filming!

August 2nd, 2011 § 0 comments § permalink

Sorry I’ve been lazy about posting!  I’ve been super busy the last few weeks, and it’s all been super fun!  Hi Grandpa!  Heard you got  a new computer!  Yeah!

I’ve been putting my camera to good use these days, and I’m having a blast filming and editing some different projects.

First I was asked to put together a little short promotional piece for Stoked Mentoring, a non-profit organization that helps underprivileged kids from Los Angeles and New York participate in action sports workshops, such as surfing and snowboarding.  It’s a cool way to keep the kids out of trouble, and gives them a chance to do something that they might not have had the chance to do.  So that is one project I’m working on.  I filmed in Venice beach a week and a half ago, and I’m slated to film again on Sunday in Huntington Beach.  Hopefully we get some sun this time as the Venice Beach day was totally overcast, making for dreary looking video.

I also got a chance to help teach a photography workshop through Stoked Mentoring last Wednesday.  Special thanks to Kim from Mahfia.com for inviting me to help.  It was a super fun day, and the kids are really cool.

teaching the stoked crew photography basics with mahfia.com

I’ve also been filming some professional female surfers thanks to Chris Grant of JettyGirl.com, and I’m in the process of putting together a short summertime surf video.  It’s such a cool opportunity to get to shoot with these talented surfers.  I remember years ago watching surf videos – including the few all-girl ones – and thinking about how cool it would be to actually make a surf film.  Now I get a chance to film some of the same people I was watching in those videos.  Life is so funny sometimes.  I have some good footage so far and I’m hoping to get some more.  I could seriously sit for a few hours playing with the footage, editing it in different ways.  It’s truly something I love to do, where I won’t even notice that it’s suddenly 2:00 am and I should probably go to bed.

I was thinking back to how long I’ve loved doing videos, and I think it definitely started when I was like 10 or 11, playing with Chris and Molly from across the street, and the short movies we used to make with his dad’s camcorder. “Belle To The Rescue” was a great series featuring my dog as a canine Indiana Jones, saving people from falling off cliffs, and averting criminals from taking over the world. I really wish we still had those, but unfortunately I think they have been lost. Then my dad got me set up with an awesome editing computer running Windows 98 and a prehistoric version of Adobe Premiere (hey, it was state of the art back then!). The rest was history.

Here’s a short video I put together a few weeks ago.  I was calling it a rough draft, but I’m probably done with it since I’m working on other things and I’ll probably just leave it as is.  Maybe I’ll revisit it in a while, but for now I’ll call it in the can.

more contests

July 10th, 2011 § 0 comments § permalink

Katrin was just here to visit, and we had a ton of fun before she had to go to the American Idol auditions.  I took her down to Pacific Beach by way of La Jolla, and on the way we stopped at Black’s Beach which has a steep and picturesque trail down to the water from a cliff about 200 feet high.    I also took her to Mt. Soledad, which is the highest point in San Diego (I think).   From there you can see a 360 degree panorama of much of San Diego county, depending on how clear the day is.

While we were hanging out in PB I saw a poster for a surf contest that was going to be held on Saturday called the Revolt Summer Surf Series Pro Am.  I decided not to make the decision until the morning of the contest.  I had never surfed Crystal Pier before, so on Friday I went and surfed there after Katrin left.  It was fun, and I thought that the wave was pretty user friendly.  So, Saturday morning I just said the heck with it, I’m gonna do it.

a nice afternoon at crystal pier, pacific beach

I didn’t really know what to expect.  I entered the Women’s Open Shortboard, which had 12 contestants.  They were all pretty good, and it was a bit more competitive than I originally thought.  Some of the girls were sponsored by various surf companies.  I got third place in my first heat, and that put me in the finals, where I got 4th place overall.  I guess I sold myself short, or the judges liked my waves, since I was surprised to get 4th.  I feel like I can surf better than I did in my heats, but surf contests are hard.  You only have 15 – 20 minutes to catch waves and do your best maneuvers, so you really have to be consistent.  I’m not that consistent, even though I have come a long way in the past few years.  Anyway, 4th place overall was awesome for me, I am totally happy with that.  I’m not sponsored or anything, I don’t have any coaching, I don’t have people taking video of me so I can see what I’m doing, and basically I’m entirely self taught.  So it’s fun for me to go up against people who are better and still come out with a decent result.  The top girls there were very good, and were definitely better than me.  It’s a good way to push myself.  Overall I’m really happy I did it.

the two women's open heats

Finally Summer

July 6th, 2011 § 0 comments § permalink

It’s summer in San Diego!  The past couple of years San Diego did not have a summer.  According to some friends this is the hottest it has been in July in quite some time.  It’s great – I’ve never experienced San Diego like this.  I’ve been surfing in just a bathing suit and I haven’t gotten cold!  Last night it was so hot in my apartment and I had all the windows open.  Last July I think I had all the windows closed all the time and it was cold and rainy all the time.

So, this is quite a welcome change.  This is actually the first time I’ve been wearing shorts in San Diego without being cold.

Fourth of July was great – we hung out on the beach, surfed a couple times in clear, warm water, had a BBQ, and watched the fireworks over the San Diego County Fair at the Del Mar Fairgrounds.  It was a very cool view – the lights of the fair, the rides, the screams from the people on the roller coaster.  It was all very nostalgic and idyllic.

