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.
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.
Tonight, I shot with Claire. I shot here at same location I shot Lou just for ease of use and the fact there was a much different sky than the was when I shot Lou (and because i really liked the beams). Shot only a couple frames before the mosquitoes became too much and had to wrap things up. I am planning on doing a 80s prom dress shoot with Claire and Lulu. I wanted to have a page split between a fashion shot (with dress and a board or kite) and a kiteboarding shot with the dresses on.
It’s official! I have been granted my first cover shot on Kite-boarding Magazine. The photograph is of Andre Phillip, one of the best kiteboarders in the world. Dre is know for is unique and trend setting style on the water. The shot was taken in Cape Hatteras, NC. Kite-boarding Magazine is one of the larger non-US kiteboarding magazines in the world. All i can say is I’m very excited and cannot wait to get a cover in the US market.
I have had the honor to hang out with Lou Wainman over the last two weeks. Lou is a very shy individual to say the least so it was pretty difficult to get Lou to let me grab a shot of him. I finally was able to make it happen tonight. He was out riding (missed a session for this, but well worth it), while I had all my gear setup and ready to take the shot as soon as he came in. I had Lou for enough time to push the trigger about 6 times before he was over it. It was a great experience getting to learn from Lou, and it was even better to learn to work under a lot of pressure.
Strobist Info: I shot this with a 430EX to the left side of the subject (camera left) at 1/2 power at a 35-40 degree angle. I like how the strobe lights the kite bag, board and top half of the subject, but leaves the lower half in darkness. It easily allows the eye to travel from the lower left of the picture to the upper right. A little more light on the right of the subjects face would have been nice but with the couple minutes i had to work with i am happy with the results.
Lou also left me with one of his new Wainman Hawaii kites. I can’t wait to get out on the water with it : Update coming soon.
Friday turned out to be one of the best kitesurfing sessions I have yet to have in Cape Hatteras. Hanna brought us some massive waves and good steady wind. The locals all headed to The Cove. The waves were breaking for 500 yard+. It was an incredible session. I was able to unhook and make turn after turn going down the line for pretty much as long as I wanted. I usually had to pull out of the wave early so I didn’t have to tack as far up wind. I was perfectly powered on my 8m havoc and the 6’5 jimmy lewis chamber. The Chamber is a new addition I have been riding the 6’3 and there is quite a lot of difference between the two sizes. The 6’3 is more of a hack session board where you can’t always feel the drive of the board on the waves, while on the 6’5 you feel like the board has power as well. Most of the crew showed up at 7am. I didn’t get there until around 1, and rode until 5pm. This was defiantly a session to remember.
UPDATE: Here is a VERY quick video i threw together today, from last weeks sessions for REAL.
For more in depth info about the storms and sessions check out REAL’s New’s Item.
Ground swell has come to Cape Hatteras. We scored some great surf yesterday and today. We rarely get such defined ground swell here, usually its just windswell. With all the storms in the Atlantic it should make for a interesting fall. Everyone also has their eyes on Hurricane Hanna. Below is the 5 day forecast as of typing this. If it doesn’t hit we should get some good wind and waves from this system.
Here are a couple pictures from the am session at Mac Oca. I scored an AM session, lunch session and PM session. The OPM was the best by far. The AM session was pretty tough to find a peak, while the lunch session was filled with fast barreling waves. The PM session was perfect for my 9’9 nose-rider and I was able to catch some big ones.
My good buddy Tom came up for a visit this weekend. It was a weekend of surfing, kiting, beaching, eating and chilling out. Saturday we took 4 surf sessions and topped it off with a wakeboard session on the REAL kicker. Sunday we surfed in the morning had a mega downwinder. I did my first crossing of the Oregon Inlet. With 2-3 feet overhead waves and perfectly powered on a 12m havoc, made for a terrific session (well for some of us).
Lou Wainman stopped by the shop today. For those of you who don’t know who Lou is; he is one of the pioneers of kiting, specifically wake inspired riding. He was doing tricks that most of us still cant do on 2 line kites with no leash, depower or any sort of a safety system. Check out the youtube video below. It was awesome to meet him and check out his new Wainman Hawaii kites. The kites look really good. I can’t wait for it to be windy and give them a test.
