Author: Bryan Elkus

HDR Sunset and Strobed Gazebo

The wind cranked all day. I was about the head out of work when I realized that the foliage was not moving around to hard. It was only blowing about 15 so I decided to try and go shoot something, anything. I drove around for a little without luck. Then the clouds over the horizon started to dissipate and I thought there might be a chance for a decent sunset. I headed over to this house with a gazebo that we always pass on downwinders in the Sound. I set up camp and waited. I grabbed a couple HDR shots because of the wide variance in exposures of the scene.

Next I wanted to try to light up the gazebo with a strobe. So I hid one of my flashes (1/1 full power and the other flash on the camera at 1/8 power just to slightly light up the planks and railing.) behind a beam in the gazebo and stepped back and hoped for the best.

September 19, 2008
The Kiteboarder, Novermber

The Kiteboarding has also come in hot from the Trade Show in Florida. There are a few shots of mine in this issue, but I was most excited for Lulu’s profile to be published.

We worked extremely hard to get a killer shot for her profile but it never seemed to flow right. We were able to get a couple good ones but not the one we both were looking for. Her model shot was one of the first times I played with remote strobes and it worked out rather well. The other image of lulu (the ralley) was taken up in the slick before this mega squall came through. I’m so glad I sent her back in when I saw the lightning cause if she was out another 15 minutes things could have gotten ungly.

The shot of the girls from the Triple-S was one of my favorites from that week. It shows all the fun that went on that week. The shot of Neil kiting with the water skis was also taken during the Triple-S. The shot of Nick hitting the JWCF Slider is a classic; you have to fall a couple times before you nail the trick. The last shot is just a head shot but it’s a shot of Sam with quite the mustache.

September 17, 2008
Rawson LF Quad Surfboard

The guys brought back some new toys from Surf Expo, along with the 80s (will explain later). Included in the pile of gear were a couple Rawson Liquid Force Quad Surfboards. I was lucky enough to get my hands on one of them. My board is a 6’2x 18.75×2.25. I’m very excited to go take her for a spin later.

As for the 80s go, well they are back, the snowboarding Industry has been trying to bring the 80s back for years now. I’m not sure if they were able to but I can tell you that the surf Industry is next in line this year to help out by releasing everything in 80s style. I’m not to sure how excited I am about this time traveling, but it’s happening nonetheless.

September 16, 2008
Slick Dress Up Party

It was a party in The Slick on Sunday. A bunch of us took a Planet run in the morning. After riding all morning I decided to just take some pictures. Since it had been a long time since i had taken pictures of kiteboaring. We brought out all the costumes and spent the afternoon in the Slick playing. It was a great time and we walked a way with a couple original and fun shots.

September 15, 2008
Kiteworld Issue 35

Kiteworld issue 35 showed up today. The guys brought it back from the Surf Expo. There are two shots of Dre in the opening of the magazine that I shot while he was here in Cape Hatteras, NC. Dre was very cool to work with. He was always down to shoot or go take a session. It was great having him around until next time.

September 15, 2008
Sunset Slick Session

I woke up on the early side today. Carrie and I went for a kite first. It was blowing dead West (which is not the best direction because its dead on shore). I tacked up to the slick on The Boss and a JL Chamber 6’5. After that Carrie, Dave and I headed to the Pier for a nose riding surf session, all this before Noon, and it was time for a break. It was back on the water at dusk for a sunset downwinder from Salvo Day Use to REAL. I was again on the same setup for this session as well. It picked up as we headed towards the slick to watch a terrific sunset.

September 13, 2008
Sunset SUP Session

It was looking like there was going to be another classic Cape Hatteras sunset. It didn’t quite deliver to that level but it was good. A bunch of the crew went out for a flat-water Standup Paddle behind REAL during the sunset. I wanted to grab a couple shots. None of the shots really turned out the way I had envisioned them too. I still walked a way with a couple fun shots.

September 13, 2008
Kiteboarding, November 08 Issue

Another ~~two~~ missed session turned worthwhile. The November issue of Kiteboarding Magazine came out this week. I got a couple more shots in this time around. The first shot is of Jason Slezak. It is a sequence shot of him going of the kicker, nose tapping two stacked barrels and landing to blind (not the easiest trick in the book). I shot this with the 200mm lens from the water.

The last few shots are of Sam Bell. The mission was to capture two shots of Sam. One shot of him doing a Stalefish grab and the other a Method grab. It was quick and easy with Sam we got the shots pretty quickly once we found the right angle of light to wind direction and location.

September 12, 2008
Jason Slezak Profile

Jason Slezak and i created a rider profile for him to help get him more coverage and possible sponsorships. I remembered seeing my old friend Marc’s rider profile from a while back and based the design on his, as always thanks for all the inspiration. We were running on a very tight deadline for the Surf Expo this weekend. I was able to crank something out in the last few weeks; only wishing there was a little more time. But, we are both happy with how it turned out. Now it is just a madder of time to see if it was effective. Check out the full profile HERE.

September 12, 2008