Fourth Of July Fireworks

Last night I surfed Cardiff at sunset.  It was a brilliant sunset – I took pictures but they just couldn’t do it justice at all, so I’m not even going to post them.  Over the water the sunset was a brilliant pink, overhead the sky was deep indigo, and behind me the sky was gray with a dark anvil thunderhead, complete with a vertical rainbow.  The entire sky in 360 panorama was just a sight to behold, casting the glassy water and waves in a pink glow.  It was one of those breathtaking evenings that puts a stupid grin on my face and reminds me to thank God for all my blessings.  San Diego is definitely lacking in the cool sunset department – Long Island blows it away completely.  We just don’t get the interesting clouds here in San Diego very often.  So I’ll take the good sunsets when I can!

Log Contest

June 17th, 2011 § 0 comments § permalink

Last weekend I participated in the 13th Annual Pacific Beach Surf Club Summer Longboard Classic.  Now, I’ve only been longboarding for about 10 months.  I was always on a short board.  Actually all my other boards are sub 6′.  Last August I could barely even turn a log correctly.   But I’ve come a long way since then, and I figured it would be fun to give it a go.  I wasn’t quite sure what to expect; I kind of thought it would be a smaller contest.  I was quite surprised to find that it was quite a big event, with a lot of participants and attendees that I knew.  I also didn’t know what the talent level would be.  In NY the women’s heats at the ESA NY events tend to be fairly small and not always well attended.  I have to give props to the girls in my heat – they had a lot of talent!  Overall I got 6th place.  Obviously I wish I could have done better, but I’m pretty satisfied overall – I surfed decently in the finals heat but I tried to do too much and kept falling off or losing the wave on noserides.  I’m not experienced at doing contests so I get a bit flustered in my heats.  I think the key is to just relax.

I met some new people and some of the regulars at Cardiff were there.  Two of the older locals – Roger and Otis – have since given me some tips.  Roger gave me some advice on stepping more toe-heel on my cross stepping, and that has actually helped me tremendously.  It’s funny how you can know that you’re doing something not quite right, but until someone points it out and gives you advice on correcting it you just won’t change.  Since giving me that tip I have had a couple of the most stable and best nose rides yet.  So overall it was a great way to get out there, get to know some new people, and be a part of the community.  That’s the way I did it back home in NY; just show up to stuff, and you end up meeting a lot of people.  It’s really cool.

The Women's Finalists

Surf shack

June 11th, 2011 § 0 comments § permalink

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Heaven

June 6th, 2011 § 0 comments § permalink

I was watching videos on Vimeo.com today and found a very good one with some great photography.  The opening song was just so good and I’ve been listening to it all day. It’s very haunting.  The lyrics are great as well, and they really make me think; about what’s really important, about what everyone has left at the end of their lives. The first verse is especially powerful for some reason, and I can’t quite explain it.  It’s funny how a certain melody and the right words can strike a certain emotional chord in you.

Where’s the Seraphim?
Where’s the money that we made?
Where’s the open gate?
Where’s the fortune that we saved?

Heaven’s here for you and me
With every falling curl
Heaven’s here for you and me
we gained ourselves the world

Hit the Motorway
I can take it all at speed
I got everything
I got everything you need

Heaven’s here for me and you
scattered out with pearls
Heaven’s here for me and you
we gained ourselves the world

Where’s the warrior of light
with gates of solid gold?
Paranoia through the fight
with dreams that never fold
Heaven’s here for me and you…

Chris Bryan Films Phantom Reel from Chris Bryan on Vimeo.

Sunset Session

June 4th, 2011 § 0 comments § permalink

Tonight I surfed Cardiff reef till dark.  At first when I paddled out there were quite a few people out.  The stand up paddleboarders were being especially annoying.  But I waited them all out, and soon there was about 4 of us in the lineup trading off perfectly peeling, waist high waves.  The lefts were holding up well and were great for practicing some nose riding.  I was on my 2+1 more high performance longboard.  Not quite what you’d call a noserider, but it does noseride well for how thin and light it is.  I got some great rides…on one memorable wave I pranced up to the nose, hung five, retreated and did a sweet cutback to finish it.  I’ve gotten to the point where I don’t count a noseride unless I can successfully step back and finish the wave.  No sinking the nose, no falling.  Anyone can run up to the nose and sink it, so I can’t really count those anymore.

The sunset was really nice, and it was peaceful floating out there in the lineup without a lot of surfers around.  It’s funny how on a Saturday night one of the most popular spots in California can be pretty empty.  I’m lucky to be able to experience that.

New Member Of The Quiver

May 27th, 2011 § 0 comments § permalink

Fresh out of the wrapper! Today I bought a new shortboard off the rack. I had been planning on doing so for a while, but I was letting all the options percolate in my head before choosing one. Guess I was saving the occasion for a rainy day. Anyway, can’t wait to take it for it’s maiden voyage!

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life lessons from gerry lopez

May 22nd, 2011 § 0 comments § permalink

“Somehow we all discover that surfing lessons often have a lot more to do with life than they do with surfing.  When you’re wondering about that step you’re about to take but haven’t yet, remember what Herbie said to me that day so long ago, “When in doubt, paddle out.”

Gerry Lopez is a legendary surfer, known as the King of Pipeline.  He wrote a book called Surf Is Where You Find It.  This quote was near the end of the chapter where he described paddling out to an unknown wave near his home that he’d been watching for a while.  He got the first barrel of his life the day he finally paddled out to surf it.

doors

May 22nd, 2011 § 0 comments § permalink

“When one door closes another door opens;
but we so often look so long and so regretfully upon the closed door,
that we do not see the ones which open for us.”
– Alexander Graham Bell

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