CLASSIC WINTER SWELLS HIT THE UK
P.36
ISSUE 199 FEB 11 THE “SNAP HAPPY” ISSUE
INSPIRATIONAL SURFING MOMENTS
BRITISH SURF MAG SINCE 81
GET SURF FIT IN SEVEN DAYS
P.84
TOOL UP!
51 WEAPONS OF MASS RESOLUTIONP.26
SHOOT LIKE A PRO
Jay Davies, Micronesia
£3.95 Feb 199 wavelengthmag.co.uk
MEET THE UK’S FINEST SURF PHOTOGRAPHERSP.62 cover_199.indd 2
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THE MONEY
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HIGH ROLLERS Fergal Smith, Bumbaloids, Ireland Photo: Pete Fleming
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n this day Cornwall was treated to the swell of the year. From Bude right down to the tip of Lands End the coast was alight with four to six feet high waves. Mostly the rollers simply came in straight lines and closed out! Occasionally, however, some of them tapered nicely and ocean users indulged themselves with rides that lasted no longer than four seconds. At the peak of the swell, most of the beaches were deemed to be un-rideable because the waves were too large. As the day turned to night I thought to myself, ‘Fergs’ must have been distraught when he heard what he’d missed!’
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THE MONEY
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CAREER CHANGE Taj Burrow, Micronesia Photo: Andrew Shield
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sn’t this a wonderful image of Taj? Doesn’t it make you want to just put two fingers up to the shackles of life and pursue a career as a pro surfer? Naturally, at some point you will have to quit your job. Your employer will not be thrilled with this and if he gets aggressive then all thoughts of not burning bridges shall be put aside and blue language will be required. And then you will need to bring your wife and family together in the living room and tell them that you’re leaving for good and it is unlikely that you will see them for 10 months of the year! Most importantly - you’d better learn how to ride that board pretty good. Taj didn’t learn how to surf like this in a day. Lets do this!
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Intro
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Porthleven, Cornwall Photo: Tim Nunn
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JUST SHOOT
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he surf photo, the second most important thing in our sport after the art of wave riding itself. Why, I hear you cry? Well it’s quite simple, the surf photo inspires us to surf, educates us, gives us ego boosts, drives the image of the whole surfing industry, allows us to dream, to understand the rest of the surfing world, it gives us pleasure in moments when we cannot get to the sea ourselves. So to celebrate, this issue is dedicated to the photo, and the pieces of equipment and the guys who make the images. They are all a talented bunch, generally poorly paid for their art, but dedicated to the point of obsession. Without them there could never be a surf mag. When you look back into the history of surfing magazines you’ll find more often than not it’s actually photographers that kicked them off and not publishers or editors. Take this one you hold in your hands, 30 years ago, yep that long, this journal of British surfing was formed by two photographers, Geoff Tydeman and John Conway. What they created was entirely based around photographs and their love of surfing, so it is fitting that we kick off our thirtieth year of publication with a celebration of the art. It’s come a long way since those early days of manual focus and film, but the desire to convey surfing life has remained the same and is the sole reason for our existence. So sit back and browse these pages, there’s some moments of beauty and some pearls of wisdom in there for the budding amateur or the aspiring pro photographer.
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THE GOODS 082 TESTED Skate to create
side show
084 KNOWLEDGE=POWEr
The Pipe Masters
Lyndon getting shacked
016 the wire
Get fit. Now!
088 END GAME
074 BOARDS
Built for speed, made to ride
076 THE INTERVIEW
Mark Roberts is a Glass Tiger grrrr....
078 STUFF
Usual stuff, cameras, hoodies you know
main event 026 APPARATUS All the gear, no idea
028 HOW TO SHOOT
Advice from our photogs on getting the shot
036 VS
Selway and Martin go head to head
054 GALLERY
Some prime cuts of digital juice
062 BEHIND THE LENS
Four photogs and their tales from our shores
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Ben Selway and Andrew Griffin share a moment, Bagpipes, Scotland Photo: Nick Law
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the WIRE
news
BILLABONG PIPE MASTERS 10 IN MEMORY OF ANDY IRONS W O R D S B E N S E LWAY P H O T O S C O U R T E S Y O F Q U I K S I LV E R Frenchman Jeremy Flores, in action and with tricolour in full flight.
France; home to the Eiffel Tower, the Arc de Triomphe, people wearing berets and striped tops that are accessorized with garlic necklaces and slender smoking pipes, unlucky frogs, attractive women who look after themselves well into their 40’s, people on bikes with baguette-filled baskets on the front of them, Zinedine Zidane, Sebastian Chabal, Renault, Peugeot, Citroen, a bunch of art galleries and chefs as well as some sick-minded people who like to feast upon Orlotan. They also have a Pipe Master in their midst! Way! Youngster Jeremy Flores won the effing Pipe Masters. You probably already know this, though, because you read it on the internet. But, a Frenchman! Who in Judas Priest would’ve thought that one day our beloved neighbours (in conjunction with Reunion Island) would’ve produced someone that had the ability to take down the Yanks, the Aussies and Hawaiians at Pipe? Exactly….and now for the really interesting part, Jeremy’s victorious run went like this; He didn’t surf in the first round, he beat Ian Walsh in the 2nd round, CJ Hobgood in the 3rd but lost to Kelly Slater and Adrian Buchan in the 4th round. However, thanks to the new system which I’m still having trouble understanding, he popped up in the quarters! There, he took down Owen Wright before shattering the dreams of the eternally hungry Kelly Slater, who, let’s face it has had a lot of cake this year (and probably would’ve been happy to see young Jezza advance to the final, anyway). Meanwhile, as the 016
young Frenchman was busy blazing his trail, so was veteran Aussie Kieren Perrow! I won’t go into depth about his route to the final because it was kind of similar to Jeremy’s, only slightly different. Needless to say, it all ended in the ultimate match up. Go Europe! Go Europe! Anyway as we all rampantly celebrated that night, no doubt it was Flores who donned the broadest smile, because it was he who earned himself $75000 and a spanking new Gerry Lopez board! Anyway, all of this happened weeks ago and now, long after the entrails of party poppers and empty beer cans have been swept up, naturally my thoughts have begun to drift towards England’s chances of ever producing a Pipe Master. Maybe one day. Or, perhaps at some point in the near future, if I have a son, it will fall on his shoulders! I’ll need to be one of those ultra pushy dads, though, and I’ll have to plough my entire meagre wage into my son’s development. He will be educated at the highest level and will spend his early years doing home school whilst travelling the globe. Against all of his wishes, I will force him out into terrifying conditions shouting things like ‘if it doesn’t kill you, it will only make you stronger!’ My wife will be furious and shall frequently tell me off for putting our son’s life in danger. If we have a daughter as well, she may have to go without, too. She’ll be in rags! It will all be worth it in the end, though, especially when my boy is a Pipe Master and dripping with groupies.
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four corners
the WIRE
Clockwise from below: Bournemouth area, seek and you will find; Mason and his secret stash of saucy knickers Photos: Luke Gartside; Lynmouth lines Photo: Greg Martin
beach poll
So We ARE INTO 2011 NOW, WHAT WOULD YOUR SURF RELATED NEW YEAR’S RESOLUTION BE?
Dean Gooch, 34 lowestoft What’s your surf related new year’s resolution? Mine would be to find a break that actually works more than twice a month. Christian Cajar, 28 Portreath What’s your surf related new year’s resolution? I’d build a well usable 100% biodegradable surfboard.
Lincolnshire
The bitterly cold North and Easterly winds this Dec may have brought sub zero temperatures and plenty of snow to Lincolnshire but they’ve also lit up the North Sea with back to back swells. The local core crew have been out at every opportunity scoring some great sessions ranging from waist to head high offshore punchy groundswells. The pay off has been getting changed afterwards in the car park, with one day showing -10 degrees! SAS continue to lobby Anglian Water to change their policy of only partially treating sewage being discharged into our waters during winter months. The local MPs in East Lindsey and Cleethorpes are now involved so we hope the pressure will bring results. Matt- Extremehorizon.com
KENT
Surf’s been on and off over the Christmas period, with a few wintery swells popping up here and there. The usual gritty, motley crew made the effort to get their asses outta bed in those howling northerlies and were rewarded with some good waves and not a tourist in sight. To be honest and not surprisingly a bunch of the guys headed for warmer climates such as Oz and Sri Lanka. Anyhow, on the brighter side for the rest of us, is the thought of lighter mornings and the realisation that as far off as it is seems, summer really is on the way. Dave Melmoth
Isle of Wight
A solid start to the new year so far in terms of clean swell. Jumping on the lines for the first week of January was the third in the Isle of Wight Surf Club’s frostbite series - a comp that saw almost the whole Island surf scene fighting for the series title. The event was greeted by excellent conditions and some trendy new rash vests - a belated Christmas present 018
to the club from Rapanui. With Hanover on fine form at a clean 2ft, the competitors had the opportunity to put on a good show and the judges saw some performance surfing in all categories. Definitely feels like the club is really growing strongly now. Eventual winners were Mens: Matt Harwood and Juniors: Robin Forrest, meaning the race for the Frostbite series title is wide open. Check rapanuiclothing.com for the full write up and event photos. Martin Drake
Bournmouth
Whatever was going on before Christmas has pretty much been wiped from everyone’s memories by the festive period- but I’m pretty sure it was flat! A couple of solid groundswells have lit up the local reefs since Christmas, providing some quality waves worth getting frozen for on more than one occasion, with excitement in and out of the water, during the most recent session, as local surfer Mason Alderman discovered some classy, yet absent minded, girl’s underwear in the back of his car. Some of the older boys had a quiet Christmas and New Year as they geared up for the season ahead, whilst the groms got messy and in some cases naked to celebrate the start of 2011. Luke Gartside
Cornwall
It’s been cold, in fact beyond Baltic down here in the usually barmy South West, and for what seemed like an age it was also flat. The south coast received a two day cheeky pulse thanks to a fun little low pressure system parked off Portugal. It meant that ‘levie lit up in some freezing winter sunshine. It wasn’t until Christmas though that the North coast turned on and ever since there have been waves. It looks now like the whole Atlantic is turning on to winter patterns and we are at last going to get a prolonged period of heavy water. Wavelength
DEVON
I always thought that the UK line ups were lawless, especially in Devon, no hierarchy or localism just a massive free for all, every man for himself scenario. Oh, how i was wrong. Only the other week I received some serious localism and surf rage at 1-2ft Saunton, quite ironic seeing as it’s where I learnt to surf at the age of 7 and the guy dishing out the abuse could barely get to his feet. Thankfully, after a gruesome spell with barely any surfable waves the Christmas and new year period pumped, with sub zero air temps and hideous driving conditions Somehow though, Croyde still remained as packed as ever, which I’m sure everyone was really stoked about. andrewcottonsurfer.blogspot.com
Blackpool
What is worse than living in a town which gets no good surf? Living in a town that gets no good surf and not being able to travel far due to bloody snow! Although I’ve got to say us northerners do deal with snow a lot better than the south. Having been working down south it’s pretty pathetic how easily it all grinds to a hault. Anyway, surf over the festive period was grim, didn’t get drunk once and just made it to the east coast the one time for a windy, and I mean WINDY, session in Scarborough. So all in all grim. Chris Milton
Scotland
It’s all been out of the north up here, snow on the reef at Thurso, long spells of onshores but when the wind has switched there have been some very good conditions. One session at good Thurso East went down in thick fog, this led to more than a few caught inside situations going down. It now looks like there is a lot more swell on the way for all coasts so the decent winter continues. Scott Samuels
Simon Trigger, 32 DEVON What’s your surf related new year’s resolution? To snake and drop in on more people. Happy new year! Angus Kinsella, 14 Southwold What’s your surf related new year’s resolution? As you would expect it’s not the hottest surf spot around. So my new years resolution is to beg my dad even more so he will take me down to Devon for a few days and surf some gnarly waves! Also get a new winter wetsuit, I’ve grown out of my old one and been surfing in a short summer wetsuit! Not ideal in the North Sea. Russell Mullins, 30 Newquay What’s your surf related new year’s resolution? Drop in more! loads more. Just at North Fistie. Groms, kooks, mates, look out. Luke Regan, 17 North Devon What’s your surf related new year’s resolution? My new year’s resolution is to practice and practice, get to the standards that Billabong are looking for. If I meet their expectations and they sponsor me, well my dream will be fulfilled. Cheers guys for for letting me get this out it means a great deal. ED Mander, 23 SOMERSET What’s your surf related new year’s resolution? Convince my mates into doing a road-trip down through europe in my 1978 v-dub camper next summer!
