Surfing Photos

[Goldcoastgolfer]

I thought that I'd start a thread to share surfing photos captured through the course of 2012. Nothing too impressive this weekend but I thought I'd share them anyway.

These two shots were taken at Burleigh Heads on the Gold Coast. I was down near the water's edge standing on the rocks at the southern headland.

I took these with Kerry's 55-300mm kit lens just on day break.

1/250s @ f/5.6, ISO 110, 300mm


1/250s @ f/5.3, ISO 1250, 250mm

[Donald]

Not a lot of surfing going on in Glenfarg! But I shall enjoy following this thread.

I love those that show a built environment in the background, as in #2 above.

[whited3]

Very nice Malcom. How about some details re where, equipment and distance. I assume you were on the beach?

Cheers.

[Goldcoastgolfer]

=Donald;175262]I love those that show a built environment in the background, as in #2 above.

Duly noted sir. I shall endeavour to capture built environments where the opportunity presents.

Very nice Malcom. How about some details re where, equipment and distance. I assume you were on the beach?

I've added some detail in the first post. For good measure I thought I'd throw in the Christmas holiday surf shots with the details as well. All of the photos below were also taken at Burleigh Heads - the southern break but this time from the headland before you enter the national park walk. Because the waves were so large these photos were taken from several hundred meters away and cropped extensively. I stole Kerry's 55-300mm kit lens again and it's likely to be what I predominantly use for the surf shots until I win the lottery.

1/250s @ f/5.6, ISO 400, 300mm


1/250s @ f/5.6, ISO 450, 300mm


1/250s @ f/5.6, ISO 560, 300mm


1/500s @ f/5.6, ISO 400, 300mm

[Dave Humphries]

Hi Malcolm,

The first two shots in this thread are good, but of these last 4; only the final image has anything like enough surfer definition and contrast, the other three are just lost 'in the mist' and need some PP help to make the bodies both sharper and more contrasty.

The sharpening (if USM) seems to have only affected high contrast edges (see legs vs torso in shot 2 of post #4), is it possible you had threshold too high? (perhaps this was forced on you by the cropping and noise)

[Goldcoastgolfer]

The first two shots in this thread are good, but of these last 4; only the final image has anything like enough surfer definition and contrast, the other three are just lost 'in the mist' and need some PP help to make the bodies both sharper and more contrasty.

The sharpening (if USM) seems to have only affected high contrast edges (see legs vs torso in shot 2 of post #4), is it possible you had threshold too high? (perhaps this was forced on you by the cropping and noise)

A source of much frustration - believe me The larger waves threw up a lot of mist and combined with the low light I think I ended up with a diffraction effect that made it well beyond my capabilities to recover detail in the surfers. The first 3 shots were taken at around 15 minutes before sun rise so I'm not sure if there's enough light actually captured to recover the detail in the surfers.

The difference with the fourth shot was that it was taken half an hour after sun rise so it was much easier to work with. Unfortunately by that stage the large waves had disappeared!

[Dave Humphries]

The first 3 shots were taken at around 15 minutes before sun rise so I'm not sure if there's enough light actually captured to recover the detail in the surfers.

The difference with the fourth shot was that it was taken half an hour after sun rise so it was much easier to work with. Unfortunately by that stage the large waves had disappeared!

I'm amazed you got anything usable before sunrise, it explains a lot.

Is that a normal thing that the best waves disappear at sunrise?

[Goldcoastgolfer]

I'm amazed you got anything usable before sunrise, it explains a lot.

Is that a normal thing that the best waves disappear at sunrise?

Not always but often you find that when the sun comes up, the land starts heating up causing a temperature differential between the land and sea. The wind starts to rise which can start messing around with the form of the waves and the sea around so the "cleanest" waves are often at night or just after sunrise.

In this case, the storm out to sea was moving away which was why the waves started disappearing. But it can happen that quickly!

[rpcrowe]

Very nice shots... We just had some record high surf in the San Diego area but, I was too interested in the American football playoffs to go out to photograph the surfers...

[Goldcoastgolfer]

I headed out to Currumbin Surf Life Saving Club to try and catch the sunrise without much success. I can't say the surfing shots fared much better either. As usual, by the time the sun came up, the waves started disappearing. I took these from at the back of the club which actually extends out onto the water.

This first one is the only one I think is remotely exciting. And yes, he did manage to land safely

f/6.3, 1/500s, ISO 400, 280mm


The rest of these series I took for Donald - finding a city skyline behind a wave isn't the easiest location to find. These were taken from over 500 meters away in poor light so the detail isn't as greast as I would like but i thought I'd post them anyway.

f/6.3, 1/500s, ISO 320, 300mm


f/6.3, 1/800s, ISO 640, 300mm


f/5.6, 1/640s, ISO 640, 300mm

[Goldcoastgolfer]

Would you believe the Junior World Surfing Championships are being held at Burleigh Heads (the beach i mainly hang out at) for the next week? Here's a few shots I snapped off while I was waiting for Jazz to finish her swimming lessons. Oh, and by the way, I had a serious case of lens envy while I was down there! Kerry's humble 55-300mm just doesn't seem to compare!

f/8, 1/2000s, ISO 560, 300mm


f/8, 1/2000s, ISO 900, 300mm


This next guy's name is Philippe "Holy" Toledo. A Brazilian with an amazing surfing talent. His movements were so fast that I had to up the shutter speed to stop him from being soft.

f/8, 1/3200s, ISO 720, 300mm


f/8, 1/3200s, ISO 720, 300mm


f/8, 1/3200s, ISO 560, 300mm


I liked this next shot because it just timed in with the photographer on the jet ski taking a shot at the same time. No wonder they can get so much better shots The jet ski and the $3000 underwater casing for his DSLR probably give him a little advantage over the 55-300mm

f/8, 1,3200s, ISO 1600, 300mm

[Donald]

The rest of these series I took for Donald - finding a city skyline behind a wave isn't the easiest location to find.

You're very kind. I love them?

[speedneeder]

The second and fourth ones from the 'skyline' post are really good. These should be in a travel brochure for the city!

[Goldcoastgolfer]

The second and fourth ones from the 'skyline' post are really good. These should be in a travel brochure for the city!

Thanks Brian

[Goldcoastgolfer]

Well, it's been busy is about all I can say. Between trips away, family, work, kids activities, and a scuba diving course I haven't been able to get down to the beach to take many surfing photos.

This week another surfing competition was being held at Burleigh Heads so I thought I'd spend a half hour perched on the point, envying everyone else's lenses and catching a few more photos. Unfortunately parking was so bad and the coffee shop was so busy that I literally only had 4 minutes before the end of Jazz's swimming lesson to capture some photos.

So unfortunately, nothing too spectacular this week, particularly with the size of the waves being on the small side. But without further adieu...

Top Turn


Bottom Turn


What's Next?


Race Against Nature


End Of The Line

[speedneeder]

Hi Mal! I am 100% understanding about being busy!
The waves don't look fantastic, but the colors do
Thanks for posting.

[jupiterlush]

Fantastic shots Mal! Wonder who will take a photos of me while surfing? Haha

[Goldcoastgolfer]

Hi Mal! I am 100% understanding about being busy!
The waves don't look fantastic, but the colors do
Thanks for posting.

Thanks for looking

Fantastic shots Mal! Wonder who will take a photos of me while surfing? Haha

My dad's been nagging me to visit the Philippines this year to play some golf and do some scuba diving. Maybe I'll pop down your way if I can get down there and bring along the camera

[WJT]

The shots with the back drop look great. It adds a lot to the scene.