Frozen Stoke

A moment of pure wave riding elation, forever frozen.

--FIN--

Tubular Travel Time & Rainbow Snap

Check out Christopher Taloa, Matt Mohagen, and Kim Magin and their approaches to a "secret" South Bay spot.

 A hollow space, for a few fleeting moments

 Whenever Hippy Tree rider Matt Mohegan does a turn...

 a rainbow appears.

 (Check lower half of the second and third frame for proof!  Sorry, but it wasn't the coveted double rainbow of YouTube clip fame--maybe next time.)

 Hawaiian professional bodyboarder Chris Taloa's riding fit this oddly-shaped, warping wave perfectly.  Here, he parks it in the shorepound at the end of a long ride.

Kim Magin earns the closing shot, however, as he was able to pull inside a wave while riding within very close proximity to the photographer.

--FIN--

Passed-Over South Bay

A friendly longboard local--Patrick--gave me subject matter to shoot at a normally ignored sandbar in the South Bay.

--FIN--

Orange Juice Shorepound

12.7.2011
South Bay of Los Angeles secret spot shorepound, California

This is the way I like to start my day--with a cup of oceanic OJ!

 

--FIN--

"Tsunami Warning" for Sandpipers

After going to local beachbreak and jetty spots--and turning up unremarkable subject matter everywhere I went--I headed up to the PV Peninsula to do the PV secret-spot shuffle.  Unfortunately, I ended up chasing phantom waves.  The wind was either making waves that broke erratically at the premiere breaks, or the angle of the swell missed the protected coves.


At best, the Peninsula's fickle waves are an irksome, taunting riddle.  However, it sure is a beautiful place [click photo to enlarge]--

 These surfers dodged multiple sets that could have produced great rides, so I eventually left for greener pastures--or so I thought...

 ...upon arriving at San Pedro's Cabrillo Beach, I witnessed a Sandpiper outrunning what, from his perspective, likely looked like a tsunami...

...but despite the "massive" set that almost slammed the bird, this feral cat kept his cool.

--FIN--

Sorry if you missed it...

...you should have woken up earlier.  Kim Magin, about to indulge in tube time, Hermosa Beach, early in the morning of November 29th, 2011.

--FIN--

SHOT FEATURED IN SURFLINE.COM EDITORIAL

Enjoy--click to see what getting up at 5AM, arriving at the beach at 5:45AM and shooting the whole morning yields.

A Tale of Two Windswell Turns

Two different wave riders, two different beach breaks in the South Bay, two different stances, two different wind directions, and one result: a lot of displaced water.

 Bobby Kithcart, bodyboarder, dropknee smash, Manhattan Beach Pier earlier this month

Sunset at Manhattan Beach Pier later that evening earlier this month

 Unidentified, surfer, standup slash, Redondo Beach this evening

Sunset at Redondo Beach this evening (note the buoy the wind is attempting to tip over)

--FIN--

The Curse of the Florescent Green Jersey: MSA Classic Brings Freshwater Surfers from Michigan

 Brad Tunis, Great Lakes surfer

 

FRIDAY, SEPT 9, MALIBU CA--

While stroking in from his first--and last--heat in the division he just competed in, the bearded surfer in the green jersey clenched clenched his head.  The realization that the sojourn from The Great Lakes of the midwestern United States wasn't going to have a glorious finish must have stung a little.  His wave-starved heat was stacked with surfers that all looked to know "Malizoo" like the back of their hands.

Earlier, another downtrodden Great Lakes surfer made his way out of the water.  Head slightly bowed, while looking at the saltwater ocean in front of him, he picked his way through the cobblestones and got to shore.

 

The proprietor of Third Coast Surf Shop stores in Michigan, Ryan Gerard, looked a little bummed that his heat--which featured Joel Tudor--hadn't gone as well as expected.  (The superstitious amongst us might think it had something to do with that green jersey.)

When Tudor (pictured above), who was also in Gerard's heat, earns third, one knows that the heat must have been rough for most everyone!

For both surfers, despite the unfortunate losses due to bad conditions, lack of consistent sets, and smart competition from fellow surfers (who attempted to push them too deep and out of position in the lineup), the journey to the promised land of longboarding emoted nothing but pure stoke.

Once back on land, Brad Tunis--the "bearded surfer" cursed with the green singlet--was beaming, once he took off the jersey (see photo above).  Who wouldn't be?  He had just surfed Malibu with only 6 other guys out.

Usually, there's six other guys on one's wave, with 100 others out the back!  Ryan Gerard maintained much the same attitude post-heat.

The Great Lakes surfers are some of the most upbeat surfers I've met in my life.  My friend, Jonas Nakas (see him longboarding in THIS post), had invited me to the contest to meet his friends from the Great Lakes.   Whether the Great Lakes surfers are surfing freshwater lakes, or grabbing some waves during a contest in California, they have a fantastic attitude.  The effervescent joy they derive from riding waves actually caught me a bit off-guard.

