A Gift of Love
On January 20th I got an email from someone that randomly came across my blog and wanted to buy a print. It was a photo of my buddy Rez at Ho’okipa, Maui during a sunset session taken a few days earlier. He wanted to buy it for his girlfriend for her birthday. I knew he wouldn’t use it for commercial use because of the tone he had in his email so I told him I’d sell it for the price of a 6-Pack. I told him I’d love to have a picture of him and his girlfriend with the picture (a tradition of keeping pictures of mine that people have printed out). I was waiting to share that 6-pack with Rez as soon as I got that photo. 9 Months to the day he sent the picture and I couldn’t be more stoked.
A world away
I wanted to taking surfing pictures, I never knew I would fall in love with the world under the water. Moments seem to slow and pace comes to a crawl. Here are some gems that for some reason or another never made it onto the blog.
My Friend Kate at Little Beach in Maui
During my photo shoot with Kate (see above) I was blown away how beautiful the sand suck was at the beach, she kept asking me what I was doing in the shallows. I guess I see things differently then most
Attempting to spearfish with my buddy Rez, I say attempting because it is really hard
The Beautiful Val Frey doing what she does best, looking good
My Buddy Rez wanting a ducking diving shot, it’s not so sexy when guys do it haha
I’ve tried this shot so many times, It’s not something you can catch on the fly, you have to wait and wait underwater for all the elements to come together
I got Kate to play in the Sand with me for awhile
I made my buddy Rez Hold this girls hand so I could get this shot, I was told it looks like two dudes hold hands, either way I still like it
While in Florida I went to brunch with an old college friend and made her climb in the coy pond so we could get shots, give me a break brunch was $50, she was confused why I asked her to bring a bikini to brunch
I had to finally post this, I’ve been saving this for months and it seemed long enough to make fun of
The Definition of a Surfer
Any surfer will tell you riding waves may be the act of surfing but being a surfer has many meanings. I am not the same surfer I was when I was 12 when I got my first board and I won’t die being the surfer I am today.
I’m back in NY after a lengthy North America tour and a high school friend wanted to get some surfing pictures of her and her 10 month old daughter. It was hard for me to prep myself conceptually for this photo shoot only because the elements would be greater then the surfing (lighting, angles, distance, crying babies). I decided that early morning light would be the best, an East Coast summer sunrise has this crisp almost blinding light that seems to skim across surface of the ocean and I knew it would add to the youthfulness of this shoot.
Now my friend neglected to tell me that she has never taken her daughter surfing before so my ideas of close ups, capturing joyfulness excitement of her child riding waves turned into watching the bond of a surfer/mother take the first steps into a whole new world. I realized I needed to swim further away and give less direction and not even continue our conversations. They were both justifiably nervous and both of them didn’t really know what was going to happen. I watched as their moods changed and the elements that I was so focused on faded away. I could tell my friend was realizing that a new chapter of her surfing life was starting to happen and even though she might not want to give up her old surfing life,she was ready to make this work.
The range of emotions that flew by were powerful enough for me to be stop in my tracks
You wouldn’t think paddling out on a two foot day would be challenging, until you realize that it’s the first time you’ve ever done it this way
the initial relief of making it to the outside was washed away by the realness of the moment and the striking realization that this was really happening
My favorite photo: the wave passing by with neither of the heads turning, as if it didn’t matter
and the exact opposite: the mother watching what she would love to be doing while holding her daughter tight
On this day no waves were ridden but we welcomed a new surfer into the world. Aloha
Hometown Breaks
I’m a New York Surfer, I grew up on Long Island. This is a statement I had to defend my hole life. Now I’d love to show you how epic the waves can actually get In NY but it’s not going to happen in this post haha. I’ll be in NY till september so here’s to hoping for an early hurricane season.
I went to the beach today with my friend and his family, I was hoping to get shots of him and his daughters surfing but I forgot that none of my friends can surf and they all got Old and Lazy (they would be the first to admit it). So I got some shots of some local surfers and a few shots of us messing around in the shore break.
