Safety With Size
I love these types of days! When the ocean shows us just how small we are. I’ll let the pictures dictate the size of the day and assure you it always seems bigger when you are swimming in it.
I went surfing before I brought my camera out, I needed to know I could get in and out safely and that there were quality surfers in the water worth the swim (you really can’t tell from the beach). Big Thanks to Zack Howard (http://www.zackhowardsurf.com). I had to ask him to stay out for at least an hour (he was one of the only shortboards killing it outside), here is a guy I’ve never met before and I’m asking him for favors…
I used my 70-200MM Lens for the first time today, it was a little weird not using a wide angle lens and sitting 20-30 feet away from the surfers. But it was the right call to make on a day this sized. Not going to say I mastered it on the first day but I can see a lot of potential adding this lens to my arsenal.
You needed power, speed, and commitment just to drop in on these waves. It was so hard not getting hung up on the lip, the wind coming off the face of the wave was intense.
Believe it or not, this guy was not caught inside. The wave was just imploding on the shallow reef behind him…
I actually had some issues with being too close at 70mm and I would get this blurred out foreground if I didn’t hold the lens away from water…
I couldn’t believe how clear this lens is… I don’t use a full frame camera in the ocean (Nikon d300s) but I bought this lens (70-200MM F/2.8 ED VR II) with the hopes of upgrading and seeing this is making my pockets shake…
I have few more shots from the day, if you didn’t see yours, Email me at danielwilliamfryer@gmail.com… Sorry I don’t mass post pictures, it’s an art not a sport to me.
Looking For Some Style
This type of surf photography would never be possible without a friend that goes the extra mile to help. My buddy Neal loves to surf and every time I’m in NY there are waves, Neal always says yes. Maybe the waves weren’t fantastic but we were having a blast before the sun came up and I had an opportunity try some new shots.
After the sun creeped of the horizon, I switched to a low appature and bumped up the F/stop to create a speed blur effect. It’s really hard to get a semi clear photo while bobbing up and down in the water, It’s hard to accomplish with a tripod…
I love using a flash pre-dawn, it’s so hard to find someone that will surf in the dark but it makes for amazing photos every time
The flash doesn’t really work more then 10 feet away you can still get some fun shot via post editing
You can see the flash in the lower corner
I know “blow out” photos are desired effect and would not be an acceptable if a client was paying for photos but Neal doesn’t pay so I can go as weird as I want lol
These photos are me just getting weird with it, I hope you enjoy. mahalo for viewing 
Trusting Ablitity
Having the ability isn’t enough, it’s knowing when something goes wrong you have the skills to protect yourself. I know that shooting fisheye in the pit at Honolua Bay is the right lens but doing so leaves you exposed if an outside set comes rolling thru. I got a bunch of fantastic shots yesterday but what I’m most proud of was when I got caught inside and wave after wave (maybe 6?) keep sending me deeper into this torrid mass of white water, that I was able to rise above. Having only a few seconds to gasp for air before the next wave hits you is a strange feeling but freaking-out is what gets your hurt. It’s a helpless feeling knowing that you are not strong enough to get yourself out of this situation, you need to stop fighting and let the current push you out of the impact zone.
What a rush…Mahalo for visiting my site
I have a bunch more photos, if you don’t see your wave please email me
The Lefts at “RIGHTS”
If you have never been to the North Shore of Maui you might be a little confused about where to tell your friends you are going surfing. Where I come from in NY a beach and the wave are usually called the same thing for miles of coast line. At Ho’okipa Beach Park a quarter mile of sand and reef have a minimum of three names ( people would argue there are many more little breaks within this stretch ) Pavilions (pavils), Middles and Rights. I surf goofy-foot-ed ( right foot forward ) and I have a special love for going left at the “Rights” ( which is at the left end or westend of the beach park ( confusing…).
I have been told this section of wave is a waste of time because
{A} It is a heavy drop into shallow reef
{B} a solid wave sends you into a sea of white water from Middles, which is a pain in the ass to paddle back thru, 10-15 min paddle battle
{C} it will never be a long ride and most of the time you are racing to make the section.
That being said, I STILL LOVE THIS WAVE. It’s peaky, fast and no-body likes it, which means I don’t have to fight anyone for this wave. I watched on the beach for 30 minutes for the right lighting and could see this guy killing the Lefts at Rights the whole time. I grab my camera and basically was this guys personally photographer for 90 minutes. So besides a few rights at Rights that rolled my way shallow this is a blog post about TOSH PEILA @TOSH_PELIA
I was soooo bummed this shot came out blurry, with a flash you have the tendency to focus on the spray of water because the illuminated water is the closest focal point.
If you were wondering if Tosh was a good person? here he is ducking his head down and paddling so he didn’t block my shot. That’s why Tosh gets all his shots for free any day of the week.