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the wire
letters
FOR YOUR CHANCE TO WIN A BOARDBAG KINDLY DONATED BY BULLDOG, GET YOUR LETTERS IN TO US AT THE USUAL ADDRESS: LETTERS, WAVELENGTH, SUITE 3, KERNS HOUSE, UNIT 11 THREEMILESTONE IND. EST, TRURO. CORNWALL, TR4 9LD OR MAIL@WAVELENGTHMAG.CO.UK FOR MORE INFORMATION ON BULLDOG PRODUCTS GO TO WWW.BULLDOGSURF.CO.UK however so is the price at upwards of £150. So there you go, these are the choices, alternatively you could save up for a better wettie. WL.
Porthleven, a line up worth shooting Photo: Tim Nunn
SHORT & SWEET
Dear Wavelength, Just got my Wavelength Photo Annual, and it’s epic thanks guys. Cheryl, Dorchester. Cheryl Stoked you enjoyed it, we sometimes watch the X-Factor too. WL.
*197 comp winner... Bilbo Board winner – Simon Townsend, Helston
SNAP=HAPPY
Dear Wavelength, I love surfing and photography, I really enjoy getting shots of my mates but more importantly lineups when I’m on little surf trips or just down the beach for the day. I’m thinking of getting something more than my point and shoot camera and was hoping you could give me some advice, I have about £1000 to spend on a camera and hopefully a couple of lenses. Richie, St Agnes.
HELP
Dear all at Wavelength, I’m just writing to you because I thought there was no one better to ask! I’ve only recently started surfing and really want to get better, and eventually be entering comps and stuff. But the problem is that I don’t know how to get there!! I don’t know how to improve, what I should be trying to do, how to enter contests or even what half the surfing terms mean, like swell or on-shore and off shore winds! Please help me, I’d love to get a response from you. Thanks a bunch. Dominic Quigley, 14. P.S I still don’t have a board bag. Well Dominic, first off it is unusual we get a hand written letter these days and I must say your handwriting is excellent, I’ve always dreamt of being able to read my own handwriting and you are an inspiration. Re your questions, well the best thing to do is to join a boardriders club, they will get you in the water more and help you improve as well as introduce you to surf contests. Also watch surf movies, the best way to learn how to do stuff in the water is to watch the top guys at it, in the flesh is obviously the best, but a DVD is a close second.
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When it comes to terminology, well that could be a whole book of an answer, but a good start is to check this site out, riptionary.com. As for the boardbag, well you do now, it’s on its way in the post! WL.
HEAT!
Dear Wavelength, I need your help, I have a 4/3 wetsuit, it’s nice I like it. But for the first time ever I want to surf right through winter, I must admit I haven’t been good enough in the past. The trouble is my 4/3 doesn’t give
me enough warmth for anything more than an hour, what is more I really can not afford a new wetsuit but do have £100 going spare I could spend on other products, can you give me any advice? Cheers. Nathan, North Devon Hi Nathan, 4/3s rule, so much more flexible than thicker suits, but they just don’t always have the much needed thickness for mid winter, so what do you do? Well you have three choices really – 1. Buy a thermal rash vest, most companies do these and they are pretty good, they add an extra 1-2mm on the chest and back to keep you a little warmer. In my experience I’ve never felt that they actually live up to the extra warmth that a 5 or 6 mil wetty will give you. 2. Buy a heat belt, Northcore do a sick one, you wear the belt round your tummy and lower back, place chemical heat pouches in the pockets and feel nice and toasty. The good thing is they do work, they give you a solid hour of extended surfing. This should easily fall within your price bracket. 3. The third option is a Quiksilver heated rash vest. I tested one of these babies and liked it a lot, thin like a thermal rashie with electrical heat elements inside, it is very good,
Dear Rich, Well you’ve come to the right place for advice on this one, we are all photo geeks. I’ll make it nice and easy for you, you want a good DSLR, that means you have a straight choice between a mid range Canon and a couple of lenses or a mid range Nikon. Both are equally as capable, and will deliver images of publishable quality, so here is our advice – If you want to go down the Canon route your money serves up two choices, the mid range Canon 550D plus an 18 – 55mm and a 55-250mm lens, that would come in at under £1k and would leave you covered with decent lenses and a solid camera. You could step it up to a semi pro unit like the 60D, which is a more capable camera but would only leave you with enough cash for one of the above lenses. However the 60D has a faster frames per second rate which is essential for capturing action. If you go down the Nikon route then the kit of a D90 and a 70-300mm lens is perfect for surf photography, it will mean you’ll have to save up for a wider angle lens as well but for action and lineups this will be a sweet combo and will come in at just under £1K. Hope that helps, if you feel adventurous you could score a secondhand Canon 7D or Nikon D300 on ebay which would fit into your budget nicely. WL.
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faces
What’s your new year’s resolution? Editor Tim (be less weird) Nunn 01872 224006 tim@wavelengthmag.co.uk Art Editor/Design James (be more weird) Wilkinson 01872 224006 james@wavelengthmag.co.uk Photo Editor Ben (be more like Tim) Selway 01872 224006 ben@wavelengthmag.co.uk Managing Editor Greg (world peace!) Martin 01872 224006 greg@wavelengthmag.co.uk Advertising Barry (start a gang) Davies 01872 224030 mobile: 07779271328 barry@wavelengthmag.co.uk Subscriptions 0844 245 6926 (Quote reference PA23) wavelength@servicehelpline.co.uk
Published by Endless Summer Media Ltd. Suite 3, Kerns House Unit 11, Threemilestone Industrial Estate, Truro, TR4 9LD ISSN 0967-2079 Directors Kevin McCormick, Nick Troop Printed and bound by William Gibbons, West Midlands Distribution Marketforce UK Ltd, Blue Fin Building, 110 Southwark Street, London, SE1 0SU
comrades
Contributing Photographers Stu Gibson, Damea Dorsey, Brad Malyon, Aaron Pierce, Billy Morris, Repo, Andrew Shield, Ryan Miller, Pete Fleming, Jeremy Wilmotte, Allan Wilson, Pete Price, Jason Feast Contributing Writers Aaron Pierce Webwizard Dj Millward Contributions Story and photo contributions are welcome but colour transparencies for publication are sent at the owner’s risk and whilst every care is taken neither the publishers of Wavelength, Endless Summer Media Ltd, or its agents accept any liability for loss or damage. When submitting material please send an SAE and whilst every care is taken in compiling the content of this magazine, the publishers accept no responsibility in affects arising there from and the expressions expressed are those of the original authors.