I know it’s not Hawaii or any other amazing breaks I’ve shown in my posts but its home. No matter how far I travel, my root grow out of nasty brown water and I’m proud of it 🙂
As my friend stated watching me take shots “TAN SHIRT KID IS KILLING IT”
Learning on small waves will make you scrappy!
My buddy wanted to try taking shots of me, but he didn’t feel comfortable out in the break so we hung out in the shallows. This is the best shot he got of me, it’s harder then it looks isn’t it
but he did get a great shot of me getting pounded by the white water… Thanks
Before we left I went out one more time while he caught his breath and had a cigarette break ( I wonder why he need to catch his breath?)
this guy asked for a business card, so even though it not an amazing shot. Everyone is stoked on getting a surfing shot so, I hope he likes it.
O yeah, heres my friend being sexy on the shore
Quality vs Quantity
It’s been a long time since I had the opportunity to taking surfing pictures, for the last 2 months I’ve been in the Midwest and Canada for work. I had the 4th of july off and was in San Francisco so I packed up my gear and went to the beach. In the last few years I’ve visited NorCal a lot and have leaned most of the breaks from Santa Cruz to SF. If you have never visited coastal northwest of the United States the weather is almost always foggy and overcast unlike the picturesque beaches of SoCal. So unless you are a hardcore surfer and will brave cold water and heavily populated shark infested waters you don’t surf here. UNLESS it’s a holiday… When it’s a holiday every kook and his kid are at the beach riding longboards on 2 foot beach break.
Luckily I know were to go. I went to a surf spot called Grey Whale, even though it’s easy enough to get to and only 5 miles south of Pacifica Beach it’s never going to be a crowed surf break. Limited parking, 50-100 stairs down a cliff and a short beach keeps tourist away. It’s also a steep fast wave so it cuts out most of the long boarders and beginning level surfers. Their must have been 100+ surfers at Pacifica surfing 2-4 waves, there was 6 at Grey Whale the whole time I was there and really only 3 of them belonged. As for the size it must have been head high to some double over head sets.
If I wanted to sell shots I could have made a killing at Pacifica but instead I really only took pictures of one guy and when he offered to pay for the shots I declined. So I introduce to you Keil Miller of San Diego. As stoked as he was to receive the shots, I couldn’t be more grateful he was there to make my only beach day in 2 months worth it. Aloha
I knew it was a heavy day when people comment on the fact they can’t believe I just swam out there but I didn’t really realize until I saw this picture haha. I guess in the heat of the moment I don’t really worry about limits.
I was hooting more then he was when he raced thru this barrel, haha
It was super overcast and since this shots angle was up and away from the beach it was grey and void of color. I thought it looked better as B&W
Think about where I was to get this angle? I thought I was going to fall on top of him
Texas Sunrise
I had to drive 6+ hours to be able to stay on Galveston for an extra day but when there are waves you do what you have to do, especially since I won’t see the ocean for 30+ days. I got up super early and drove the coast till I saw surfers at 37th Street. Couple of long boarders and one fun boarder but it was more then enough for me to get suited up. (I would swim out if it was an old guy in a row boat as long as he was riding waves).
Luckily for me there was a lot of style in the water and some amazing color the brown water was a great contrast for the morning light.
Here’s Mike!!! a Texas A&M student and a super nice kid, he was riding this wide twin fin and it was the perfect board for early morning chop, this ended up being my favorite sequence from Texas. I feel it represents the majority of TX surfers, people who enjoy just being out there dong what they love. Riding waves is fun and doesn’t have to be more then that
This angle was the only one working early in the morning, it was too grey shooting away from the sun.
Found a frothy barrel on the inside sand bar… really brown
David Voigt the local pro/surf shop employee that I met the day before showed up to grab a few more shots, surf photographers don’t show up everyday in Galveston.
The sun finally came up and so did the waves. Still a little grey but when you got talent in the water you make it work.
The best photos come when the surfer actually works with me to get the shots. He knew I was shooting fisheye and that means the closer the better.
3rd Coast
So I travel a lot for work, last week I was in Southern California this week Galveston, TX. But luckily for you I always bring my camera.
I was at 61th St in Galveston (yes Texas has surf). I shot fisheye today, something I don’t normally do when I don’t know the break or the local surfers (because you have to get really close), but I thru caution to the wind and it paid off. Actually it made the waves look a lot bigger.
