North Coast Surfing

[Outdoorsman]

This is an older shot, taken last year. But it's the best surfing photo I have been able to come up with so far. Ever since I got into photography, my brother has dragged me out as often as he can to get shots of him and his buddies surfing. I got lucky the first time, but dozens of subsequent outings have produced little in the way of the kinds of shots they see in the magazines and therefore expect from me.
This is my brother surfing his home break. I shot it with my EOS 650 with the old 70-210 F/4 and a 2X TC on Provia. My scanner won't get me any more clarity from the slide; maybe scanning a print will give better results... any surf photogs out there have some sage advice?

[adina]

I'll give you my two cents.

I like the water, how you caught it sharp, waves splashing and so forth.

Did you crop this down from something? My only suggestion would be to move the surfer out of the center. So he's either coming into the frame, or on his way out, not sure exactly, you'd have to play with it to see what you like better.

adina

[Outdoorsman]

I'll give you my two cents.

I like the water, how you caught it sharp, waves splashing and so forth.

Did you crop this down from something? My only suggestion would be to move the surfer out of the center. So he's either coming into the frame, or on his way out, not sure exactly, you'd have to play with it to see what you like better.

adina

No, this was not cropped. It was shot from the base of a steep cliff where the waves come pretty close. It's the only place around here where I can get this close to the action (at 420mm). The water is about five feet deep there, and when I shot this, the tide was up and the beach was gone. I was above the waterline on some giant boulders they piled up to halt erosion; there's a road on the edge of the cliff. Because of the old lens/crummy TC/slow camera AF, it's really amazing that this image exists at all. I guess all the circumstances were just right to get the most out of my setup. I just wish for a little more depth of field...
I had to shoot him centered because the 650 has only one AF point in the center. Oh well. My new camera has the 7 AF points, and I've been waiting for a good oportunity to play with off-center composition, like you suggest. I'd also like to get some shots of a surfer coming straight at me, but I think I would need either a super telephoto looking up the beach or to be in the water. The in-the-water shots are the next step, but I'll have to make an investment in a wide angle/fisheye and a water housing and a wetsuit. And a LOT of courage.
Thanks for the input- I really appreciate it!

[Janie]

This is an older shot, taken last year. But it's the best surfing photo I have been able to come up with so far. Ever since I got into photography, my brother has dragged me out as often as he can to get shots of him and his buddies surfing. I got lucky the first time, but dozens of subsequent outings have produced little in the way of the kinds of shots they see in the magazines and therefore expect from me.
This is my brother surfing his home break. I shot it with my EOS 650 with the old 70-210 F/4 and a 2X TC on Provia. My scanner won't get me any more clarity from the slide; maybe scanning a print will give better results... any surf photogs out there have some sage advice?

I like the shot, think it's nice placement. Quick question - do you have a polarizer filter at all? If not, it does a great job of really enhancing a photo, especially in bright sunlight. If I find some of my surf shots, i'll post them for you, but I shoot with a 300 mm telephoto lens with a polarizer. If you are pretty close a wide angle lens with polarizer works fantastic!

[Outdoorsman]

I would really love to shoot with a polarizer, but the 2-stop loss in light with the TC makes it very hard to get a fast enough shutter to do surfing. It's bad enough to have to get fast action when your shutter is reduced to 1/125 or even 1/90. I have to use the TC, 'cause the beaches up here break pretty far out, and a 300mm doesn't really cut it. The 70-210 died in late winter this year (I dropped it- almost made me quit photography! ). So I replaced it with a 70-300. Now I can get pretty close; I've read in the surfing mags that 600mm is standard for beach shots. Some pro surfers won't even get in the water unless they know there's someone with a 600 on the beach. It's a money thing.
Yes, please do post some shots- I know what the pros are producing, but I'd rather see what other amateurs like me are doing. How fast is your 300? And what speed film are you shooting? The slowest I can go is 100, but if I can somehow get more light into the lens, I would gladly switch to 50. I'd also like to try to gain a couple stops by experimenting with some Provia 400, but I'd like to know what others think of it before I blow the cash on a few rolls. Thanks!

[Outdoorsman]

Gosh, you are so kind! A more positive person has never critiqued my pics. Thank you so much! I would love to post some more, but they have to get processed first! Money is tight and photography must take a backseat to my primary hobby: paying bills! ;-)