**As of September 2006, I am using an even newer, better, more killer housing from Delmar Housing Projects. Get The Info.**
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| Breaking wave, Ponto, South Carlsbad. Ponto, Carlsbad, California, USA. Image: 17679 Location: Ponto, Carlsbad, California, USA  View this Image in Google Earth! |
Comments from 12/14/2005, about my first Delmar housing: I just purchased a Delmar Surf Housing and it is a lot of fun. Erik Hjermstad makes Delmar housings for still and video cameras. I didn’t know squat about shooting surf and starting asking questions about what gear surf shooters use to photograph in the water. Eventually I came across Erik’s website upon recommendation from one of his customers in Hawaii. When I discovered that his shop is only about 10 miles south of me, in the Del Mar area, it was a nobrainer to go meet him and check out his work. Erik’s an easy-going guy and eager to get people into the water shooting images with his custom housings. For him it’s all about sharing the stoke. His housings are so popular worldwide that he’s got more orders than he can fill, and he’s taking steps to expand his manufacturing. The latest generation of digital cameras, such as the Canon 20D, are perfectly suited for this sort of photography. They have great auto-exposure and auto-focus, are small enough that a camera and housing weigh only a few pounds, offer high enough frame rates to make action photography possible, and they don’t break the bank. Since he creates each housing himself, it is a simple matter for Erik to add custom controls upon request — I had him add a switch to control manual/autofocus on my Canon 10-22 lens. Here are a few photos I shot on the very first time out in the water with Erik’s housing:
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| Breaking wave, South Carlsbad State Beach, Ponto, morning, winter. Ponto, Carlsbad, California, USA. Image: 14794 Location: Ponto, Carlsbad, California, USA View this Image in Google Earth! |
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| Breaking wave, South Carlsbad State Beach, Ponto, morning, winter. Ponto, Carlsbad, California, USA. Image: 14789 Location: Ponto, Carlsbad, California, USA View this Image in Google Earth! |
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| Breaking wave, South Carlsbad State Beach, Ponto, morning, winter. Ponto, Carlsbad, California, USA. Image: 14790 Location: Ponto, Carlsbad, California, USA View this Image in Google Earth! |
These were shot about 2 minutes from where I live, north of the Ponto jetties in South Carlsbad, on a glassy and sunny winter morning. I was pleased, not bad for a beginner. It’s a little project of mine to accumulate nice photos of waves (with perhaps a few shots of surfers thrown in). So as I gather them, they will go here.