Just incase you didn’t know the water is a filthy and brown, O yeah it almost always smells like low tide, but if it has waves I’m going in haha
People are friendly in Texas! This kid was just a local college student spending his free time at the beach. You be surprised on how many people don’t even say hello to me and people wonder why I charge them for photos (If this kid emails me I’ll give him everything for free). It pays to be nice
The line up was empty so I was about to go in then this guy paddled out and I decided to see what he had to offer. I’m glad I did he ended up working at the local surf shop (Southern Spears Surf) across the street. He was killing it and it actually made my session so big ups to SouthernSpearsSurf.com
To be able to punt airs with on shore wind and mush waves is a huge testament to this guys ability
Here is the last sequence I shot, I love when I get a shot and I know that it just made my session.
Thanks Texas
A Light Show
As the sun sets it releases the days tensions and reminds us that tomorrow is a new day.
I went out for a “setting sun session” the other day at Huntington Beach, CA. I wanted to capture the essence of what it feels like as the light falls behind the Pacific Ocean and that sensation as a surfer when you realize you almost don’t even need to see what you are doing to enjoy the rush surfing brings you.
Having to shoot into the light in sports photography is an image killer, good thing I don’t think surfing is a sport… It’s hard to explain to a surfer that I got the shot but not one they will appreciate, every surfer wants a well lighted image of themselves (But other surfers can enjoy the silhouette)
At 4:30 the sun was staring me in the face, making it hard to focus, took me a good 30 minutes to get this shot to work
The only place I could get the blinding light to work for me was in the barrel. Good thing its like a second home for me haha
I said it more then a few times, to get this shot you always get blasted in the side of the head. You’re trying to hold your position and then BAM!!! All the neck pains are worth it when it comes together 🙂
I was probably more upset he didn’t make this wave then he was
I took this photo because I realized I was about to have no more light and the only photos that would still work would be above the lip.
At the end of the session you stay in the water hoping to get that last glimpse of magic, the one that lets you go in with a smile on your face.
Do I Surf?
The question I get the most when I’m taking photos is “Do I surf?”. I love surfing, it has to be my favorite thing on the planet. I take photos of it to share the beauty and power of the ocean. I like to tell people when they ask that “I get to catch every wave” (even the waves no ones rides).
Here is one that I caught all by myself (the refection of the cliff and sky on the wave is something you miss while surfing a wave)
I also get a rush when I’m able to get so close to the action without interfering (I have got skag before and I had to pay for breaking the fin)
I also appreciate the different styles of surfers, cause no matter what or how you ride, the joy of sliding on the surface of the ocean is unlike any other feeling
And sometimes I just enjoy sitting back and watching the action.
The ART of Longboard
I had the pleasure of going to my favorite beach in Southern California and I’m purposely not telling you the location (lack of a crowd is one of reasons I love this place). It is predominantly a longboard spot and is home to some of the most stylish surfers in the area. Its contrast of a visually stunning backdrop and long pealing waves make this place a diamond in the rough in over crowd ego driven So Cal.
Inspired by the location I decided to get artsy with the shoot and “document” surfing in it’s purest form, Not only concentrating on the “sport” aspect of surfing photography.
Not easy to only find one guy in a line up in So Cal
I loved the focus on this image
The following pictures are examples of longboarding done right
This guy was the only short boarder in the line up but what he lacked in fiberglass he made up in style
South Florida Air Show
Today I got to check out “South Florida Surfing Air Show”, since the waves were only 1-3 feet they used a wench/rope-pull to propel the surfers into the waves. There were some great crashes, a few airs and a bunch of fun.
But the best part of the event was seeing the community of surfers here in Southern Florida coming down to the beach, bring their families and spreading good vibes. At the end of the day it didn’t really matter who won, everyone had a great time.
If you have never seen a Huck Jam this should explain how the surfers were propelled into the waves
Now for some AIRS!!!
