The Lab.

BART NAGEL PHOTOS.

This first image is a shot from the Lab. Eeek. That's me on the right. This was the location of Friday's shoot. Can u believe it? Definately a challenge for me, a claustrophic. I have to say it was one of the most uncomfortable jobs I've worked on. Our entire bodies were covered from head to toe, and we were required to take an air shower previous to entering the lab. It was hot, sterile and just plain weird.
What are they building in there? To be honest I have no clue...I believe they were making wafers that related to computers somehow. Who knows? All I do know is that the flat white interior and pure, clean, fixed artificial air made me dizzy and my depth perception off after a couple hours. I guess it was an adventure in some sort of ass backwards way.
This second shot is a happy accident Bart made when he discovered the slow ISO setting on the D200. I believe this is like at 3200 or something. It's really grainy (noisy), but pretty cool eh? Props Bart!

Swimming in Aquatic Park

Here they are. Please keep in mind the lack of saturation from saving for the web. I think I am pretty happy, though I'll admit, the harsh sunlight required a little tweaking in photoshop in order for me to get it to a place I was happy with. The beauty dish really only provided a fill light to match the bright sun. I should have over powered it, but I don't think there was any room to go up. I do believe one of these may be portfolio worthy. Whatcha think?

Considering this is a blog about surfing and photography, you'd think I'd be posting more lately. I guess what I mean to say is that both have been relatively good in the last week or so. At least, they were great last week, but we'll have to see about what is to come. I surfed LM Sunday-Wednesday. Mon, Tues, Wed were epic...as in perfect waves and a couple handfuls of awesome rides. I took out my red board and was pleasantly surprised at how well it handles and how fast it was on those perfect 2-4 feet faces. Days like that make me want to give up on society and just surf all day long. Those four sessions were enough to satisfy me despite the messy big stuff that swell brought in on Thursday, pretty much wiping out an opportunity over the weekend. I'm hoping it'll disappear over the next couple days, or at least bring some clean, offshore conditions imitating last week, though maybe a touch bigger wouldn't hurt either
Speaking of surfing, and big waves, the book I am reading right now is brilliant and I recommend it to all who believe that surfing has in some way profoundly changed their lives. It's called West of Jesus, by Steven Kotler...though it has very little to do with Jesus. Loosely this is the story of a guy who chases a mythical legend about a surfer known as the Conductor, who is able to control the weather to produce surf, around the world. More specifically this is an in depth philosophical study of surfing's place in the mystical world..as a religion, as a transcendental experience, and as a form of rehabilitation. I'll write more about it later, and I'll be sure to include some quotes, cause there are definitely some good ones worthy of excerpt.
As far as photography goes...I ate my own words and purchased a small lighting kit I can travel with from Bart last week. It's perfect, the kind of thing I can set up anywhere and use. I tried it out at Aquatic Park on Thursday, where I photographed Kim and Kyle swimming in the Bay. While I have yet to examine the shots closely, I am pretty happy with how they turned out. I got some good portraits of them standing on the beach before entering the water and then later got a few of them swimming back into the park. It's funny how nothing is ever as predictable as you think. The image I had in my head of what the photos would look like was really nothing like how they turned out, but I'm pretty pleased nonetheless. I guess that's what makes a good photographer, the ability to improvise. I need to keep doing that, so I can get as much practice in as possible. I mean, the point of me shooting them was not because of the images I'd envisioned, it was because I wanted to capture what seemed like a good visual subject matter, and celebrate the fact that my good friend, who couldn't swim six months ago, is now free swimming in the bay! How crazy is that? I'll be sure to post a couple within the next few days, once I work the magic of photoshop on them. =)

Dillon Beach shots

Surf was decent today, though the vibe in the water was a bit off. Not sure I can complain considering it's Linda Mar on a Sunday. But still, is it too much to ask that people not be assholes to one another?
There were quite a few beautiful boards out. I got home to find the Harbour longboard I found on craigslist last night for $350 sold already. I'm pretty sure it was a sign. Got me to thinking about the possessions we have, the things we want and the materials we lust after. Is it about filling a void? Now that I am making a little more money then usual I find myself thinking about purchases I could make, things I don't need that I could waste my money on. The truth is, I have too many possessions already. I have two beautiful surfboards, one that I barely ride and certainly haven't mastered, and one that has served me well and continues to do so. I could be more than happy with even one board, and I am lucky enough to have two. Yesterday at the wedding ceremony I worked at, the priest discussed the differance between being content and being happy. He described being content as a state derived from the comfort of materials, wealth and career. He described the achievement of happiness as coming from appreciation, patience and experience. It's interesting that during the last couple months while I've been struggling with my inspiration and creativity, I've been focusing more on material things. The truth is, another surfboard will not make my surfing better. New sunglasses to replace the ones my boyfriend hates, will not make me less insecure about our relationship. A new camera will not make me take more pictures.
Learning to work with the hand I'm dealt and cherish the things I have will help me to be happy, and it will help me feel like I've earned it. Paying my sister back the money I owe her, getting out of debt and saving funds to travel with will serve me far better then the list of useless crap I've been daydreaming about buying. But I have to say, if I am gonna ride Stewie into the ground, he's gotta have a new fin while I do it. =)

Here's some shots from our camping trip to Dillon Beach a few weeks back. Good times. This is what it's all about.

Pinnacles

Working on it. These photos are from Dave and I's trip to Pinnacles last week. I really like the first one...so eerie. Plus Dave is pretty cute in front of the reservoir there too. Gee. I'm a dork...I take nature photos now. I went from someone who used to aspire to have insanely personal work to freakin nature photography. Whatever, I guess it's what gets me off these days. I'll be working on getting some up from Dillon Beach soon. Guess it's a start right? I wanna get back to my raw, naked imagery, but in all honesty, how raw and naked is my life these days? It's different...what can I say, I don't do drugs and lay around feeling depressed and sad anymore. But that doesn't make life less poignant and beautiful. Fuck, if anything it's more poignant and breathtaking then ever before because it's like seeing it through the lens without the dusty filter now. I guess I am still working on capturing that, because like an addict who was once addicted to drama, I was also addicted to photographing it, and now there's less subject matter available. My work feels slower, more refined now, like everything else, I guess. Certainly it's a lot like cruising down the wave after waiting for 30+ minutes for the perfect one to line up for me. A lot of them go by, but eventually one comes in that was just meant to be.
I just ordered some books, one in particular sounds pretty interesting, "We Approach Our Martinis With High Expectations" by Jamie Brisick, check out one of my favorite shots from his website here:
http://www.jamiebrisick.com/portfolio11.htm
So badass. I can't wait for the book to arrive in the mail next week. I also can't wait to get in the water on Sunday. After four long days of slinging photo gear around, it'll feel well deserved and appreciated.

June 8

Trying to wrestle the inspiration beast. Just checked out 3am's site and was in awe at the sheer volume and quality there. He shoots all the time. It puts me to shame, though I don't spend much time comparing. I'll only allow myself to complain about it to a certain extent. I'd rather be someone who does instead of someone who says. That said...goal number one: pick up some toys and start shooting again. Every day. All the time. It has gotten ridiculous how little I do. I'm beginning to wonder if I even see photos at all anymore. I figure if I start again on a small scale, I can work up to the big ideas. Right?