April, 20002: Water Cam In DogLand, Part 2




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April, 20002: Water Cam In DogLand, Part 2

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Introduction

Got great response to the recent column called "Water Cam In DogLand." So this is part 2 of the same theme. These pix were all taken in April, from one end of DogLand to the other. The pic above was taken with the water cam, but from dry land following a sess. It's a view of the sunrise from the cliff above Steamer Lane.

An incoming wave looking into the morning clouds after slipping off my board.


An Email

T writes:

"Hey! I like the water shots you took. What do you use for a water camera? Disposable? How do you keep it out of the way while your surfing...or do you kind of have to sacrifice your surfing and paddling?"

Goin' left, about to close.


This is a very preceptive email from T. Here's a bit on the water cam:
  1. The cam is one of those disposable waterproof cams.
  2. What you see represents years of practice with the cam.
  3. There's a *lot* of water pix that are thrown to get the few good ones you see on the site.
  4. Cam goes on *all* sessions because one never knows when a photo op will present itself.
  5. Cam sits in a fanny pack that's waterproof (well ok, water resistant). On the outside of it is a stretchy net "bag" intended for surf wax. Cam lives in this stretchy net thing when not in use, so it's out of the way on my hip. Brand name is "Seal Pak."
  6. A three foot length of cord from the cam to the fanny pack serves as a leash. Before the leash was invented lots of cams got lost in the waves.
  7. In anticipation of a shot, I'll grip the handle of the cam (where the rubber band and cord is tied) between my teeth, leaving both handz free to paddle. I even take pix looking down the wall of a wave while I am riding it.
  8. I do kinda sacrifice my surfing for the pix, but I can tuck the cam away in the fanny pack, forget about it and just surf. Mostly I surf, but keep my eyes open in anticipation of a shot.
  9. If I am paddling back to the lineup, and another surfer is about to take off on a wave, I pull up, sit on my board right in the line of fire, and sacrifice everything to get a pic.
  10. If I am surfing with a bud (like Dr.J) I instruct them to surf right at me. The closer they come to me the better pic I can get. I have to trust them NOT to run into me!
However I sometimes find myself sitting in the lineup looking for photo ops instead of waves to ride! So I try to balance it with some pix, and some waves. The best is when I get a pic of myself of a wave, with the lip curling over my head.

Seasonal Pix


It's fun to note and record the changes in the ocean from season to season. In April a notable event was the invasion of the jellies. Millions of small, harmless windsailing jelly fish filled the lineups. You can see them above. Then a few dayz later they all washed up on the beach, marooned, and then dead. See below.


A DogWave


One of my favorite waves in DogLand is in the above pic. You can see a rebounding ripple of water down the line comin' straight at the surfer. This makes a high-speed launch ramp for launching airs.

Sunrise Waves




Other Surfers In DogLand

Hey, Please don't drop in on my bliss!




Another Sunrise In DogLand


OK, OK, I'll cop to this one. I don't generally "Photoshop" the pix to lie about the reality in the original snap. I do tweak contrast to make things clearer, crop pix to center the subject and make it fit the web page, and sometimes sharpen detail. But in this pic I broke the rules. Full court retouching, so the result is not so much a literal pic of the sunrise as it is an impression of the sunrise done with computer and Photoshop. But just this once ;>}

CU Out There,

DogMan


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