This was my favorite part of the event, the guys waiting for their turn on the rope and everyones families were sharing these little waves and hooting & hollering, having a great time…
My Favorite crash of the day
Being Moody
So the stormy filled sky’s of Southern Florida were an entertaining change of pace from tropical setting of Hawaii but the appeal has warn off. I feel like I’m over editing as a way to compensate for the gray overcast. Maybe I’m just being moody…
I was excited Albert finally pulled off a 360 that I got a picture of… it’s a cool trick but not visual stunning as a single frame. So here is a few shots of the sequence. I think this is the only angle that works cause honestly it just looks like he is face planting most of the time cause the spray covers the move.
This is just a picture of a kick out (exiting the wave) but Albert does everything with flair so it looks good
It started pouring and I never shot in rain like this so I tried a bunch of settings to get it right… I think I need more practice… heres one dark and one light, there is no middle ground… it’s all grey
And I’m sorry if this offends anyone but I’m in Florida for my grandmas birthday and my cousin came with me to the beach today… he’s my comedic relief and helps me to remember not to take life to seriously… thanks jeff… bet you never thought this would make it onto my blog hahaha
A Cut Above
Doesn’t matter what sport it is when you see that one person on the field/court/track… that stands out as an amazing athlete. They are so good they make it look effortless. They are usually the person that is out practicing everyday and does it for the pure enjoyment of something they love.
This last week I have had the pleasure of following a young surfer Albert Boynton, here in Lake Worth, Florida. If you have been checking out my Florida post lately you already know who I’m talking about. I never met him before and no one pointed him out, he was just that guy who was a cut above the rest.
Since he has been making my job easy I thought I could return the favor… Here’s a few more shots from today and the best of Albert Boynton. Maybe we can help him get a few stickers on his board. Aloha!
You can practice all you like but some people are just born with STYLE…
Barrels
360’s
Gouging hacks
Frontside
Backside
A cut above
Re-Education
Here is my Re-Edit of December 7 2011.
I was so fixated on “surfers” when I first got to the North Shore of Oahu. Every Professional surfer around the planet comes to a 7 mile strip of beach to surf for 2 months. These are people I have looked up to my whole life, I was letting my excitement dictate which pictures I posted on my site. I’m a fan but I need to let the photography speak for its self.
Here is the original post from 12/7/11 (https://thesurfingphotog.com/2011/12/07/where-i-should-be/) (that barrel by Gavin Gillette is still awesome!!!)
These pictures show the raw power of “Rocky Point” surf break and the chargers that own that spot.
Pipeline is less then a 1/2 mile down the beach but somedays it’s so much heavier here
Rocky Point sometimes has a double break (Lefts and Right) and Un-fortunately some times they crash into each other. Today both were going off. Which lead me to grow eyes in the back of my head.
Backdoor Pipeline? NOPE! This is Rocky Point going off
Here is an underwater barrel shot of Gavin Gillette wave from the original post
I’d like to say they were all clean that day but most of the time I’m swimming thru a football sized field of white water haha
Best of the Winter
Winter is over time to make room for spring so in no particular order here are my top 10 favorite moments from the best winter of life…so far
#1 This is a picture of Kamalei Alexander at backdoor Pipeline (the most famous/deadliest wave in the world). It’s unedited (no photoshop, no crop) This was the first time I didn’t sit in the “Channel” and I ventured out into the line-up. I was so scared and really pushing the boundaries of my physical abilities. But this day I proved to myself that all my training and hard worked paid off.
