The California Urchin Diver Experience

These are images from a shoot I did a while back with Highliner Studios for promotion and the DVD cover of their award-winning film Harvester: The California Urchin Diver Experience. 

Road Tripping

So I've been snapping pictures of vanity plates I've come across in my travels lately (mostly with my Blackberry).  Here are a few.

Island Tripping

1 HOUR IN WAIKIKI

I wanted to find a pocket camera that could shoot in RAW, so I bought a Canon s90 to bring along and test out on this trip. The design is amazing both in functionality and it's minimalist retro exterior. The camera feels great in hand and it's 'control ring' might be the most useful addition to this type of camera in years. (Pictures above taken with s90)

2 NIGHTS ON THE NORTH SHORE

Pipeline woke up on the second day (Photos above were shot with the Mark III, not the s90)

More photos taken with the Canon s90

3 NIGHTS VISITING A FRIEND IN MAUI
Lucky for us she lives close enough to throw a rock at Maui Brew which recently got a major remodel inside. The ice 'mat' that rims the length of the bar is genious for keeping your brew frosty in Hawaii. Gotta love the new Maui Brew even if they did rip off my favorite brew pub, Marin Brewing Co. on the back of their pint glass design. But hey, you know how the saying goes, imitation is the cheapest sincerest form of flattery.

Yep, it's stormy here.

But I'm heading to Hawaii in the morning and the Haleiwa weather report is a balmy 83 degrees.  Goodbye rain, hail, thunder and lightning, at least for a little while.

Click on any photos to enlarge

Yadin Nicol fins out blast (yes, he landed it).Classic bottom-turn

Aaron Ernst in the green room.

Speed blur

Eat, Surf, Shoot Photos, Eat, Sleep, Repeat

(clockwise from top left)  Fins free; Walking back; Evening tube time; Sam Regan getting vertical backside; Nobody surfs Rincon backside as well as Bobby Martinez.

Yes, this is California in January.

Kelly Slater

Slater surfing one of his potato chip sized boards.

Dogs Love Sticks

Rincon From Above

I went for a little hike to get this bird's eye perspective of Rincon.

Rincon looks so peaceful from the top of a mountain that you almost forget how crowded it is down below and all the idiots people dropping in (see below).

More waves

El Nino is exhausting amazing...Just to be clear, I'm not complaining. 

Sunset

Santa Barbara. This is straight out of my camera, no retouching.

Surfline 'More West Swell Hits' slideshow

Surfline ran one of my shots of Conner Coffin in their 'More West Swell Hits' slideshow.  Conner has evolved from a grom to keep an eye on, to a well deserved place at center stage.

Pinhole Panoramic - Double Exposure

I took this with a plastic panoramic pinhole camera at Rincon. It's a double exposure looking North on the left and looking south on the right.

Picture-in-Picture

John R. Goodman captured the photo on the left of me swimming, taking some water shots of Spencer Regan.  The photo on the right is that same moment from my perspective.

Wave Filled December

It's been a longtime since we've had a December this consistently good for surf in Santa Barbara.  We've had more back to back overhead swells, good conditions and the CDIP covered in yellow and orange blobs then we did all last Winter.  Here are some images from Monday at Rincon:

Kilian Garland

Bobby Martinez still ripping without a major sponsor's sticker on his board

Frank Curren

Kilian Garland locked in.

Conner Coffin

Rincon

Kilian Garland

Matt Pagan

Parker Coffin choosing his line

Ventura's Catherine Clark

Kilian Garland tube time

Kilian again on this inside drainer

Conner Coffin keeping it consistent

Another WNW Swell

The waves were pretty close to as good as they get in front of the house this weekend.  I shot this sequence of Greg Venable on Sunday, then ran back to the house to put the camera away, throw on my wettie and grab a board.  Sometimes participating takes precedent over documenting.

...and he made it out FYI

Surfline 'Welcome To Winter' slide show

Surfline ran my C-Street line up shot in their 'Welcome to Winter' slide show.  Slide #5.  The photo was taken Wednesday morning in Ventura.

WNW Swell

Rincon golden hour.

C-Street from above.

(Clockwise from Top Left) Ventura peak; Yadin Nicol, Rincon speedblur; Ventura lines; Brett Simpson, Rincon.

Goofy footer's day dream.  I shot this using my rear-view mirror so I could imagine it as a left point break.