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© Endless Summer Media Ltd. Suite 3, Kerns House Unit 11, Threemilestone Industrial Estate, Truro, TR4 9LD
Cover: Jay Davies, P-Pass, Micronesia Photo: Andrew Shield Tim says: How do you find a cover for a photo issue? Well I can tell you it’s not that easy, you want something special, something which photographically has a bit of an edge to it which isn’t as easy as you may think. A lot of shots sat on the cover this month, but when with two days to go this arrived from Andrew Shield it was always going to be the shot. Aussie Jay Davies, beyond casual in a P-Pass cavern, Shieldsy perfectly positioned and composing the shot which is as good as fish eye shots get. Nice one boys, a fitting beginning to the photo issue
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ALLTHEGEAR NO IDEA WORDS WAVELENGTH PHOTO BEN SELWAY
It’s not the camera that takes a great shot, it’s the photographer. Here’s some artillery the Wavelength Team have amassed over recent years finding that out. Tim’s Gear 1. Mamiya C330. 2. SPL Waterhousing. 3. Polaroid 635. 4. Nikon 10.5mm f2.8. 5. Nikon 50mm f1.8. 6. Nikon 85mm f1.8. 7. Nikon 300mm f4. 8. Nikon D300 and 10.5 mm fisheye lens - This set up made me sell all my canon gear, whilst Canon were pissing around putting video in their DSLRs, Nikon simply made their cameras better at taking photos and bothered to do a fish eye lens for the cropped sensor. This is a big thing for surf photogs, we need frame rate, 8 fps is a minimum to nail action, but most of us can’t afford full frame high speed cameras like the epic Nikon D3s, so the D300 has become a legendary work horse in the water (Canon has kind of caught up with the 7D, minus a prime lens). I shoot all Nikon now, quite simply they have better lenses, nicer camera bodies and thankfully are not obsessed with video (yet). Not that video doesn’t have a part to play in the future, but to really get that cinematic effect you need to be shooting with a full size 35mm sensor and not a cropped one. 9. Nikon F-801. 10. Olympus Trip - Sharp, contrasty images, point and shoot ease, and it only cost £5 at a boot sale, these little babies are epic for all sorts of candid photography. Great on the street, in a pub or for taking lineups, they simply work. I’d rather have a Leica set up for doing these things, but by using this I save several thousand pounds. 11. Bencini Koroll II. 12. Ilford Sporti. 13. Nikon FE. 14. Mamiya 135mm f3.5. Greg’s Gear 15. Bencini Koroll II – I bought this off a guy at a car boot sale for £3. I wasn’t going to, but then he said “Go on, it’s only the price of a pint of beer.” I had to hit it hard with a
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hammer several times before it would even close, but when I eventually got my first roll of film back, I was pleasantly surprised. It splits the square 120 medium format film into two panoramic images, not of great quality, but perfect for lifestyle stuff. Still, it’s a bit of a novelty if I’m honest... not like beer. 16. Canon 85mm f1.8. 17. Canon 50mm f1.8. 18. Canon AV-1. 19. Cosmic 35. 20. Olympus Pen E-P1 – I bought this as a camera to have on me at all times. I guess of all my wanky cameras, it has to be the wankiest. Styled on the old school Olympus rangefinders, it may look like a cheapy film camera from a jumble sale, but actually it takes high quality digital images and HD video, has interchangeable lenses, and cost more than most cars I have owned. 21. Olympus Zuiko 14-42mm. 22. Kodak Ektar 100. 23. Fuji Velvia 50 (expired). 24. Canon Speedlite 420EX. 25. SPL Waterhousing. 26. Coronet Twelve-20. 27. Yashica Minister III. 28. Mamiya C220 – This is my favourite camera. An old medium format which takes beautiful portraits and line-ups, especially with the 180mm lens I got for it. Compared with digital, it takes ages to take one photo, but for some reason people always seem more relaxed in front of it. Maybe they just get bored. 29. Kodak Portra 400NC. 30. Zeiss Ikonta B 521/16 medium format folder. 31. Canon 300mm f4 with 1.4x extender. 32. Canon 18-200mm. 33. Mamiya 75mm f2.8. 34. Olympus Trip. 35. Canon 50D with Tokina 10-17mm. Ben’s Gear 36. Canon 600mm F4 - This is my dinosaur. It weighs more than all of the cameras in the picture put together! I bought this off Alex Williams for £2000, back when I freelanced for Carve. This lens has shot many a good picture in its time, but none since it’s been under my
ownership. I got bored of the grey hood and decided it needed a spruce up, so myself, Egor and Nate spray painted it with a mixture of fabulous reds, blues and yellows. At the time I was an avid reader of Escort Magazine and remember being thrilled when I opened up a copy to find a bumper sticker pack, which explains why it has been furnished with magazine’s iconic logo. 37. Olympus Trip. 38. Canon EOS 1D MKIII - I wanted to write about my Nikon D300, water housing and fish eye set up, however, Tim said he was writing about his, therefore making it all rather pointless. Also, Tim has had lots of technical issues with his Nikon recently and we had to use mine to take this photo, which explains its notable absence from this picture. Instead, this camera with my 70-200mm is my favourite land set up. The reason behind this decision is versatility; it’s the ultimate rig for shooting line ups, pulled back action as well as fly-on-the-wall incidentals – all at a hair raising 9 frames per second! 39. Nikon 85mm f1.8. 40. Nikon 10.5mm f1.8. 41. Canon Speedlite 580 EXII. 42. SPL Waterhousing. 43. Canon 300mm f4. 44. Canon 17-40mm f4. 45. Canon AE-1 - I bought this camera to make everyone think I‘m hip. These days analog is back in a big way and if you don’t have a clunky old camera in your inventory then you should just forget it. That’s why I bought this £45 hunk of metal. In retrospect I feel buying this camera may have been a waste of money because I don’t feel as though my photography has improved – nor am I any hipper than, say, those trendy looking cats over at Look At This Fucking Hipster. 46. Canon 70-200mm f2.8. 46. Sigma 70-200mm f2.8. 48/49/50. The Flash Rig - I spent a lot of money on this rig, and it’s only ever been used once! During its maiden/ only shoot a number of problems arose and was indeed an utter failure. The only recorded evidence of this attempt wound up being published in the magazine, however, in hindsight the actual surfing documented in these images is poor and should never have been run. 51. Nikon Speedlight SB 900.
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HOW TO SHOOT So you want to be a surf photographer, but don’t quite know where to start? Your shots never seem to look as good as the pro guys, you end up with just a two star rating on magic seaweed, then give up? Well in an age where knowledge is power and life is all about sharing, the three staff photographers here have sat down and put together a few words of advice and offered up some secrets so you can go out and shoot some sick shots. The advice stands whether you’re turning pro or just want a good lineup for the wall, so read on and be enlightened. WORDS AND PHOTO BEN SELWAY
FISH EYE BARREL SHOT: If, like me you are terrified of big rollers, the water shot can sure as hell be one tricky photograph to take! However, you must suppress this fear by listening to hard rock music or anything with a pulsating rhythm. This could be trance, hard house or punk. There are plenty of other types; however, these are only suggestions. Once you are suitably excited and ready to tackle the white horses, pop yourself into a wetsuit (or boardies) and turn on your camera. You then will need to adjust your settings accordingly (only use manual settings) and switch the fish eye to manual focus. You should then set your focal to about 5 feet away and an aperture with a fairly large depth of field (anything from F5.6 up); that way when the surf board rider approaches, you’ll be sure to capture him in focus as he glides past! After you have completed all of the preparation, place your camera and fish eye in a custom built housing and POW! You’re now ready to shoot fish eye! Now, don’t be too hasty. With the thumping music still in full flow, tighten those wing nuts and survey the conditions. If the waves are moving all over the place it might not be worth your while as it’s much better to find a spot which isn’t shifting too much. Once you
have selected a peak it’s then time to don a pair a flippers and charge forth into the ocean! This is the tricky part; it’s essential that you are able to swim first of all and wave knowledge, or rather an ability to predict where waves will break, is key. After you have completed your turbulent journey you will then need to sit in a spot where upon the waves will break. However, be sure not to sit directly in the impact zone! No, instead you will need to be just a couple of feet clear of this because as the surfer pulls into the green room, it’s essential that you’re in a position whereby you can capture him/her with the curtain fully over them. So it’s simple, wait for your subject to take off, sit in the spot where the wave will barrel over you (and him) and hey presto! A fish eye barrel shot. There are other variations of the fish eye barrel shot, though. Once you have mastered the conventional-styled image as pictured, you may want to try taking the photo from behind or even underneath their rail. However, the most important thing above everything here is; survey the conditions before you go in and only go out if you’re comfortable. The last thing I need right now is to get sued by your parents.
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Left to right: Ian Battrick, Indo; Matt Capel backdoors No. 10 as Micah Lester Looks on.
Shoot Long Lens in the water:
WORDS AND PHOTOS TIM NUNN
Whilst the fish eye is without doubt the cool lens on the block when it comes to water shooting, it is also the easiest to use, in fact fish eye photography is actually a doddle and requires little in the way of skill photographically. Using a long lens in the water though is a little tougher. By long lens we mean anything over 20mm, usually 50mm to 200mm are the most common in a water housing. In fact long lensing can be broken down into three distinct areas; you’ll either be doing it with a 50mm or something close, an 85mm or something close to that length or using a zoom like a 70-200. Now the zoom is a great option if you’re shooting off the back of ski, it becomes more cumbersome if you’re swimming, and, as with any zoom you lose quality for convenience and versatility of reach. Primes are where it is really at in the water and for a Nikon D300/D700 the cameras I use in the water it boils down to two, the, 50mm f1.8 and the 85mm f1.8, both lenses are incredibly sharp, can be used in low light situations and are both reliable and pretty inexpensive. First things first, if you’re shooting long lens you need to be shooting with a dry port, unlike fish-eying where you shoot with a wet port. Secondly you need to decide prior to entering the water how you are going to focus; you can either set a distance manually or continually focus using the shutter release button in the 030
water. Back in the bad old days of film, setting the focusing distance manually was the way to go, but with advancement in the accuracy of auto-focusing and the ability to set specific zones to focus on, continuously focusing is now a better option. Especially as with a 16 GB card you can shoot in excess of 500 shots without leaving the water. The real beauty of long lensing is you get a chance to compose shots that surfers can automatically relate to, essentially you are giving them the perspective that we all know, that of the surfer paddling out. Fisheyes are incredible, but they are not what we see in every day surfing life. The long lens also gives you a chance to shoot a number of unique angles in one session, really mixing things up and making best use of the light and surroundings. The long lens is versatile and that’s why it is a great place to start when you want to water shoot. So what setup should you start with? Well I would forget a zoom, prime lenses are the way to go, a 50mm is great, whether for Canon or Nikon they are sub £100 for an excellent lens which will produce sharp images in even the shonkiest of light. They are also light, easy to swim with and responsive to focus, they will also give you more or less the same field of view as you get yourself using your eyes, so I’d recommend it is a great place to start.
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Clockwise from above: Porthleven; Lynmouth Photos: Greg Martin; Porthleven Photo: Tim Nunn
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shoot a line-up WORDS GREG MARTIN
The line-up shot is one of the most accessible shots for a budding surf photographer. There is no need for an expensive telephoto lens or waterhousing, you don’t even have to rely on there being good surfers, you just have to be in the right place at the right time, and have a bit of imagination. If you get them right, I think line-ups can be the most timeless photos within surfing. When I was a grom, I used to love studying all the shots of breaks around the UK in the Stormrider Guide, but over the years as I started visiting these places and taking shots of my own, I was surprised at how many of them had been taken from the car park. It’s the most tempting thing to do, you park up, see that it’s pumping and shoot a few pics. That’s fine if you just want some snaps to show your mates, but a good line-up shot shouldn’t just show how good the waves were, it should tell a story. Imagine that same photo taken from the car park but shot from a bit further back so as well as the waves, you get your mates in the car checking out the surf, immediately you’ve got a way more interesting photo with a shit load of anticipation in it. Taking a few steps away from the waves can often be the key to getting a great line-up shot. Different waves can often look very similar, but what makes them individual and interesting photographically is what is in the foreground, i.e. the environment the wave is in, be it at a fishing village, city or in the middle of nowhere. For example, an easy way to make any wave look like a secret discovery is to frame it looking through some trees (it’s also a good way to cover a bleached out sky.) By shooting with a longer lens like an 85mm or 100mm (the 70-200mm is great lens for line-ups if you have the money) you can get your shot from further away whilst compressing some foreground (houses, trees, car park etc) with the wave, which can help to make it look bigger. A bit of levitation can also add a bit of height to the waves, but if you can’t get the horizon in then you’ve probably gone too high. If the waves are legitimately big, it’s
important to try and get a surfer in the shot to show the proportion. If no-one’s got the plums to get amongst it, the next best option is to get one of your mates to go and stand down at the shore. If you’re exposing the shot manually, which will get you a better shot, keep your aperture as small as you can (i.e. f8 or above) whilst keeping a high shutter speed of say 1/500 or more to keep everything sharp. Those are the basic rules that I’ve stuck to when photographing breaks over the years, but obviously there are no rules when it comes to taking photos, which brings me to this shot of Leven. As well as some of the great surf photographers, I am also very inspired by war photography. One of the recurring tips from the masters of that genre for getting a more intimate, powerful image is to avoid using too long a lens, even if it means putting yourself in a risky situation. This morning at Leven was pumping, but the swell was dropping and it was still relatively dark. I don’t like the results of shooting surf in bad light with a digital camera, so I grabbed my old film camera which had a high speed black and white film in, and with only a 50mm lens (equivalent to about a 35mm on my digital) I followed a couple of bodyboarders down to the rock you jump off to get out at Lev. It’s pretty hectic there when it’s a good size, especially at high tide, you have to get your timing right so you don’t jump off and get washed back into the rocks. As they made their way to the end, a solid set came through, causing them to pause just for a couple of seconds to watch their mate get pitted, before scrambling to the end and jumping into the back of the wave as it hit the rocks, drenching me and my camera. Luckily, old film cameras don’t seem to mind that sort of thing. I like this shot because it’s as much about the people as it is about the perfect wave. As for advice on taking line-up shots, I guess what I’m trying to say is study all the basic rules, then just do what the fuck you like.
