{"id":771,"date":"2013-01-14T19:05:29","date_gmt":"2013-01-14T17:05:29","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/chappypix.co.za\/blog\/?p=771"},"modified":"2013-01-15T09:20:37","modified_gmt":"2013-01-15T07:20:37","slug":"happy-new-year-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/chappypix.co.za\/blog\/2013\/01\/14\/happy-new-year-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Happy New Year"},"content":{"rendered":"

2013 certainly did start with a bang.
\nA solid swell hitting the East Coast of South Africa and this could only mean one thing\u2026
\nSurf mission time.<\/p>\n

\"shot1\"<\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The Waves were flipping pumping<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

I had a good few preconceived ideas for this trip but nothing went according to plan.
\nEven the swell was bigger and better than expected.
\nThings started to go wrong on the drive up where I some how caught a hideous throat infection that removed my voice by sundown.<\/p>\n

\"shot2\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Steven Sawyer went to town in the perfect waves<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

I had originally planned to leave my big lens at home and only shoot water with the two setups I had with me and some short land based work with my favorite 70-200mm lens.
\nLucky for me, I decided to take my long lens at the last minute as I did not plan on getting sick on this trip.<\/p>\n

\"shot3\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Dylan Lightfoot smashes the 2nd swell of the trip<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

Being forced to shoot land presented some photographic challenges in terms of the light I had available to create pictures.
\nThe light was often harsh, scattered and flat and was a challenge getting nice images.
\nThe other major annoyance was the hideous watercolor, which does not help for eye pleasing images.<\/p>\n

\"shot4\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Early morning magic<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

Even though there were a number of challenges, we got waves.
\nWe got very good waves and I had a great group of talented surfers that were frothing on the perfect waves.<\/p>\n

\"shot5\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Bianca Buitendag was going mental on her insane backhand<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

There were some outstanding performances from the guys I had at my disposal.
\nSteven Sawyer, Dylan Lightfoot<\/strong> and Dave Richards<\/strong> all blew up and nailed shots.
\nSteven, in particular was deadly on his backhand and smashed many a section.<\/p>\n

\"shot6\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Emma Smith, always impressive<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

For the girls, I was blessed with the talents of Faye Zoetmulder<\/strong>, Emma Smith<\/strong> and Bianca Buitendag<\/strong>.
\nFaye and Bianca surfed as good as any guy in the lineup. Their backhand attacks were lethal and stylish.
\nEmma Smith, suffering the flu, showed the talent and class that this beautiful sufer girl is.<\/p>\n

\"shot7\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Not a bad sight, first thing in the morning<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

This was yet another epic surf mission!
\nWe scored two decent swells in the week.
\nEven the \u201cleft-over\u2019s\u201d were super fun and allowed me to get into the water and be a target for the kooks in the lineup.<\/p>\n

\"shot8\"<\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Remi Petersen cracks one off the top\u00a0<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

Shooting in warm water has got to be right up there with my favorite things to do.
\nThe one session I shot with Emma and her little sister, Zoe, was possible the best moment of the trip.
\nIt was also the scariest as Emma decided to do an \u201coff-the-top\u201d pretty much over me.<\/p>\n

\"shot9\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Family time: Emma and Zoe<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

A super fun trip with many ups and downs\u2026
\nIt was so good too see the Lightfoot\u2019s Sawyer\u2019s and McGillivray\u2019s again.<\/p>\n

\"shot10\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Sharing the waves with the locals<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

And
\nA special Thank you to the Smiths for the voucher and brining me cold and flu medication.
\nVery much appreciated<\/p>\n

\"shot11\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Chocolate cake from Nina’s: \u00a0 thanx to the Smith family for spoiling me<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

A gallery of images from an epic start to 2013 up the East Coast of South Africa<\/p>\n\n\n \t

\n Show as slideshow<\/a>\n\t\t\n\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t