South County Surf & Seascapes
So there was this day in December just before Christmas when it was blowing about 40 knots and the clouds were trying to decide whether they wanted to snow or not. And I went out shooting! First it was to this little spot along Route 1A for some of the surf. The surf was up to about 5+ with a nice offshore breeze but a lot of the usual places were pretty crowded, so a few friends of mine used their local knowledge to locate one of the more obscure locations for a nice private session. It was pretty cold out but I nestled behind a rock to block some of the wind and using my 70-200mm with 2x teleconverter I got some great shots of the water, waves and surfers!
Then I decided to make two shoots out of this one afternoon outing. I climbed in the car and drove 2 minutes down the road to a little park near Point Judith Lighthouse which faced more west. I worked on my seascapes as the wind picked up, gusting to 60 knots at times and definitely freezing off my face. I waited for the sun though, playing with composition and finding a vantage point that I liked while I had the extra time before the sun sank below the horizon.
There is a jetty at this location, the eastern side of the channel from Galilee, and although it was way too windy (blowing my over at times) and the waves were too high to climb down the jetty, there was a sandy beach where I could play around a bit. However, the wind was whipping the water over the sand dunes, and at one point cut off my exit! But dry feet are a luxury, so on my way back I of course got a little wet for the sake of photography.
I do hope to return to this location again and further explore it's possibilities, preferably when it's not blowing 40 knots!
Leave a comment
Comments will be approved before showing up.
Also in Photography Journal
Warm Getaways
I had been eagerly awaiting this winter season. Here in New England, the winter months can be rather frigid, but for those of us who don’t mind the exhaustive work of climbing into 6 mil wetsuits or ice-cream-headache cold waters, it’s the eagerly anticipated winter months that bring the biggest swells. We had snow before the New Year and water temps quickly started approaching 40°F. But in typical fashion, as soon as the long awaited winter months arrived, I was craving a break from the cold gray in favor of a warm water reprieve.
Board Portraits // Experiments
I've been wanting to shoot more portraits lately, but in combination with the surf community that I've been so involved with the past year. My good friend, Kevin Tanner, behind Soudnings Surf Co creates some gorgeous handcrafted boards. He does all his own shaping, resin work, and glassing, and I wanted to photograph some beautiful boards to highlight his craftsmanship as well as portraits of my friends who ride them. I decided to do board portraits.
Snowy Surf Sessions
A lot of us enjoy the warm weather, but a select few of us still enjoy (or perhaps tolerate) the cold weather. And nothing quite says winter like a fresh snowfall! On the rare occasion Rhode Island experiences more than one inch of snow while there's swell in the water, you can find a select few of dedicated riders on the shore eager to have a snow session.