From the Post (https://thesurfingphotog.com/2011/12/16/backdoor-barrels/)
#2 This is a picture of a surfing Icon Randy Rarick, I met him on 2-4 foot day out at Sunset Beach. I was training on a small day and learning the contour of the reef. I knew the more I learned about the surf breaks on the North Shore the better I was prepared to leave alive. Randy introduced himself to me because he was intrigued (Established surf photographers don’t swim out to sunset on 4 foot days to “practice”). This chance encounter turned out to be the most influential day of my winter
From the post (https://thesurfingphotog.com/2011/11/18/meeting-my-icons/)
#3 Jadson Andre at Rocky Point. He purposely threw this air right in front of me, He wanted me to get this shot. I realized at that point that people though I was a professional because my abilities to maintain position in the line up and my demeanor in and out of the water. I sent him a copy of this picture and he Re-Tweeted (He is in top 20 in the world of pro surfing)
From the post (https://thesurfingphotog.com/2011/11/21/finally-some-swell/)
#4 This is just a random accident shot, wasn’t trying to get it… just following some no-name surfer on the wave. Magic moments are always there and anybody can have to wave of the day. Pro-surf photographers only take pictures of pro-surfers or huge waves… I take pictures of everybody because it isn’t a job… Its fun
From the post (https://thesurfingphotog.com/2011/11/16/got-to-love-art-shots/)
#5 Waterproof Long exposure… I have been a photo dork for a long exposures and night time pictures are my favorite non-sports related type of photography. To get this picture I swam out to the reef at 10pm, set my tripod (I got a custom tripod mount for my water housing) used a flash light in a ziplock bag to illuminate the ocean. It was a 30sec exposure at an f stop of 11 ISO 800
From the Post (https://thesurfingphotog.com/2011/12/13/waterproof-long-exposure-2/)
#6 I had permission to swim out to the Eddie Aikau Big wave invitational. Nobody besides invitees and a few photographers are allowed to participate in the opening ceremony paddle out. This is not televised and it is one of the greatest honors in surfing. With great humility and pride did I share those moments. December 1 2011 was the day I realized the true meaning of Aloha
From the posts (https://thesurfingphotog.com/2011/12/02/eddie-paddle-out-ceremony/)(https://thesurfingphotog.com/2011/12/02/brotherhood-respect-unity/)
#7 Clark Little is the most famous wave photographer in the world. Here was my first attempt to capture the amazing shore break he has made iconic with Hawaii’s powerful waves. I took about 1000 shots to get this one keeper… not easy
From the Post (https://thesurfingphotog.com/2011/11/19/clark-little-type-of-shots/)
#8 Because of my success on the North Shore of Oahu and my eye for “art” shots a mutual friend Val Frey hired me to get her the classic duck diving shot. I got paid to take pictures of a model… I repeat I got paid to take pictures of a very beautiful model
From the post (https://thesurfingphotog.com/2012/01/10/duck-diving-photo-shoot/)
#9 That duck diving shot gave me enough credit to venture into Fine Art shots.
From the post (https://thesurfingphotog.com/2012/01/29/kate/)
#10 This was the biggest meanest wave I swam out to all winter. Tom Whitaker at Honolua Bay Maui 1/4/12
From the Post (https://thesurfingphotog.com/2012/01/05/honolua-bay/)
Here is just a friend of mine saying goodbye to me at the Maui Airport… Makes me smile
Share the Stoke Foundation
A few days ago I had the pleasure to meet Kelly Kingston in the ocean at Lake Worth Beach, FL. She runs a foundation here in Southern Florida called Share the Stoke Foundation (http://sharethestokefoundation.org).
“The Share The Stoke Foundation, Inc. is a charitable organization based in South Florida and is dedicated to donating surfboards to kids and teenagers in need in an effort to keep them off the street and in the water.”
Since today was the highest generated traffic to my site due to the fact I made it on the HOME page of Wordpress.com (freshly pressed) I thought I would try to pass some of that good fourtune onto Kelly and the foundation she cares so much about. If you can help in anyway or just want to tell Kelly how amazing she is you can email her @
Info@sharethestiokefoundation.com
Kelly surfing yesterday at Lake Worth Pier, Florida
It’s 2am
I would normally have something funny or maybe even something witty to add to my pictures. BUT I’m tired I shot for 4 hours 2:15pm-6:15 (1,200 frames) and have been editing since 7:30. It’s now 2am it’s my 3rd post of the night and I’m going to bed. Maybe I’ll re-edit this in the morning but I wouldn’t hold my breath on that promise…
Black and White
Black and White photos really aren’t my thing but due to the stormy weather and the churned up ocean I decided to do a series of over and under exposed photos that I would later manipulate to Black and White. Grey storm clouds and lack of light make for crappy color photos but they add mood to B&W photos.