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SHOOT LAND SHOTS WORDS AND PHOTOS BEN SELWAY
The land shot is a photographer’s bread and butter and the best part – it’s accessible to every one! Fat, thin – you name it! The beauty of surf photography from the land is it’s safe; you do not have to get wet or have to tackle the ocean, you simply sit on the beach and take pictures from the shore safe in the knowledge that you will not drown. To capture a great quality photograph you will need purchase a reasonably long lens and a camera with a fairly high frame rate (around 4+ frames per second). There isn’t technically a limit on focal length, however you will need something that will enable you to get reasonably close to your subject (150mm +). Land shots vary and the common misconception is to achieve the best possible image, you have to be as close to the surfer as possible. This isn’t true. In this day it’s about being creative and looking for angles that incorporate the surfer; things like framing, back drop and foreground clutter. The are no rules with this kind of photography, it’s as simple as looking at the spot, but thinking outside of the box. This shot of Micah is a prime example. On this day I expertly moved into a position that favoured the dipping sun and perched myself on the rocks to capture the background while Micah did his little thing. He was awfully pleased about it, too. He said ‘it’s great to see this kind of photography at my local break, normally people set up on the beach and point their lens straight out to sea. You, however, didn’t and I think you’re incredible for doing that. It just makes you even more attractive than you already are.’
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Left to right: Lyndon Wake, Portugal; Micah Lester, Constantine, Cornwall
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Clockwise from right: Lynmouth Photo: Greg Martin; Robin Kent, Porthleven Photo: Greg Martin; Porthleven Photo: Ben Selway
I love photo issues, when it comes down to it photos are all that matters in surf mags, badly written prose is just that most of the time and barely worth reading. So with that in mind we set our two photographers a little task, a simple one at that, as they are not complex beings after all. They had to go out into the world and create a piece which best reflected their photographic personalities, of course me being the ruthless Editor that I am I gave them no budget, the only currency they had was their own creative genius. Fortunately that currency was worth something during this two MONTH spell and they went out and bankrupted themselves in the name of Wavelength, the following few pages are the fruits of this, enjoy.
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WILL BOEX_PORTHLEVEN_NOV_10 I didn’t mean to take this picture – it was a total accident! When I first saw this image, the first thing I thought was it would make a great Christmas present for Will. I immediately contacted his wife Jodie who showed genuine interest in the photo. I informed her about the best size it would print and advised her on a quality framing shop. Whether or not she chose to actually go through with this I’m not 100% certain because at time of writing it is early December and decisions about Will’s Christmas present may change! If she opts to go for something else then unfortunately, Will is going to find out what he missed out on when he sees this magazine. There is no financial reason why she’d do this – digital printing is inexpensive and I did not charge her for use of the image, so one can only presume it might be down to her not wanting the photograph to spoil the aesthetics of their lovely Porthleven home. Initially he will be disappointed by this but then he will quickly realise that seeing himself within the pages of Britain’s best love of surfing magazine is one of the greatest things ever to happen to him, especially because it reminded of him of that special day at Porthleven. Memories last forever. MICAH LESTER_PORTHLEVEN_NOV_10 Micah Lester is a handsome devil. Women even barrage him with their used pants and ‘MICAH I LUV U!’ placards. I often wonder what it would be like to receive this kind of attention – or to be as handsome as he is! Maybe my personality would be different and I wouldn’t have to be so nice to people to gain their respect. Handsome and popular people can get away with murder and no matter how horrible you are to your fellow person; they’ll love you for you looks and nothing else! But then Micah is an incredibly kind and lovely man, so maybe I would just carry on being me? Who knows.
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LEVEN WITH TIM_NOV_10 I never pass up the opportunity to spend quality time with Tim Nunn. He texted me this particular morning with promises of 4ft waves at Porthleven and brunch at Sainbury’s. I was totally unprepared; I didn’t bring any of my water gear and I forgot to charge all of my camera batteries! Luckily, there was enough power in my Canon to snap this beautiful image before Timmy expertly took over and covered the rest of the day’s action with his camera. It was an educating experience to stand alongside a master at work - and even though I didn’t capture as many pictures as I would have liked, the knowledge I came away with would’ve cost a novice photographer thousands of pounds. Brunch was delicious, too. Out of the medium-priced supermarkets Sainsbury’s are certainly winning the war in my book - and their café’s are incredible!
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RICHARD MARSH_CORNWALL_NOV_10 Aussie surfing legend Richard ‘Dog’ Marsh brought in some of his skateboards for us all to play with. And boy, did we play! At first I found it difficult and was especially embarrassed to try it in front of Dog but quickly myself and the rest of the Wavelength team improved with every ride. Now we are all experts and will confidently walk to the top of the hill that ascends from our front door and shred the asphalt like professional down-hill skateboarders! In spite of one mishap, so far no one has been seriously injured yet but luckily the Wavelength office is next to the ambulance station for Truro so please do not worry about our safety. This photo was taken on the day that Richard Dog Marsh stopped by our office and gave us these incredible toys, as you can see he was very happy to. PORTRAITS_DEC_10 All of these images were taken on the same day. Top to bottom - What an utter waste of time this day was. Andrew Griffin thought it would be a good idea to shoot Holywell with him and Johnny Fryer. The surf was appalling and I concluded that it’s been over year since I’ve managed to get a good picture there. I left Andrew and promised him I’d never return. Jayce Robinson on one of the two days. Porthleven broke between issues. Jason Feast asked me to take this picture to advertise the fact he gets his suits from O’Neill. THAT’S O’NEILL, ok? The peanut gallery at Wrestles are a fearsome bunch; fall off and they’ll make your life hell!
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RICHIE SILLS_PORTHLEVEN_NOV_10 This day was just awesome! I woke up at a leisurely 7.30a.m, ate porridge with my wife, ogled at Aysha Iqbal on BBC and drove to Porthleven. On arrival I surveyed the conditions before deciding it was safe for me to enter the water. I quickly suited up and charged down the cliff whilst Mike Newman took photos of me struggling to make it out past the shallows. Once I was amongst the waves I then marvelled at a pod of dolphins for 20 minutes and occasionally shot photos of the surfers. After the session, I reviewed the fine imagery (including this photo of Richie Sills!) on the back of my camera before heading in the direction of Sainsbury’s. Have I mentioned how fine this super market chain is? Just awesome! THE FOG_CRANTOCK_NOV_10 I wasn’t sure or not if the surf was good this day because I couldn’t actually see the waves! It didn’t matter though because it enabled me to snap this timeless image of two surfers entering the water – neither knew what awaited them in the fog. It could’ve been 10-12 feet and deathly out there, but they didn’t care! They just charged into the ocean never to be seen again, by me anyway. I simply went home and relaxed with my new wood burning stove on. I don’t think anything bad happened to them, we would’ve surely heard about it on local news.
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GREG MARTIN
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The Hypnotist_PORTHLEVEN_NOV_10 I’m never going to Porthleven again. I’ve said it before, but this time I mean it. The south coast of Cornwall is littered with sick little waves that never see the light of day in this mag, because for some reason whenever a swell pushes up from the south and the wind blows cold from the north, the part of my brain that stores the information on these spots ceases to work and I become hypnotised by Porthleven. The little fishing harbour famous for its hollow waves is the Derren Brown of the south coast, and on this particular day, like so many before, I looked into its eyes, felt sleepy, and shot people indiscriminately at its beck and call. It’s looking good again for tomorrow.
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The Teacher’s Pet_PORTUGAL_DEC_10 Teenagers eh? Lazy, sluggish, apathetic whingers who would rather check other people’s status updates than the waves. Not young Alex Baker though. This lad is a serious keener and knows exactly how the game works on photo trips. I’ve got a feeling that this might have something to do with Selway, a much harder task-master than me, schooling Baker in the ways of getting shots on some of his first trips as a sponsored surfer. As a result, he gets up early, discusses photo angles, surfs the weaker peak if the backdrop is better for shooting, and even tries to pull in to a whomping closeout going switch foot, because he knows pig dog shots don’t look so good. Not only that, but he thinks nothing of giving up the shotgun seat to the photog and buying the coffee round. However shallow, however ass-kissing, this kind of shit goes a long way with a grumpy old photographer like me... hence the extra exposure. Aspiring groms take note.
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The Legend_NEWQUAY_JAN_11 Long before Hobgood was thanking Jesus for his win at Sunset, the CJ associated with contest surfing was one Chris Jones from Newquay. In 1971 he comfortably won the English, British and European titles, trailblazing the way for competitive shortboarding and influencing some of our country’s most successful surfers in Nigel Semmens, Spencer Hargraves and Russell Winter. But even before he was collecting trophies, CJ was learning how to shape boards, working at the legendary Bilbo factory throughout the ‘60s. 26 years ago he struck out on his own and started making boards under his own name, moving into a small workshop in Newquay. He still shapes in the same place to this day, passing down knowledge to the next generation of board makers amongst a chaos of surfboard history. His workshop should be the benchmark for all shapers... one day he might tidy up, in the meantime he’s busy.
