Paul Mitchell Supergirl Pro Contest

[rpcrowe]

I had the opportunity to attend (it was free) the Paul Mitchell Supergirl Pro Surfing Contest. held at the Oceanside, California Pier.
The event lasts from Friday July 28 to Sunday July 30th. I attended on Friday.
There were entrants from all over the world. I was lucky enough to snare (IMO) some pretty decent shots. 7D Mark-2, 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L lens. Manual Exposure 1/1,250 second at f/5.6 using auto ISO. The ISO fluctuated between 320 and 500 with most shots taken at 320 and 400. I mostly shot at 400mm...
This gal was my favorite surfer...
1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

I didn't notice that this was a guy with the camera in the water. When I shot, I thought it was a sea lion and wondered why a sea lion was hanging around a surfing contest
7.

Here is a link to my smugmug site with twenty images of the Contest. I will probably add some as the day goes on...
https://rpcrowe.smugmug.com/Surfing/i-23Ph8NB

[John 2]

A stunning set of images Richard but no.1 is a classic "wish I had shot that" image. Excellent.

[Sergio M.]

+1. An exciting series of images, Richard. I also really like the last one. The inclusion of the cameramen is really cool.

Sergio

[IzzieK]

I am with Sergio here...I like the shot with the cameraman.

[rpcrowe]

Thank you John,Sergio and Izzie.

Shooting the competition was enjoyable. I have some photo work scheduled today with our dogs; the Cookie and Candy litters need recent photos. They are growing by leaps and bounds. I will try to return to the competition tomorrow. The best remaining surfers will be competing on Sunday. I think that you need the following for good surfing pictures...

1. Good surfers who can ride he waves well...
2. A decent selection of waves for them to ride...
3. A camera/lens with a long focal length and good auto focus. You "CAN" shoot manual focus but it is a PITA...
4. A shooting position within range of the surfers...

[Shadowman]

Nice series, when I shot surfers in the past I did so from a dock, I got some good captures but thing is most surfers try to stay away from the docks unless they are daredevils. I see one photographer got out in the waves with the surfers, have you considered trying that method or perhaps from a waverunner?

[Donald]

That an excellent series of images. Good action.

[rpcrowe]

Thanks John - me in the water with a camera

Anyway, even if I was physically and technically able to do that, I would not be allowed in the competition area. He was the "official" photographer for the event and had made many surfing videos. I don't remember his name since I have never before been interested in surfing. This is the first time I have shot it to any extent.

When I first started shooting, I was on this berm at the high water mark of the beach (where a lot of the photographers stationed themselves).



The ocean was a low tide and the action was too far away for good imagery. I left the berm and ventured down on the beach to the point where an occasional rogue wave would wet my feet. The competitors were still too far for decent shots at 400mm on my 1.6x crop camera.

I then noticed that the direction of the waves was taking the surfers in towards the pier. I couldn't really judge the distance between surfers and the pier so I chanced a walk out about half way. That was a perfect position. I got the surfers coming towards me with their faces in view. I wasn't too high but was shooting down at an angle so that ocean filled my frame rather than sky.

Thanks Donald. This was a lot of fun. It was overcast because the marine layer had not burned off. However, that was great for me. I don't do at all well in the bright sun. The 100-400 Mk2 is a great lens for action shooting...

[Shadowman]

Richard,

Yes, I meant the pier but wrote the dock, it is a good vantage point when the surfers venture near the area.

[rpcrowe]

I promise that I won't bore you with more of the surfing images but, I really like this one...



I like the way the wake from her board has made a curve entering the frame and like her expression with her eyes on the wave...

[Donald]

I really like this one...

You have got her eyes perfectly in focus in that one. Superbly done.

[ST1]

Wonderful series Richard, you've captured the action extremely well. The photographer in the water must have some keepers judging by how close to the action he looks in your image.


Sent from somewhere in Gods County using Tapatalk

[rpcrowe]

Thanks Peter and Donald...

I absolutely LOVE the 7D Mk-2 and 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS II lens for action shots like this...

Although the majority of my shots of this event were done at the maximum focal length of 400mm... There were a few which I needed to pull back a bit on the focal length in order to catch the entire surfer, so I find this lens more versatile than my 400mm f/5.6L prime. The zoom focuses a lot closer also (which of course had no bearing on this type of shooting)...

[Shadowman]

Not bored at all, to compare your shots with other surfing pics should make you very proud of what you've achieved.

[rpcrowe]

Here are the shots that the members of the group uploaded for that event.
https://www.meetup.com/pacificphoto/photos/28043442/

[Shadowman]

Richard,

Thanks for the link.

[rpcrowe]

This is the size surfer that I achieved when shooting from the waters edge towards the pier with the lens at the maximum 400mm. It was then that I thought "Why not try from the pier itself"

[IzzieK]

Well at least this will show the scale of the background against a surfer...good one!

[AlwaysOnAuto]

We've had somewhat bigger waves this week up in Huntington Beach for the US Open, Richard.
I found the pier the best location to shoot from as well.

[dje]

You've got some great shots there Richard. That young girl certainly looks like she can surf.

Dave