All night long
Here are just a bunch of shots I really liked the lighting on…
Think this was the only other person that caught a solid Left the whole time I was out.
Fun Day @ the Bay
I never claimed to be a local in Hawaii, even though I call this place home. I realize there are just some places in this world where I always be a Haole. I surf with respect and humility and try to remain thankful for any waves I get to enjoy. Honolua Bay is one of those magical places that I’m happy just to be at and if a catch a few waves, even better. January 5th, I was more then happy just to take pictures because there was so much talent I was able to get front row to all the action, Even got to body surf a few waves that the crowd missed.
I saw this guy pumping just staring at me all the way down the line, I was really really happy he didn’t smash his board into my face, that last second before he caught air, I wasn’t sure about anything. Man what a rush…
This guy is always sitting deeper and shallower then anyone else, which translate into him catching speeding closeout where he can just keep throwing airs. Which is totally crazy because it’s only in 3 feet of water with exposed reef in all directions.
The barrel sections were a little sketchy but if you were willing to stall you could get deep… Not sure if you’d make the next section but who cares, some one would drop in on you either way lol
This is the off the lip section of this post !!!
Looks fun but point breaks are always like swimming a marathon thru white water. Just keep swimming, just keep swimming!!!
Drop Everything
There will come a time in every young surfers life when he has to start missing Swells for work, birthdays parties or hangovers. But there are days (especially during a wave drought) were you have to “just get to the beach”, this Sunday was one of these days, not the cleanest but the biggest we have seen in some time. I’m not going to name this spot (please don’t post locations) but it was prime for this crazy cross island swell. The people informed were ripping and everyone that stumbled across it were struggling to keep up (myself included).
I’m the not biggest fan of empty wave shots, they lack perspective and are sometimes UN-rideable but these perfectly illustrate the intensity of this swell. *none of these are fisheye shot, I was using a 17-55mm, what you see it what I was dodging all day Sunday.
This one is blurry but the size of this pit needed to be shared.
Best Turn of the Day. He had crazy speed going into it
Winter is Coming
The cold water has arrived and with it has come some serious waves. This is the time of year in NY when all the kiddies that thought it was “so radical” to take up surfing for the summer go away and the cream of the crop rises to the top. When you realize that this isn’t just a warm water hobby but a serious addiction that is only satisfied by the cold heavy hand of mother natures raw force.
Let the fun start
Wished he made this massive air drop but you have to have a serious pair to try
It was so hard to stay in position, Would have love to be able to shoot fisheye in the pit but when your swimming against a raging current my 17-55mm lens is money.
A lot of surfers where out, but you could quickly tell the one’s treading water and the one’s charging
Days like this I don’t even mind that they are devoid of color, waves like these aren’t pretty, deal with it.
Doom and Gloom
The days of warm water and pretty sunsets are gone, bring on the nasty funky Fall power. It was grey today, the ocean, the sky and the people but who cares? There were waves and that’s all that matters. I’m going back down to the beach in a few hours so I will save a verbose blog post and rely on photogenic magic.
Representing Long Beach, NY @ Lincoln Blvd
Here’s Drew, the best photo of the day because he has enough Balls to get down to the beach before sunrise and kill it in the dark, where were you? Sleeping, that’s why Drew Rocks!
Didn’t matter if you were shooting towards the sun or away it was all muted greys
Here’s Drew’s Buddy, he rocks too but he fell on this wave and it made me laugh, sorry drew’s buddy, email me and I will give you all your photos for free.
Here’s Drew dropping in on his buddy, but it’s totally ok because my business card is in his mouth and he held on to it. So sorry Drew’s Buddy you got dogged twice today. That also makes me laugh, sorry just being honest.
Here’s a guy named Dan, That’s my name too. “Rock on” Dan’s of the world
Yeah we are happy to be in weather like this if it means we get waves.
I didn’t get the memo, it’s bootie season now, 3 hours of shooting, I could barely feel my feet, please dress according from now on, but if you wear Gloves until I say it’s cool, you are a kook and I will make fun of you too, that go for removable hoods also, grow a pair it NY
Before Dawn Patrol
AND THE LIGHT SHALL SHOW YOU THE WAY!!! Got together with my buddy Neal before work on Monday 9/30 in Long Beach, NY. If you not up on current events, the North Atlantic is currently in the middle of the weakest Hurricane season in the last 100 years (maybe I’m being a little dramatic). We are waved starved and will hump an glimpse of swell we get. In effort to squeeze a couple of more rides out of the swell, we got to the beach around 5:30am, a solid 45minutes before first light and an hour before sunrise. Easy enough for Neal he’s just got to ride the wave, I have to focus on a moving target in the dark while bobbing up and down trying to get a usable image. The only way I can get a usable image in “no light” is with a flash, luckily I have a waterproof flash housing to go along with my Camera.