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THE Rain_LYNMOUTH_NOV_10 It’s always raining when I go to Lynmouth. I guess I only ever think of going there when a big storm has pushed through Cornwall and Devon, sending swell up the Bristol Channel that eventually bends into one of the longest lefts in the country. Soaked through to the skin, camera shoved up my jacket, peering through the showers at long, raggedy walls with some size but little grace, this morning was no different to most previous visits. This place is synomonous with rain and 052
tragically linked to flooding throughout it’s history. The worst on record happened in 1952 when a fierce storm hit the South West of England and 9 inches of rain fell onto an already flooded Exmoor. A dam of fallen trees and rocks let the water build up in the River Lyn above the village, before it eventually gave way, sending a deadly wave of debris that destroyed most of Lynmouth and killed 34 people. In more recent years, previously classified government documents have revealed that in the days leading up to the disaster,
the RAF were carrying out a series of artificial rainmaking tests in the South of England, dubbed Project Cumulus, where pilots would drop dry ice into clouds which encouraged precipitation. The conspiracy theory is that the actions of the RAF triggered the storm and flooding of Lynmouth, although this has never been proven. Through the drizzle the wind looked like it was easing and the swell was cleaning up. Always backing away slightly, these lefts are hardly high performance waves,
but perfect for racing down the line. This was made clear from the guy who seemed to getting the longest rides and having the most fun... on what looked like a door. “It’s not what I ride normally,” Neil Randall from Croyde admitted holding up his oblong piece of foam, “but here, on days like today, it’s perfect.” As I walked back towards the village with him, the sun finally broke through, the wind swung offshore and for a few minutes through the bare, winter trees, Lynmouth looked pretty perfect itself.
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Stu Campbell on the inside right
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Fergal Smith, Teahupoo Photo: Brad Masters
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Jayce Robinson, Porthleven, Cornwall Photo: Tim Nunn
Anglet, France Photo: Damea Dorsey
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Mick Cambell, Cook Isands Photo: Jeremy Wilmotte
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Cory Lopez, Nicaragua Photo: Seth Stafford
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Secret spot, Ireland Photo: Tim Nunn
Taj Burrow, Bali Photo: Josh Respondek
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Dusty Payne, P-Pass, Micronesia Photo: Andrew Shield
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Clockwise from below: Feasty, the man, the legend; Josh Piper is one person who Jason Feast LOVES to shoot with – for this very reason!; Feasty’s favourite shot apparently. I prefer the one above, to be honest; Sri Lanka; home to curries and fat point breaks!
WORDS BEN SELWAY PHOTOS JASON FEAST
With exception to Wavelength Photo Editor, Ben Selway, Jason Feast is the most handsome of all UK surf photographers. He hails from some island in the Pacific ocean but now lives in Newquay. I find this to be quite strange. I caught up with him to ask about his motives – and some other questions about being a surf photographer.
Do you think I am the UK’s finest photographer? Me, or you? Me. No, I am. That answers my next question which was ‘who is the best UK surf photographer?’ Me! Tell me about the island that you’re from? It’s called Vanuatu. It’s in the South Pacific and I grew up there. Why did you move here? I was forced to! At gun point? No, by my mum. I used to live in Indonesia before that, I could speak fluent Indonesian at one point. But we moved because my parents split up and we came back to England. So you’re English? No, my mother is English but my dad is a Kiwi. When did you start? When I came to England I went to college and did fashion photography. Actually my 062
claim to fame was having an interview with David Bailey. He obviously didn’t like you. No, I came in at number 50, on his B-list... but I don’t know how long his A-list was, he didn’t even call me! I got the interview through the Kodak agency in London They clearly didn’t do anything for you then! Well I had enough of fashion photography at that point… it was too pretentious! When did you start photography then? I was about 16… I’ve always had a camera but it was aged 16 I went to art school and took photography. So surf photography came just after? No that was way later. Like I said I always had a camera but I never thought about surf photography… I just surfed and took photos of other things then combined the two about 7 years ago. Why did you start? It was digital that did it, film was too expensive and with surf photography you have to rattle off thousands of shots to get a couple of decent ones… and of course for the love of it. I know a lot of these questions are dull, but who do you most like to shoot with? I love Stokesy! He’s a real professional. But there’s a bunch of guys who I can tell what I’m after – like a particular set up and specific image in mind and they’ll go out and try and nail it for me. To answer the question it’s anyone who has a full bag of tricks and is able to do this really. Why have you never had a Wavelength cover?
Um… dunno. My shots are better than all of yours… it’s up to the photo editor! Where do you think surf photography is headed? Video. HD video eventually and you’ll be able just to grab a frame from that. It’d make my life easier. It scares me… any muppet will be able to do it then… sort of like now but worse. I saw a wild life video that had a camera on it that can shoot 2000 frames per-second. Can you imagine how big your memory cards have to be?! It’s stupid. I don’t like it. What is your favourite piece of equipment? Probably my Canon 1D MKIII, purely on the basis that it does 10 frames per second. With action photography it’s the only camera that can actually do it…you don’t miss a trick. What do you think makes a good photographer? I don’t know really. There’s a difference between being a photographer and surf photography. To do the latter you have love the job because there’s little reward. You have to go out in all weather, the pay is crap and you have to get beaten in the surf to get the shots… I guess sometimes you have to shoot when it’s firing! Do you worry about younger and fitter photographers taking you down? No, not really. I’m in with some big companies and they look after me. Difficult question; which out of all my photos was the best? Dunno, I haven’t seen any! Kidding, I loved that Reubs shot you took in Mexcio – the barrel shot. Did you get all depressed when you saw it? Yeah, especially because I was in England at the time. I would love to be like you, Ben. What was your best image? One of my classics was Mick Fanning in France. It was a fish eye shot of him on the way to winning the title and just a really cool moment. What was the highlight of your photographic career? Ah…talking to you Ben. I thought it might be! I think it’s a good time to end this interview Well, ok… I guess you’re gonna edit this anyway.
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Clockwise from far left: Flailing lip; Fergal in the clouds; morning dew; self portrait
Ever wondered who was behind all the stunning video footage of Fergal Smith, Tom Lowe and Mickey Smith? The man behind the lens of the Dark Side of the Lens is an unassumingly gifted Aussie who has been welcomed into a close knit crew on the West Coast of Ireland. He now calls it home… they call him Willy.
OK, so first up... do I call you Willy or Allan? Umm… whatever you want! I have about a million names at the moment, most of the time it’s Willy though. Where are you now? I’m in Fergs’ living room, having tea with Ferg, Tess, Mick, Riv and Koot. Sounds very civilised! So Willy, from a UK and Irish surfing perspective, I suppose you first came onto our radar when you made the 2008 film ‘Revolution’ with Mickey, Fergs and Lowey. How did that come about, and what brought you to that point? Yeah that was amazing that trip, so much fun. Well Mick and my love affair started in Oz a few years earlier. His gay helium voice and woman’s cackle lured me in! I then pursued him back to Eire the following year, met Ferg and Tom, and fell head over heels for them instead! It’s been one never ending man orgy ever since! People think the gaypak is a rumour, let’s just say there’s no smoke without fire! Ha ha! I knew it! So then recently you worked together on ‘Dark Side of the Lens’ which just won at the Surfer Poll
Awards... congratulations! What does it mean to you winning that award and getting that kind of international recognition? Thank you! It’s pretty funny in my eyes, how a couple of bodyboarders got a massive pat on the back by the entire surf industry! Ha ha! About time! What was your first camera? I originally shot stills on anything I could get my hands on. Little plastic 35mm cameras and disposables mainly, soon my dad started to let me use his vintage Olympus OM-1 SLR. Video wise was a Cannon Hi 8 with a housing that my mates and I all chipped in for when we were in school. Do you ever use film any more or are you strictly digital? Definitely not strictly digital! I love film, for both stills and movies, it all just boils down to cost at the end of the day. What got you into filming wave riding? I’ve always had a fixation with water. My parents started me swimming at a very early age to help with my asthma. Soon after my dad threw me in the sea, pushing me into lumps of wash on his old single fin. It’s from this love of the water and the fact I was obsessed with every aspect of film I made the natural progression behind the lens. Having grown up on the Central Coast around slabbing patches of reef fuelled my fascination with beautiful heavy walls of water, and pushed me to where I am today. What was your first film? Depends, the first film I ever made was called “Thunderbirds” but it was really terrible! I made it with three good mates from home, we would take turns filming
each other before and after school then at the end of the year cut it together. It was a seriously time consuming process cause we didn’t have the coin to afford editing systems, we would have to dub from VCR to VCR waves in the order we wanted, then run a sound system through the video player to record the audio on. It was just for us and was so much fun to make, it completely snowballed my desire to be behind the lens. The first film I released to the public though was a bodyboarding film called “Hello” I guess a lot has changed in technology since then. What do you think about the fact that even entry level SLR’s have the ability to shoot HD video these days... what with Go Pros, anyone can shoot their own surf vids... is that a good thing? Today is way easier! Anyone can have a crack at making a film, I think it’s great because it gives kids who are genuinely creative a chance to express themselves. Go Pros enable folk to experiment creatively on a low budget. On the other hand there are a whole generation of people out there shooting predominately on Go Pros and slapping anything together. It’s a tough one. Who is your biggest influence and inspiration? My family and my friends have been my biggest influence and inspiration, I’m lucky to be surrounded by some damn talented people who have always stood by, pushed and encouraged me to do what I love. I would not be who or where I am without them . What aspect of surfing do you find difficult or even impossible to capture through photography? The fear.
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Sequence: Pete Price royally cocked up here. He sent this sequence of Dusty Payne to our bitter rivals - and they didn’t run it! Like, duh! Anyway, out of spite we told Pete this would’ve made a cover and he should’ve sent it to us immediately.
WORDS TIM NUNN PHOTOS PETE PRICE
Welsh photographers are an interesting bunch, they have a rich tradition of exploration and being just a little bit left field. Paul Gill is the best example of this, the veteran snapper is practically a living legend in British surfing, but not far behind the mustachioed photographer is Pete Price, a more interesting chap you are unlikely to meet. As well as surfing he has a passion for motorsport, which has led to him taking some epic shots on the rally scene, something which looks a lot more interesting than surfing to me. His overall photography business, A-Frame (aframephotography.co.uk), covers everything from stunning seascape collections of his native homeland, through surfing and motorsport to the bread and butter of wedding photography. He is versatile, creative and very amusing to boot, so we caught up with him after he has made a surging come back into the surfing limelight with some shots from France which bucked the trend of the same old land or fish eye angles.