This first one is my favorite by far, this kid is like 10 years old and he was shredding! Usually I don’t turn around if I know the person can’t make it over the lip (I would be taking pictures of the back of the wave otherwise) but his little kid pulled it off. Thanks little buddy
Albert has been showcased in all of my Lake Worth, Florida Posts, He’s hungry and he shreds. He also watches where I am in the line up, Pro’s do the same thing, they realize sponsors pay every time they are in the magazines. Here’s a hint for all you young surfers *make friends with someone with a camera. Cause if your aspire to get paid to surf, you have to have proof you are worth the cheddar*
This guy showed up, took off on all the bombs of the day then bounced. He also had a killer Mustache.*hint for all you young surfers, Grow a Mustache = Take off on bombs*
Here is Edward Kubiak (http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100000814941597) Please annoy this kid. He is a cocky showboat. Don’t get me wrong I think this kid is rad but, that doesn’t mean he couldn’t use a good kick in the ass.
Grab Bag
Here’s how the Grab Bag works… I realize it’s rare that a water photographer shows up and gives away a bunch of shots without crazy annoying logo’s across the middle. Personally my blog is not designed to showcase everyone and anyone. But since I’m here visiting and not here to generate business, I thought it would be nice if everyone got the hook up. So pass along the URL if you see your buddy’s photo and do me a favor remember that you are a community, despite the fact surfing is an individual sport.
If you didn’t make it into todays other post or the “Black and White Series”… Surf harder…
AND if you really want your photo without the logo and better quality, email me. danielwilliamfryer@gmail.com or maybe just want to say thank you… Aloha
Worth the Squeeze
I went surfing for a few hours today, sloppy on shore beach breaks. When you’re not used to it or just throwing one trick on a wave you find yourself chop hopping till you realize you’re already out of position. Plus I got to re-encounter the always friendly locals of Palm Beach County haha. People start to smile when you bust out a camera, But I’m a prick you burn me while I’m surfing good luck catching a free shot.
This kid Albert from yesterday showed up with some of his buddies and it was worth me grabbing my camera. They obviously grew up here and understood how to tear apart these waves or at least throw the “go for broke” tail-whips.
Sequence of Albert blowing tail, he was the only one really linking the rights (the board art is so punk rock!!!)
Any one that wears such awesomely bad 80’s style face stick better be able to surf… He’s going to have to land airs to pull off a neon wetsuit thought haha
Didn’t really grab any shots of there 3rd friend but doesn’t mean he should be left out, high school can be a cruel place and I don’t want him getting made fun of tomorrow.
I’m really still not used to seeing buildings on the beach, I grew up in New York where they protect the natural beauty of the beach and the North Shore of both Oahu and Maui don’t have a single building taller then 3 stories on the beach (except Turtle Bay). It just reminds me of the bumper stickers “KEEP THE NORTH SHORE COUNTRY”
A New Blue
So I’m currently in Southern Florida (tell your friends)… And I actually got some waves this afternoon. I miss Hawaii but It was great to be able to get wet and get some shots. I used to surf Lake Worth Pier when I lived in Florida back in 2003, it was an extremely local spot and I couldn’t get a wave to save my life (I was learning in a spot you shouldn’t be learning at).
But today was fun and I actually had some talent to shoot, so over all it was a fun afternoon. Aloha
North Side of the pier is a wedgey reform, not a lot of power but there is usually a little ramp at the end for a hard cut back or mini air.
I tried to shoot some video, not a huge fan of the quality thats why I rarely post videos but enjoy
Lost and Found
I had a lot of epic shots I took this winter but it’s funny how many I missed, It would be impossible to post all of them but I’m getting surf stoked all over again going thru my re-edit.
Seeing thru Fisheyes
Fisheye Lens are a staple of surf photography. Depending on how you angle the lens you can make waves look bigger, deeper or steeper, But the down fall is you can also do the opposite. When I first got comfortable enough to get close I realized that I then had to master the fisheye. I mess up a lot of great shots due to inexperience and being too far away. But I learned from my mistakes and how to crop a photo to hide the distortion. Enjoy
Check out the original and the cropped, it’s really hard to maintain a believable horizon
Bottom angle shots will dwarf a wave size
Water droplets on a dome shaped housing ports are a way of life and an image killer
Subjects on the edges of the image get distorted
Too Far away
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