are a couple of the guys who took pity on me and passed by so I could get a few snaps.

Ponto, South Carlsbad, morning surf. Ponto, Carlsbad, California, USA. Image: 17819   Location: Ponto, Carlsbad, California, USA View this Image in Google Earth!

Ponto, South Carlsbad, morning surf. Ponto, Carlsbad, California, USA. Image: 17821   Location: Ponto, Carlsbad, California, USA View this Image in Google Earth!

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Another nice day on the water. Click here for the shots I decided to keep from this morning. And below are a couple of larger ones.

Tony Gatti, Ponto, South Carlsbad, morning surf. Ponto, Carlsbad, California, USA. Image: 17777   Location: Ponto, Carlsbad, California, USA View this Image in Google Earth!

Ponto, South Carlsbad, morning surf. Ponto, Carlsbad, California, USA. Image: 17779   Location: Ponto, Carlsbad, California, USA View this Image in Google Earth!

Tony Gatti, Ponto, South Carlsbad, morning surf. Ponto, Carlsbad, California, USA. Image: 17780   Location: Ponto, Carlsbad, California, USA View this Image in Google Earth!

Ponto, South Carlsbad, morning surf. Ponto, Carlsbad, California, USA. Image: 17783   Location: Ponto, Carlsbad, California, USA View this Image in Google Earth!

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Fun day! I got out for an hour or so this morning. Beautiful light, offshores, size and on the weekend to boot. Click here for the shots I decided to keep from this morning .

Ponto, South Carlsbad, morning surf. Ponto, Carlsbad, California, USA. Image: 17717   Location: Ponto, Carlsbad, California, USA View this Image in Google Earth!

Ponto, South Carlsbad, morning surf. Ponto, Carlsbad, California, USA. Image: 17718   Location: Ponto, Carlsbad, California, USA View this Image in Google Earth!

Ponto, South Carlsbad, morning surf. Ponto, Carlsbad, California, USA. Image: 17720   Location: Ponto, Carlsbad, California, USA View this Image in Google Earth!

Ponto, South Carlsbad, morning surf. Ponto, Carlsbad, California, USA. Image: 17725   Location: Ponto, Carlsbad, California, USA View this Image in Google Earth!

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Made a morning run up to the Wedge and got in the water. I probably should have stayed on the sand this morning. I would have got better shots, stayed dry, and would not have come home with a load of sand in my shorts. The waves were green and ugly, the light was in the wrong direction and I was pretty lame in the water, but it was lots of fun nonetheless. The bodyboarder in this shot is Ron Ziebell, owner AlternativeSurf shops in Seal Beach and Dana Point, a nice guy and great bodyboarder. Here are a few more from this morning, nothing really great.

Ron Ziebell, the Wedge. The Wedge, Newport Beach, California, USA. Image: 17706   Location: The Wedge, Newport Beach, California, USA View this Image in Google Earth!

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Solitude. I had a long stretch of the waves south of the jetties all to myself. It was beautiful this morning, until the tide rose and the waves lost their form. Click here to see more from this morning.

Breaking wave, Ponto, South Carlsbad. Ponto, Carlsbad, California, USA. Image: 17679   Location: Ponto, Carlsbad, California, USA View this Image in Google Earth!

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Sunny, no wind, warm, nice October conditions this morning. Click here to see more from this morning.

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It was overcast this morning, a storm is coming in says the weatherman. After dropping the kids off at school I got about an hour of fun and exercise in the water before a breeze arose and junked up the waves. Plus I had to get to work. Click here to see more from this morning.

Cardiff Reef. Cardiff by the Sea, California, USA. Image: 17611   Location: Cardiff by the Sea, California, USA View this Image in Google Earth!

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I met my friend Eric at Seaside Reef. It was overcast and illustrated why its called the “green room”.

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My approach to photography is not particularly rigorous or diligent. In fact, it is random and haphazard. A good friend of mine has several times referred to my technique as “machine-gun-fire.” My thinking is that if I spray enough frames around during the course of a shoot, odds are one of them will be a keeper. I adhere to the ancient Zen saying that Even a blind squirrel sometimes finds a nut. In keeping with this philosophy (of shooting as many frames as I can and worrying about it later) I replaced my 20D with a wildly fast 1DIIN (my other camera being a relatively slow 1DsII). This thing is a fire breathing dragon. It fires off 8.5 frames a second, continuously, and doesn’t even begin to slow until I have blazed 20-30 frames. Not only that but I got 500 shots this morning before the camera was full — that is a lot of photos. 8.5 frames a second is twice as fast as any of my other cameras, so I can shoot twice as many frames in a day which means, assuming averages hold, I will get twice as many keepers. Twice the keepers means I am now twice as good as I was before and I should expect twice as many photo sales. Sound reasoning.

I took the new camera out for a test drive this morning at Ponto, wrapped in the beautiful new Delmar camera housing that Erik Hjermstad just built for me last week. Conditions were nice, glassy, sunny, warm. It was fun. Here are a few shots.

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Another morning at the Wedge. I sympathize with this guy as I have eaten more than my fair share of shorebreak sand too. It looks like the lip caught him in the back of the head just after this shot was taken. And this is only a small inside shorebreak, not a set wave. Some days Wedge waves are so mutant that, combined with crossed-up backwash, they have the potential to work you at any time.

Shorebreak. The Wedge. The Wedge, Newport Beach, California, USA. Image: 14204   Location: The Wedge, Newport Beach, California, USA View this Image in Google Earth!

My guess is this guy shrugged it off and paddled out on the next backwash. Just one more reason to love a September southern hemi swell in southern Orange County…

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