I didn’t get too many usable photos when it was pitch dark, but this one some how was crisp as day light. You can tell by the blur of the light in the back ground that there was more then a little movement going on. Aperture 40, F-Stop 2.8, Flash 1/8 ISO 500
You can tell by the difference in light from the first photo that I must have spent 15-20 minutes without getting another usable photos and this one is a little shaky
I was getting great color shooting into the sun but positioning myself close enough for the flash to be affective was a little tricky
I have to give credit where it’s due, imagine get flashed at 8fps (frames per second) in the dark and keeping your cool to pull off style like this
It stunk that we had to go to work so early but you do what you have to get waves.
Doing What I Do Best
I take photos, I imaging I also do a fair bit of marketing myself as a surf photographer, Exhibit 1: This Blog. But I struggle with the conflict of doing this for fun or doing it for money. I was approached by SURFLINE.COM to be listed as a “Local Pro”. Meaning they do a small bit of advertising for me personally and I generate site traffic for them and their advertisers by directing them to where they can see my pictures. Fair trade off I guess, just being listed as a “PRO” on their site gives me creditability that would be hard to generate on my own.
But I guess I’m just stating that I’m not doing it for the money, they have a section where you can buy my photos but it’s not about that. Surfline.com is the largest surf forecasting site on the internet and to be associated with them is an honor. I will always take my own type of photos (I’m not into “Sports Photography”) with an artistic approach.
So I hope you also go to their site and see my photos but you’ll never have to worry about “The Surfing Photog” going away, this is my home and it’s what I do best. So less words and more photos, Aloha
Lido West, NY FRIDAY THE 13TH
this guy almost cut back into my face, I felt uncomfortable how close his ass got to my face lol
Around 6:30 the sunrise came up but there was so many clouds that the light didn’t really get good until 7
The blur on this photo made it cool but the guy throwing the double shaka make it AWESOME!!!!
GREY, THE NEW COLOR
Scored an epic day in Long Beach, New York on the 22nd of April; It unfortunately didn’t come with any sun. When it’s overcast windy and heavy not many people throw their 5/6 mm wetsuit on and come out for a photo session in 50 degree water temperatures. Luckily I can always count on my Buddy Neal to charge for awesome photos.
All the photos are grey today but I bet they still get your blood pumping for surf. Broke this post into my favorite sequences and left a bunch a single shots for the end. Aloha
I’m really a fan of this angle, it usually leaves me totally exposed to get hit in the lip with the wave but I can’t wait till one day when the wave chandeliers over my head and I get a backdoor barrel shot.
Same angle as last but I was a little too inside and the wave didn’t really open up, Neal really threaded the needle though and busted threw the backdoor on this one.
Here are just a few single shots that I really liked
Catching it while it’s good
I’m always getting excited about what I got rather then what I can have. I got a chance to travel to Tampa Bay, FL and usually when I visit this part of the country I don’t think I’m going to score waves. I’ve seen the Gulf of Mexico at it’s best but most of the time it’s lake placid. Well I scored waves, otherwise you would have to endure another “Artistic” post about the mottled composition of some strange topic against the contract of the setting sun. Lucky for you.
I got to Clearwater Beach around 6:30pm after work, it was dark grey, cold and windy. Not exactly perfect picture weather but I made the best of what I got. I had to use a flash, which requires low aperture settings, which in turn blurs everything that isn’t illuminated since everything is moving so fast. But I managed to produce some great images that really shows what it means to be a Gulf Coast surfer.
This guy had style for miles, I got the most photos of him because he was killing it the whole time.
You don’t always get the warmest welcome at local surf spots in Florida but this guy had a smile on his face the whole time.
I love to bust out the flash on dark night that are clear but when it grey it’s not always easy to get shots. I lucked out a lot and was able to catch a few keepers. You’ll notice that it’s hard to get a clear focus but on some photos it actually adds to the action.
The Surfing Photog will continue to travel and seek out new spots if you keep looking, Mahalo
A Bath of Fire
The sting of the sand blasting against your face, the almost creepy silence of the beach void of all sounds except the crashing of the waves and the burning sensation of the brisk 40 degree water temperature sizzling the small amount of skin that is not covered by thick neoprene. This is the price we pay for empty barrels in the dead of winter. It’s an addiction that saves us from the insanity’s of life.
Do you have what it takes to be here?
Go into a surf shop and put on a 5/6mm wetsuit and try to touch your toes, the extra power you need to stretch to normal limits is ridiculous. Now try pulling into a barrel… Neal making it look easy
If you are a regular visitor to my blog you know how addicted to color I am, but there is a solace to a grey overcast days with brown waves. It’s raw, not pretty and real. This is surf photography for people that have so much love for the ocean it literally hurts.
Step into life without fear and be rewarded by the things that scare you.
thesurfingphotog.com 