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 not shot in a couple days and was pretty bummed out about it. After being a little sick and it raining for the last couple days, it was nice to grab a couple shots tonight. There was a cloud that was blowing up with lightning. I was able to grab a decent shot. I really like the lens flair and the starburst from the lights.
We were lucky enough to witness an early classic Fall Cape Hatteras Sunset last night. The sunsets really go off when the cumulus clouds start to form, which really doesn’t happen here until the fall when we start to get the NE winds. However, with Fay down sound the wind pattern has changed and allowed for E, ENE wind to blow here for the last three day causing these clouds to form. Here are a couple photos from the sunset:
The Trampoline Shoot
I headed over to Scotty’s house to shoot and play on the tramp. I really wanted to try and dial in shooting action at night with the remote flashes so i figured there would be no better way. Brandon, lulu, kyle, Jimmy and neil came out and we all took turn jumping and trying new trick on the tramp. It was a fun experiment, which worked out rather well. Here are a couple photos from that night:
Chris Stucky’s going away party was a blast. I got the camera out to take a group shot before everyone left for the summer. I also was able to grab a couple other portrait shots. Here are a couple of the shots.
I finally was able to create my first HDR image. What is HDR you ask? HDR stands for High Dynamic Range. This technique takes multiple exposures of a single image and joins them together into one image that has a “perfect” exposure. I have been looking at photos like these for some time now and finally decided to give it a go.
I was pretty excited on how the first image came out. It has a very cool look to it, but it defiantly changes the feel of the image. But because of the angle of the sun to the bushes on the horizon there would have been no way to get a decently exposed shot here.
It was a perfect sunny SW Hatteras day. With usual SW winds at 20-25 Carrie, Mel, Dave and I decided to do a downwinder. After a great downwinder from SDA to REAL, I was going to take a couple pics of Lulu riding up in The Slick. As soon as we got up there this massive cloud formed and blocked the light. Shortly after that the thunder and lightning started. Lulu headed in as i packed up the gear and headed back to REAL. The Storm came in quick, with gusts at 55+, waterspouts and rain. We all hung out on the porch watching the storm roll in. It looked like a hurricane. As fast as it formed it blew over and the sun was back out as if nothing happened. About an hour or so later another storm rolled in and I grabbed a couple night lighting shots.
Dre and I headed out once again to grab some photos while he is still here. We took out the JWCF Slider on 7/27 to try a couple new ideas. The session wound up going sour to say the least. But I was able to grab a couple shots. 
On 7/29 I headed up to the slick to shoot with Sam Bell to grab a couple photos he wanted, then hung out and shot with Brandon and a couple other riders who were up there, and scored a very cool nuclear-glide shot. We headed out to the goofy pool of The Slick to shoot with the REAL Kicker. I grabbed a couple keepers and nearly took Dre’s wakeskate to the chest. Here are a couple shots from the session:
Tropical Strom Cristobal proved to give much more than it took. Most of us were expecting inches of rain to fall. The Storm had little effect on Cape Hatteras other than proving steady 20-25knot SE wind and waves all day Sunday. I took a downwind kite session with Scott and Carrie in the head high waves on a 8m and surfboard. It was a very fun session though not the best conditions for a goofy footer.
Here is a shot of the storm passing over Waves, NC
