Surfing

When Anthony, Philip and I went to Rock in March I wanted to get some action shots of surfers. Despite what appeared to be favourable conditions, the beach at St Ives was devoid of any activity apart from a few body boarders. I vowed to have another go next time I was down in that area.

I went to Widemouth Bay (just south of Bude) on Saturday in anticipation of some more action, arriving just before high tide and staying the two hours that my parking ticket allowed. At first it was not looking too promising; the surf school was full of beginners and even those not in school were not really cutting the mustard. I was getting quite disillusioned when I suddenly became aware of a chap who could actually surf, not only was he the only one of about 50 out there that could stay up for more than a few seconds but he really looked the part too - even managing some tricks!

Composed and stylish - a man in control

Making it look rather easy

Being a bit more daring. He did some sort of summersault - probably a technical surf term that I'm blissfully unaware of - and landed it too! Sadly I missed the shot.

Love the wave in this one

Finally losing it...

There was bags of light so I could shoot between 1/2500 and 1/8000 second at ISO 800 with apertures between f/5.6 and f/8. Exposure compensation +1/3 to +1.

All shots with Canon EF 500 on 1D Mk IV, some with 1.4x converter.