So Pete you are a full time photographer, break down which bits of photography bring in most of your dough? Yes, I have been shooting since 2001 and started A Frame Photography in 2004. The business began well with on the spot nightclub photography, however the age of Facebook and camera phones etc gradually slowed down that type of work. In the meantime I was shooting sports and pursued my lifelong interest in arty water shots developing a collection of local seascapes taken from the water whenever we get that rare perfect light and waves in Wales. As a result of my different approach to the local landscape I got the contract as the official photographer for the Wales Tourism Brochures. This in addition to weddings and events make for a decent living however it isn’t easy in this economic
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climate. If you had a choice which would be the main source? I love what I do and with a stronger economy I believe it could be a very good living. Besides that being employed to shoot the World Surfing Championship Tour (WCT) or World Rally Championships (WRC) or become a magazine staff photographer would be nice. What about the rallying, looks sick, tell us more about that aspect? Shooting rally cars is probably the most exciting and challenging type of photography I have experienced. There’s so much going on with the sound, movement and debris that its very hard to capture the dynamics and speed in a photograph from a safe angle. I have built up an excellent portfolio of WRC photographs from Japan, Spain, Sweden, Finland, Ireland and at home here in Wales over the years. However the recession caused the retirement of Subaru and Suzuki from WRC last year and extensive cuts throughout the industry leaving the big photographic agencies over staffed. Maybe one day. France this year, you went down and came back with the most interesting angles of the season, you had a good trip? Thanks Tim, I had a fantastic trip thank you. I just headed down there on my own in an old van I picked up for a grand. The waves were lovely through late September and early October and with the contest on, there was no shortage of photo opportunities. Although I wasn’t working for anyone down there I was up before sunrise every morning, surfing and going after creative water shots and different free surfing angles. The sequence of Dusty came about when I was having a nice, quiet evening surf at Les Bourdains. It was only small, but the pros all started turning up and the evening light was perfect. Before long half the tour had invaded my peak, there were no photographers around and it turned into a mind blowing air show with fans of pink and golden spray on every wave. The
water angle was amazing so I grabbed my camera and I’m glad I did. So what setups are using in the water? I have two water setups. An Aquatech for the 5D MK2 with 15mm prime fisheye and flat ports up to 200mm also I recently went for the SPL for Canon EOS 7D with Tokina 10-17mm zoom fisheye and flash housing. The Aquatech build quality is second to none and very user friendly however it is quite heavy, whereas the less refined SPL housing is very light and compact. The 7D / SPL setup is better for fisheye with its 8 FPS and lightweight rig, however I love the breathtaking quality of the 5D Mk2 and the width and quality of the 15mm fisheye for stationary watershots and perfect conditions. I have recently got more into long lens watershots using a Canon 85mm prime lens which is the lens I used on the Dusty sequence featured. Coming from Wales there are limited opportunities to shoot water so experimenting with different settings and lenses is also limited. Learning to choose the right lens for the right situation combined with fitness and good wave sense is crucial for successful water shooting as well as your safety and that of the surfers around you. For me water shooting is about the waves, colours and the solitude of a perfect, hollow, empty peak at sunrise. Any advice for aspiring youngsters? As with any area of photography setting yourself apart from the crowd is the key. Have an unconventional approach, forget where the others are shooting and find that special angle.
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WORDS TIM NUNN PHOTOS AARON PIERCE
Clockwise from above: Fergal Smith charging one of Ireland’s famous waves; One of the greatest days ever at Mullaghmore – Aaron was there to capture the action. Dave Lavelle; Until this image rocked up in our inboxes, we’ve only ever seen Irish waves in Aaron’s submissions. Almost straight off the plane he snapped this gem of Adriano De Souza at Backdoor.
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Aaron has come out of nowhere, a nowhere called New Zealand. He showed up, fitted into the Irish big wave community like a hand fits a glove and has consistently produced some of the most dramatic images to come out of the Emerald Isle. He’s been on more groundbreaking sessions out there than almost any other photographer with it all culminating in his epic Wavelength cover last issue. But the New Zealander has become a victim of the Irish and British economies and has decided to move back to New Zealand, via a nice little stop on the North Shore, so we thought we’d have a little chat to see where it all started and what happens next. So what got you to come over to Ireland in the first place? I went to London in 2000 to meet up with some mates that had been nagging at me to come over for years. I was going to work there for a while. Coming from a small enough town I freaked out at the size of London, nine days into my stay I found an advert for work in Dublin and thought screw it, it’s got to be better than here. So I jumped on the next flight over. I wasn’t really into Dublin that much but I made a trip with a mate to Strandhill later in August and that’s when I found home. I don’t know whether it was the ocean, the beauty and calmness of Strandhill that made me feel like home or the fact the very first night we were in the local bar there they locked us in until 6am! Home sweet home. And what about photography, when and how did you get into it? Me and a couple of mates went for a bit of a tiki tour to the east coast back home in NZ. Back then it was all about searching for new waves, walking for hours and camping out for a week in the middle of nowhere. We’d been there for a week and I had just snapped my second longboard in the biggest surf I have ever ridden to date, the surf was going off. My mate laughed at me and threw me a beer and his camera. It was film back then of course. I took a couple of snaps and didn’t have a clue what I was doing. A week later my mate showed me one of the photos I took and it just blew me away, he was dropping in on a triple over head left and in the background was the mountains. Seeing his smile looking at the photo was the best thing ever so I went out and bought myself a second hand Olympus OM10 and 1000mm mirror lens, didn’t know what I was doing but loved doing it. Tell us about how you first got into the big wave scene in Ireland? Whenever I drove past a certain piece of coastline and a wave was breaking off the coast I used to park up and sit there, watching it, and wondering if it was surfable. Not actually knowing how big it was until I saw Mickey Smith’s photo of Dan Mole in the paper of Aileen’s in 2006. It dawned on me then there were big waves in Ireland and maybe this place I watched was a lot bigger than I thought. Putting that in the back of my mind I made it my mission to find Aileen’s and photograph it. I used to drive down to Aileen’s and sit and watch it for hours
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hoping someone would come out. In February 2007 was the day no one could get out, I watched it for over 6 hours and believe to this day what I witnessed was the biggest cleanest surf I have ever seen touching 80ft on the face. Aileen’s was breaking in super slow motion and making some damn big booms as the lip exploded on the reef. The very first big wave photo I ever took of someone towing was of Andrew Cotton at Aileen’s some months later and I remember my heart was beating so hard and fast when Cotty first pulled into it, I was so excited to finally see big waves surfed. After that all I could think about was how big was this other wave I had been watching the
last few years. What would you say was the most memorable session over there? The most memorable for me personally was finally after all these years watching it and a couple of runs out there, we got Prowlers at size. I’ve always been drawn to it, wondering what it would look like big from the water. My emotions were running fairly high from the farewell party a few nights before and still couldn’t believe I was leaving what I had made my home in eight days time after been there 10 years. Everything fell into place for a short few hours, Prowlers was breaking perfect and we had a good crew on it. Paul, Richie, Al, Cotty, Barry and Jeremy, sadly though
Mikee and Neil couldn’t make it as they were part of the original crew who first went out last year. But the boys all got some waves for them. Watching it from the road all these years lets your imagination run implanting images of what it would look like from the water. It was way heavier than I ever imagined, draining below sea level, sucking the water off the reef causing a step in it. It was without a doubt the most beautiful thing I have seen. So proud to be part of it all and the crew who surfed it. You’ve got a tight knit community to work with in the big wave scene, that must make it really interesting from a character point of view?
There’s a few interesting characters in there alright. Mikee and Paul are tow partners, two totally different people on land but when they’re out in the water they’re like one personality with the same goal in mind, pushing each other to the limits and beyond. Al’s a media machine but rightly so, he’s the only one who has paddle surfed big waves regularly, not only in Ireland but around the world. Cotty’s really quiet and keeps to himself, popping over every now and again super stoked to be back on the green isle. What’s you favourite wave to shoot over there? Aileen’s is my favourite wave to shot. With the cliffs so high and surrounding the
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From top to bottom: Riley’s ugliness still somehow managing to look attractive; Aileens. This is Tom Doige Harrison snapped at a funky angle
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wave by nearly 180 degrees it gives you a natural amphitheatre carved out by the ocean itself, allowing you to shoot Aileen’s from every possible good angle. But nothing compares to shooting it from the water with 30ft plus walls of water bounding towards you from one side then 600ft cliffs towering over on the other. It’s a stunning place, peaceful yet dangerous. The wave itself is a perfect barrel, staying open all the way. It’s so awesome watching the likes of John, Tom, Ferg and Dave ride it, they know the place better than anyone else and it shows in the surfing, getting so deep they disappear with the spray inside the barrel. Do you think you’ll come back? Yeah I’ll be back for sure but until the economy and the government sorts their act out it won’t be in the near future, it’s a shame really as if I had work in Ireland I would set up there for the rest of my years as it’s where my heart is, my friends, best pubs in the world and best waves in the world for what I’m looking for. Unfortunately in crane driving there’s not a lot going and with everyone having no money to spend it’s not a great time to start something new business wise. But I’d definitely say I’ll pop over for a month around November every couple of years. Are you keen to open a new chapter to your photography career in the South
Pacific? The coast of NZ has some great potential for big waves and I’m sure if you looked in the right place there’d be some world class tow spots. I’m also very keen to explore the South Pacific. With a lot of the focus on Tahiti, Fiji and Somoa there hasn’t been a lot of exploring done around the other 1,000’s of islands and reefs so I’ll be definitely trying my hardest to do at least 6 months on a boat searching. If anyone wants to fund this they’re more than welcome ha ha ha! The South Pacific is so huge and open to the constant bombardment of south swells, there has to be other Teaupoo’s and Cloudbreaks out there!
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directory SURF SHOPS / SURF WEBSITES / PRODUCTS
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contact: Barry on 01872 224030 email: barry@wavelengthmag.co.uk
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surf shops / SURF WEBSITES / products
travel & accomodation / surf schools
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available from 6’6 x 20½ - 8’2 x 22½
5’10 x 183/16 x 21/8
available from 5’6 to 6’6
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available from 5’6 to 6’6
available from 5’11 x 18¼ - 6’4 x 19
toys
GLASS TIGER SHORTBOARD
BILLABONG KEEL FISH MODEL
FLUID JUICE PRO FLYER
Environmentally speaking these boards are at the top of their class, with an EPS core and and a birch ply skin reinforced with eco resins they are designed to last three times longer than a usual board. Contact: glass-tiger.com
Retro style outline, with a full nose. Thin through the tail with a vee bottom. Contemporary keel fins, future or fixed. Lightweight sand finish or resin tint and polish looks.
This cutting edge board design is what most pro’s are riding, it has no limitations. Fully custom designed, it can take you wherever you want to go.
JS SURFBOARDS DYNO
Contact: Dyno, one of the newest billabongsurfboards.com releases would have to be the most fun you can have in small waves. With added volume and reverse single concave you’re flying. A must for any quiver. Contact: jsindustries.com
SURF PRESCRIPTIONS PRO 2 MODEL Classic single to double concave high performance short board. It’s the most popular board in the line of boards, the rocker and concave combination makes this board work in just about every condition. Contact: surfprescriptions.com
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FLUID JUICE SPEED EGG Fully up to date version of one of the most evolved surfboard designs in existence. Well worth a demo ride.
