Just take the time

The afternoon of day two involved some very important self care. My brother, having worked nightshift in the leadup to the trip, was absolutely wrecked, and justifiably took the time to catch up on some sleep. For me, this was a great chance to go practice some more photography, without having to worry that I was boring someone else or ruining their trip.

Surfer attempting a floater over the lip

I was keen to check out more of the new location we had discovered, and decided to get as close to the action as I could (without getting too soggy). So I loaded up the camera, and the board just in case I felt braver, and took off.

Surfer taking off on a crumbling lefthander

I arrived to see a different set of surfers in the water, and the waves were now starting to be affected by the changing wind, which had started to swing more southerly. I walked down, picked out a likely looking vantage point, and got setup.

Longboarder throwing spray during a cutback turn

I must say, I find the act of surf photography, actually photography in general, to be quite meditative. Generally I can pick out a location, make myself comfortable with some drinks (coffee, water, or something harder) readily at hand, and just get into a groove of shooting, adjusting, shooting, checking and shooting some more. The lulls between waves gives me time to think and contemplate (and the equipment to catch up), while the bursts of action when a set comes through are exciting and interesting to try and capture.

Surfer riding a beautiful peeling left hand wave

During one of the lulls I also decided to practice a little bit of product photography, using nothing more than the drink I had just enjoyed (not sponsored, I just like them). I’d learnt from previous sessions that a full drink is easier to position than an empty one, so I filled it with seawater and tried out a few compositions.

Matso’s Ginger Beer can with a breaking wave in the background (not sponsored)

To be honest, I think they worked fairly well. I would have loved to get a shot with a surfer on a wave behind, but the timing just didn’t work out. Still, it felt good to get the practice in, and I definitely learnt a few things that I’ll try next time.

Beer can on a rock with breaking waves behind

I’m not really sure what the point of this blog post was going to be, but I guess I just want to point out that taking time to do what you want is important. If you need sleep, sleep. If you want to photograph surfers, do it. If you want to practice a skill, there’s no time like now.

Larger wave being ridden by shortboard surfer

And even if you feel like doing nothing, just do it. Own it. Whatever your time is spent doing, I think the key is to just enjoy it.