It's not "cool" in California to be a visibly happy surfer at some spots.  For some odd reason, people seem to prefer quiet discontent and grumpiness.  Go figure.

The Great Lakes riders, however, were branded with a positive throwback attitude--like something out of a 60's longboard surfing short.

Case in point: I told them all I was mostly a bodyboarder, sometimes a kneeboarder, and rarely a standup surfer, and all of the Great Lakes crew that had made the hull for the contest were actually happy for me.  In Southern California, people draw ridiculous lines based on equipment.  It can be so bad sometimes, that "boardriding bigots" in Southern California who prefer their chosen equipment over most all others can sometimes border on hateful (go surf PV on a bodyboard and try to say, "Hi!" to the locals--you'll instantly see what I mean.).

 Solitude for an unknown, noseriding surfer (above), unidentified girls play tug-of-war (below)

Nevertheless, despite my "lowly" riding preference, these guys and gals were all saying nice things, along the lines of,  "Rad, man, that's cool--awesome."  From surfers who stand up in California, the nicest remarks I usually get is a token, tongue biting, falsely polite response--something along the lines of, "Oh, as long as you're having fun, that's all that counts."  (It's as if people who stand up believe it takes no skill--nor guts--to perform off-the-lip and aerial manuevers on a sponge.)

two unidentified competitors stroll back down the point

 

At the end of the day in Malibu, after meeting all of the visiting Great Lakes guys and gals, I walked away with a new appreciation for the sport of waveriding.

 A pair cuddles (above), and a man plays "superman" with a little girl, while chatting with a woman (below)

Whatever you choose to ride, readers, just make sure of one thing: that you're having fun.  That's how they carry themselves at the Great Lakes, and that's how we should do it here in California.  And why not?  It's not like we Californians have to wait months for chest-high windswell in bitingly-cold water temps, (commonplace at the Lakes' surf spots.)

To see the Third Coast Surf Shop, either visit Michigan and check them out in person, or visit them on the web @ http://www.thirdcoastsurfshop.com/

--FIN--

The Gnar: Thoroughly Shredded (courtesy of Jovanni Cardoso)

The San Pedro Show, brought to you by Channel Street Skatepark:

Jovanni Cardoso, going where apparently only Daewon Song has gone before--skateboarding over the potentially deadly "keyhole" doorway,  backside.  His back, right wheel is perilously hanging over the edge of the wall and in thin air.  Upon review, I believe his truck just missed catching on this incredible make that brought the house down!

 Cool-toned backside smith

/

skater: Jovanni Cardoso

Jovanni Cardoso feels the warmth of the sun while grinding through a backside smith.

Until next time,

--FIN--



show me some FIREWORKS -- 4th of July from The Hill

 

 Redondo's display of fireworks, as seen from PV, was brilliant.

 A lonely sailboat meanders down the coast as the light retreats around sundown.

 People--and photographers (left third, at the edge of the cliff) were sprinkled all along the cliff.

  And everyone decided to check out this vantage point--leading to constant flow of cars, which did not ebb for the entire duration of the display.

 A time lapse photo shows the ghost image of a cell phone used to take a fireworks picture and heads of attendees at the church by Haggerty's on the Hill--a great viewing area for the fireworks.

 A young lady, left, goes from sitting upright to flopping down out of boredom, waiting for the barge fireworks show to begin off of Torrance beach (shot from the patio at the church near Haggerty's).

 Silhouettes of attendees mark the foreground of this fantastic pyrotechnic display.

 Panoramic fisheye crop, 1

 Panoramic fisheye crop, 2

A burst of fireworks, shot as a long-exposure, poses as a psychedelic, technicolor mushroom cloud.  The beam of light in the foreground is a car zooming by.

South Bay, welcome Jonas Nakas: Lake Michigan Longboarder

Lake Michigan longboarder and friend Jonas Nakas came up to the South Bay today.  It looked about as inviting as the dreaded Huntington shuffle (the nearest beach to where he is based now, he is no longer doing the twice-as-monotonous Lake Michigan shuffle!).  As I told him I wanted to shoot some photos--he has very few shots of himself--he made the trek.  We switched off with the longboard and the housing (he is a photographer himself).  Unfortunately for the egoist in me, his training throughout high school in the waves of Lake Michigan--more or less like the local-wind-driven, short period waves of today, he said--made him a much better subject than myself.  Enjoy the fruits of our labor.  Surfer: Jonas Nakas / Photographer: Marcus Bockman

 

frontside fade

  backside bottom turn

 cross step #1

 cross step #2

 single-fin-first takeoff

 getting close to the nose

 trim spot

gulls

--FIN--