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9’1 x 221 /8 x 3
TUNNEL VISION THE EVOLUTION
This latest definition of ‘fun’ bridges the generation gap from boomers to new wave shedders. Features 70’s style down-rails and a thick ‘beak’ nose. Comes with Futures quad fin standard. BILBO Shaped by the man himself. MAGIC CARPET Contact: For surfers looking for the bilbosurfshop.co.uk retro feel and glide. These boards have the volume of a Mal for ease of catching waves but are still responsive due to the relatively short length. Sort of New-skool Oldskool. Contact: bilbosurfshop.co.uk
Ride it as a quad fin, single fin or single with side bites. A very progressive funboard that will pick up waves early, trim, but also handle VERY well in solid surf. The future of retro/progressive boards. Contact: bilbosurfshop.co.uk
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7’0 x 21½ x 3
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BILBO WAVE WIZARD Wide and full outlines with thin foiled rails that let the water hang on during nose rides, but thin enough to drive through turns. Width in the outine translates into stability and all that curve CJ SURFBOARDS SLIDE65 makes for smooth turns. ALL ROUNDER CRUISE CONTROL Contact: Shaped by CJ one of the A great beach break board bilbosurfshop.co.uk most experienced shapers with a distinctly traditional in the country, this feel. A proven rocker line longboard combines balsa combine with a well and polyester to give proportioned template to strength with versatility create a refined balance perfect for the range of between trim speed and waves in this country. turning agility. Contact: Contact: chrisjonessurfboards.co.uk slide65.com
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THE INTERVIEW
MARK ROBERTS - GLASS TIGER WORDS AND PHOTO GREG MARTIN
Mark Roberts moved to Cornwall 10 years ago and started shaping almost straight away. After experimenting with various materials, he developed a passion for working with wood, and set up his company Glass Tiger in Falmouth, which specialises in hand crafted wooden surfboards with lightweight foam cores. His workshop tucked away in a cluttered boatyard may not look like much, but Mark is a true craftsman and has no plans to stop shaping anytime soon, “I love making boards other people love, and making boards from wood just makes my job easier, because it’s easy to feel happy when you’re riding something that was grown and whittled rather than processed from chemicals and petro chemical by-products.” We went to meet Mark to find out if sticks really do grow on trees... Tell me a little about yourself... My name is Mark Roberts and I run Glass Tiger surfboards, making wooden hybrid boards. Describe your average day at work... I wake up, stare at the wall for a while and plan my day from then. Any day could be different from the one before, but generally involves emails, heading to the workshop, ducking off for a quick surf if it’s looking good and then cursing myself as there is no more time in the day. I also try to fit eating in at some point too. What qualifications and experience do you have? I landed on the Cornish shores in earnest in 1998, and since then I have been working in and out of boatyards and shaping boards for myself. Only over the last few years I’ve had the chance to work with some great shapers such as Tom Wegener and closer to home Tim Stafford. Everything else has been self taught, which is probably why I have such a different take on how a surfboard can be put together. If you were to start again from scratch,
WE LOVE
2011: So it’s the new year, 2011 to be exact. Everything bad we did, all gets wiped clean (no HMP for us). Just like the shake of an etch-a-sketch, it’s a clean slate and a chance to pretend we are going to give up sex, drugs and rock and roll, start eating more healthy and begin a training regime that will lead to ripped bodies and total enlightenment. Yeah right, what kind of mag do you think this is, Men’s Health?! Ted Williams: The basic story is this, a homeless guy stands by the road collecting money, 076
what would you do differently? Man, if I had to start from scratch again, like if my place burnt down... I would find whoever did it and... oooh. What is your greatest strength? My greatest strength is probably also my greatest weakness... I can be totally blinkered. If I didn’t make boards I just don’t know what else I would do. I’ve always wanted to make boards and that’s really all I know now. What is your greatest weakness? See above. What would you do if you won the lottery? To be honest, I hope I don’t win the lottery, because I really don’t know. But I
do know that the things that make me happy are travelling and spending time with the people I like and love, so I would definitely do more of that stuff. What irritates you about other people? The way some people constrict themselves to stupid rules. Where have all the pioneers and innovators gone? What is the most important lesson you have learnt? Be humble. Tell us about the biggest risk you’ve ever taken... When I was little I had a BMX Raleigh Boxer that was a complete death trap. I think that I took more risks on that thing than I have ever done since, and still have
with a sign saying ‘I have a god given talent of a voice made for radio’. Yeah borrrrrring you think, but what comes out of his mouth is mental. Kinda like a Susan Boyle moment, but slightly more attractive. Just Google ‘Ted Williams radio voice’ and enjoy.
within a three hour flight of each other. Winter here is truly a great time to be a European surfer.
Europe : It’s the cultural heartland of the planet, there are mountains for snow, epic cities to skate and every sort of surf from the frigid slabs of northern Europe to the perfect reefs of Portugal all
Roast Dinners: You’ve been surfing on a windswept Sunday, it’s freezing, the sea is grey, the water is frigid. You could barely turn the key in the lock of your car door, you then shiver through a change and drive home damp. You walk through the front door and there in the oven before you is a roasting chicken, roast
the scars to prove it! Who are your heroes and why? Anyone who truly follows their own path. Have you ever been fired and if so, what was the reason? I got fired once from strawberry picking for peeing in the patch! Describe how you continue learning on a daily basis... Always ask questions, the only silly question is the one you don’t ask. What is the toughest problem you have had to face and how did you handle it? The death of my brother, without doubt that was the biggest problem I have had to face. I’m not sure if anyone really ‘handles’ it, something like that you just have to accept. What makes you think you’re the best person for your job? I have a lot of self belief, drive and determination for what I do. Making boards that other people like is so important to me; I know that I’ll be doing it for the rest of my life. What is your greatest fear? Not following my dream. Tell us about the most difficult decision you have had to make... It’s reoccurring, every time I go to the supermarket. What is your biggest regret? I class a regret as a mistake you perceived you made and I believe you really only truly learn through mistakes so on that basis, no regrets... though I’ve made lots of mistakes. Why do you want this job? Because the pay’s rubbish, my workshop is tiny, and I work long, lonely hours... doing something I love. Do you have any questions for me? Umm, did you see that program about bears last night? It was awesome... sorry no sensible questions no.
For more info on Mark Roberts and Glass Tiger boards, check out his website. glass-tiger.com
potatoes and Yorkshire pud just minutes away from consumption. I could eat roasts forever and there is nothing like a post roast nap. Buckets of hot water: Heated wetties are good, heated rashies are good but in this time of austerity I know I can’t afford one, so the answer, a bucket full of hot water. Simply drive to the beach with your suit in a steaming hot bucket of water, take out, put on and feel the warmth, well until that first flushing.
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SHAPERS contact: Barry on 01872 224030 email: barry@wavelengthmag.co.uk
Custom Shapes Email: crhbarker@hotmail.co.uk Tel: 01840 230095 Mb: 07950 621871
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1. Hoodie from Sutsu sutsu.com 2. Centrefold fleece from Rip Curl ripcurl.com 3. Billabong present the TD Jacket billabong.com 4. Embrace tee from Sinstar sinstarclothing.com 5. Quiksilver rightwave scarf quiksilver.com 6. Insulated Road Dog men’s flannel shirt from Nike 6.0 nike6.com 7. Roxy Jody wellies roxy.co.uk 8. Comissioned surf art by emmavarney.com 9. Jacket from Protest protest.eu 10. Hoodie from Saltrock crew saltrock.com 078
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stuff
RUSTY THE WIRED SERIES HOODED FLEECE I’m getting a little bit old, so I embrace technology with caution sometimes even though I love it. So when one of the new Wired Series hooded jacket dropped in from Rusty with built in headphones it took a bit of time to fully register in my brain. Then after further investigation I found out that the said headphones were actually built into the draw strings (genius), I became more than a little intrigued, and hasten to add even moderately excited.
I hate walking around with a massive set of dustbin lids on my melon, and it’s inevitable that buds get tangled up when you’re wandering around so having them built in to the draw strings is a sick idea. So here is what Rusty have to say about the tech aspect of their new innovation to the old faithful hoodie. FEATURES: The wired series, featuring HB3 Technology, is the most innovative fleece in the action sports industry that merges music, board riding and fashion like nothing that has gone before it. The wired series is a collection of hooded fleeces with headphones built right into the draw cords with the pocket featuring a jack that connects to your music player. Built with HB3 Technology, wired series fleece are completely machine washable – that means there is absolutely no need to remove the ear buds or take out the wire when you throw it in the wash. So there you have it, now when you leave the house all you need is your phone or iPod and just plug it straight into your jacket, simple. RRP: £59.99
rusty.com/us/wiredseries 080
CANON POWERSHOT D10
Being the photo issue, we decided to have a look round at the best all round small camera for your surfing needs. Obviously we checked out the Go Pros, but to be honest they tend to make waves look so much smaller than they really are, and the shots you get from them can often be one dimensional so they were barred. We opted to check out the big guys in the camera field, looking for cameras that you could have on a leash or up a wettie sleeve with relative ease whilst surfing. Actually taking good shots, both in the water as well as on land. After a bit of searching the best of a bunch for all round performance and suitability we decided was this, The Canon Powershot D10. It is fully waterproof and shockproof, so no worries about taking it surfing. It has the 35mm lens equivalent of a 35-105mm lens, this means it ranges from a real view of the world to being able to zoom in quite tightly whilst in the water, making it a really
versatile piece of kit. Technically speaking it is at the top of its class with a 12.1 megapixel CCD (charge-coupled device) and the epic Digic 4 processor which delivers really stunning images. Where this camera is really interesting is its frame rate, whilst it isn’t exactly fast at 1.2 frames per second the number of frames you can shoot is virtually unlimited when in continuous mode. So getting a shot of your mates getting pitted as they pass you has never been easier. Also back on land it is great for lineups, portraits and of course the normal holiday snaps. Add to all of these features the HD video capability and you have an awesome all rounder here which will create brilliant shots. Its RRP is a hefty £289 on the Canon website, but shop around the net and you can find it for closer to £180. RRP: £289.00
canon.co.uk
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STREETBOARDZ
Next to Facebook and solitaire these boards rank aS the greatest time killer the Wavelength office has ever seen WORDS AND PHOTO BEN SELWAY
Like I’ve already said in this issue, it was the great Richard Dog Marsh who dropped these amazing skateboards at our office. We played with them non-stop to the point where one of us had a horrendous accident! The incident was in no way related to the general construction of the skateboards and this shouldn’t put people off from buying them. Anyway, when Dog stopped by to show us his toys we were all hesitant to climb aboard in front of him, for fear of making fools out of ourselves. Nervously we inspected the boards and marvelled at their build quality before reluctantly taking the proceedings outside to the tarmac. At first our inexperience showed and we embarrassingly could only manage to propel ourselves at low speeds across flat sections of the road. Meanwhile, Dog showed us how the experts should do it; by charging all the way down from the top of the hill - whilst yelling things like ‘ride it properly you pussies!’ ‘Go from the top of
the hill, it’s fun!’ There was no way any of us were ready for this kind of thing so thinking quickly I managed to divert his attention by asking him if he fancied a pint at the local inn. It worked too, because moments later Dog (who clearly had worked up a thirst!) ordered a stop to the session by asking for his skateboards back. For a few moments I feared we’d never get to ride them ever again! But after two pints and a reasonably priced meal all my worries were eased when Dog kindly said we could keep all three of the boards. He said he didn’t have time for any more horseplay because he had people to visit, so he bade us a teary farewell and drove off into the sunset. As his car receded into the distance we stood in silence for a few minutes and no one bothered to say anything – because no one had to. We simply turned to each other and gave a knowing nod as if to say ‘this afternoon, we skate’ - which is exactly what we did! Luckily Tim and our
designer were both away so it meant that Greg, Barry (our ad dude) and I, only ever had to put a halt to the session if we decided that we wanted to try out each others’ different sized skateboards. I couldn’t imagine having to share! Frustratingly daylight wasn’t on our side so we hurriedly took to the street like children taking their bicycles out at Christmas – and we tore up that concrete street against a back drop of crimson sky. The next day our confidence had visibly grown and we all marvelled at how much we had improved. Collectively it was agreed that out of the three boards the medium was bizarrely the trickiest to ride (we all thought the smallest would be), while the longer, more stable one with rubber tires was better suited to the novice skateboarder. Ironically, the board I had the accident on was the small one. It was a frightening moment – one that my colleagues thought looked far more serious than it actually was. In truth, it was
my cockiness that got the better of me because it happened when Tim Nunn had returned to work, and I was eager to show off all of the skills I had learnt. I don’t remember exactly what happened; one minute I remember carving my way past the ambulance station and then the next - I was rolling in the dirt with agonizing pains in my right knee and elbow! Since that day, I haven’t had the chance to get back on board because it’s either been raining or icy - which for the downhill skateboarder is treacherous! My confidence has been rattled but I feel the joy these skateboards give me will surely outweigh the fear brought upon me in such violent circumstances. Available from: streetboardz. net/eu RRP: from £150
BLATANT PLUGS The Elusive Welsh Open is now due to take place on Saturday 29th January, with the Tsunami Cup on the following day. Both will take place at Rest Bay, Porthcawl. Up for grabs the titles of 2010 Elusive Welsh Open and Tsunami Cup Champions all on one weekend!! Check in time both days will be 8am with the first heat underway at 9am. All those previously paid entries will automatically make the draw, they still have around eight spots available to make the maximum 32. Email info@elusivesurf.com for further entry details and up to date information. Nike 6.0 have pulled the sponsorship move of the year so far by signing up Julian Wilson. The Aussie ripper is one of the most hotly tipped rookies on the WCT this year and as you’d expect is stoked to be signed up alongside Nike’s list of top athletes, check out nike6.com. Meanwhile women’s world champ Stephanie Gilmore has joined Quiksilver, the four time world champ becomes an ambassador for the mountain and wave and will continue to keep up her domination on the women’s tour, quiksilver.com. In other news the BSA has gone into liquidation and has been replaced by surfing GB, check out their new site and statement at surfinggb.com.
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STAY SURF FIT This month we’re looking at getting into and keeping in shape throughout the winter. When you’re only surfing once or twice a week at best, not able to get into the water after work and having to struggle with thick wetties and long paddle outs keeping fit using other methods becomes all the more important. So to take you through some simple techniques, some of which require equipment, some not, we’ve hooked up with Philippe Malvaux Team manager and Trainer of the Nike 6.0 surf team to give us all some tips and guidance. Here’s what he had to share with from the training programme with THE Nike 6.0 team WORDS AND PHOTOS COURTESY OF NIKE 6.0
Tell us how you do you work with the Nike 6.0 team? We tend to work in small groups, that way we can identify the needs of the individuals and tailor programmes to them which directly relate to individual needs and styles of surfing. A professional free surfer needs a different regime to a WCT contender. So what sort of equipment do you guys use to help in the training? For cardio training and Plyometrics training (Plyometrics is a method of training muscle elastic strength and explosiveness to enhance athletic performance.) – we train on a trampoline with bounce boards for them to use. This brings an element of fun to training, which is essential. The future is all about new school manoeuvres in the air, so we continuously work with the guys on
different grab and rotation combinations on the trampoline. We have bought classical work out machines and some other specific stuff like the Slack line for the balance. So what do you have to do to become a world class surfer training wise? In surfing now, if you want to become one of the best you have to train seriously. In comparison with other sports, the time you train in the water for competition is a good time where you take pleasure by doing your sport. It’s not suffering by running or whatever, it’s just going out in the ocean, generally in a beautiful destination with coconuts, warm, blue water and etc, and it’s really fun to take a wave. But if you just free surf, one day you’re going to stick at a level and find it hard to progress past. So by joining a training system, with a trainer on the
beach, video coaching, giving you tips, working out your physical conditions outside of water and doing some specifics training like trampoline or different balance exercises you stay
connected with your goals. It’s easy to get lost when you’re travelling a lot, just surfing. So what are the essentials? I would say there are no hard rules, it depends on each surfer. But generally for me, the most important thing to become a good surfer is the time in the water, you have to surf a lot. But when you surf, you need to know what you are trying to do, you need to have goals, exercises to do, trying to apply some tips. You need intensity, a time, a number of repetition, you need goals. Then, as you are an athlete, of course, diet is essential, stretching everyday is crucial. If you have good flexibility, good balance and some strong legs and abdominals, it’s enough. So, all the new exercises on specific training circuit with a lot of balance exercises (swiss ball, indo boards...) and sheathing abdominals exercises are very good for surfers. But don’t forget the priority is the surf.
NEXT ISSUE: Fins out 084
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Michel ‘The Spartan’ Bourez, putting training into action Photo: Alex Laurel/Nike 6.0
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BEGINNERS TIPS: THE RUNNING PLAN So it’s the depths of January, you’re fatter than usual, it’s dark and cold and wet after work every night, last thing you want to do is go out for a run, so how do you get fit again? Well we have no clue, we are all fat and simply buy a slightly thicker board every year to compensate for the increasing girth around our midriff. Fortunately our sister and brother mags Men’s and Women’s running know all about this shit and have put this simple plan together to work some of that lard off. So come on you fat bastards get down the Gym! Men’s Running’s personal trainer Jeff Archer has an eightweek plan for new runners. If you’re one of those people who loves the idea of running but you’re convinced that it’s just not for you, do not despair. This eight-week plan will get you started on the treadmill and guide you through an easy progression to keep you on track. For each day of training, make sure you warm up thoroughly with four to five minutes on any piece of CV kit, gradually increasing the intensity through the warm up period. To cool down at the end of the workout simply reverse this process so the last couple of minutes of the cool down are very gentle allowing you to recover and get your breath back. Make sure you spend five minutes stretching out at the end of each workout. Focus on stretching thighs, calves and bottom but be sure to
Men’s Running is the UK’s first running magazine just for men. Catch your 2011 running M.O.T in their New Year issue, in the shops now.
Rest
4 mins walking 90 seconds running Repeat x 4
Rest
4 mins walking 2 mins running Repeat x 4
Rest
4 mins walking 3 mins running Repeat x 4
Rest
4 mins walking 4 mins running Repeat x 3
WEEK 1
Rest
4 mins walking 1 min running Repeat x 4
WEEK 2
4 mins walking 45 seconds running Repeat x 4
WEEK 3
Rest
5 mins walking 45 seconds running Repeat x 4
5 mins walking 1 min running Repeat x 4
WEEK 4
4 mins walking 30 seconds running Repeat x 4
5 mins walking 90 seconds running Repeat x 3
WEEK 5
Rest
5 mins walking 2 mins running Repeat x 4
WEEK 6
DAY 3
5 mins walking 3 mins running Repeat x 3
WEEK 7
DAY 2
5 mins walking 4 mins running Repeat x 3
WEEK 8
DAY 1 5 mins walking, 30 seconds running Repeat x 4
5 mins walking, 30 seconds running Repeat x 4
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stretch both your upper and lower body. It can be difficult to find the right speed to exercise at in the beginning but it’s fine to experiment with this and see what works best for you. Make a note of the speeds that give you the best workout for each part of the programme. If you feel you could easily continue at the end of the workout then it’s time to up the speeds a little. If you feel fatigued half way through then lower the speeds a little. Each workout should be challenging, particularly towards the end, but you need to select speeds that will ensure you can make it through each workout.
Rest
4 mins walking 5 mins running Repeat x 2
DAY 4
DAY 5
DAY 6
DAY 7
Rest
3 mins walking 30 seconds running Repeat x 5
Rest
2 mins walking 30 seconds running Repeat x 6
Rest
3 mins walking 45 seconds running Repeat x 5
Rest
2 mins walking 45 seconds running Repeat x 6
Rest
3 mins walking 1 min running Repeat x 5
Rest
2 mins walking 1 min running Repeat x 5
Rest
3 mins walking 90 seconds running Repeat x 5
Rest
2 mins walking 90 seconds running Repeat x 5
Rest
3 mins walking 2 mins running Repeat x 4
Rest
2 mins walking 2 mins running Repeat x 5
Rest
3 mins walking 3 mins running Repeat x 4
Rest
2 mins walking 3 mins running Repeat x 4
Rest
3 mins walking 4 mins running Repeat x 4
Rest
2 mins walking 4 mins running Repeat x 4
Rest
2 mins walking 5 mins running Repeat x 2
Rest
3 mins walking 5 mins running Repeat x 2
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Lyndon Wake, Bagpipes, Scotland Photo: Tim Nunn
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surf
to do our two hundredth oly crap we are about gazine in Europe has issue, no other surf ma few in fact there are only a ne, sto mile this d reache century. So to ble dou a ped top e hav in the whole world who mag history ment in European surf celebrate this proud mo at past mags, a look k bac k loo a l, nta me we are going to go here, a hell ish surfing like Lyndon at the future groms of Brit bit special little a just ing and someth trip through West Africa . from our own shores
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hits shelves 17T H FEB
NEXT ISSUE
200 NOT OUT, THE REGENERATION ISSUE EUROPE’S LONGEST RUNNING SURF MAGAZINE HAS A VERY BIG BIRTHDAY PLUS
GET YOUR FINS OOT! WL SURFMAGAZINE
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