{"id":855,"date":"2013-03-18T01:45:34","date_gmt":"2013-03-17T23:45:34","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/chappypix.co.za\/blog\/?p=855"},"modified":"2013-03-18T01:45:34","modified_gmt":"2013-03-17T23:45:34","slug":"goodbye-summer","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/chappypix.co.za\/blog\/2013\/03\/18\/goodbye-summer\/","title":{"rendered":"Goodbye Summer"},"content":{"rendered":"

It has been a mixed bag this summer.
\nThings started off well enough with some good waves and fun surf sessions. (click \u00a0Christmas waves<\/a>\u00a0to see an example of what we experienced early on)
\nThen it got windy!
\nThe wind came and blew with spiteful intensity. There is nothing more frustrating than days of intense winds. The resulting ice-cold water is a close second in the annoyance race.<\/p>\n

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

Tanika Hoffman, Green Point, Cape Town\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

Then with the New Year, came a new swell.
\nThis was a good solid ground swell that lit up the coast of South Africa and had us scrambling up the east coast.
\nThis last minute scramble ended up being another super fun surf trip with two good swells and lots of good times.
\n(for more on this mission have a click at Happy New Year<\/a>)<\/p>\n

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

\u00a0Steven Sawyer tore into the good swell we had up the East Coast<\/strong><\/p>\n

In the couple months since the New Year mission, I have frustratingly missed out on a good few of decent swells but have scored a couple good ones myself.
\nMissing out on some decent swells has had the net result of me not shooting all that much this summer. Well not as much as I would have liked!<\/p>\n

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

\u00a0Don Wichmann, summer beachbreak fun<\/strong><\/p>\n

Some of the reasons for missing out on waves include lack of motivation to shoot the same old over and over again and surfers not keen to explore our wonderful coastline here in the Cape.
\nIt still amazes me that some surfers will complain about crowds and small gutless waves and will then still end up surfing Longbeach in Kommetjie.
\nThe other major issue this summer was the escalating costs involved with surfing here in the Cape.<\/p>\n

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

\u00a0Taryn Kyte not letting the small waves go to waste<\/strong><\/p>\n

I have shot very little Land based surf images this summer.
\nThe only time I think I shot land with my long lens, was up the East Coast where I could not shoot water for a few days due to illness.
\nShooting land in Cape Town does have its problems too.
\nThe light is often harsh and unsuitable for eye pleasing image making. Also shooting with a big shiny lens attracts unwanted attention. Apart being a target for the criminals I also have to deal with \u201cwhat are you shooting\u201d or \u201cI bet that camera takes nice pictures\u201d type of questions from morons.
\nShooting from the water does help to eliminate these problems.<\/p>\n

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

\u00a0Emma Smith smashes one<\/strong><\/p>\n

I have found shooting from the water to be fun.
\nIt is easier to communicate with your subject and there is a lot going on in the water that keeps the interest levels up.
\nThe major issue I have with water shooting and a big reason why I am not hitting it as hard as possible is the stupid water temperature this part of the world.
\nThe other major issue I have to deal with is kooks riding me over!
\nSadly this happens all to often and is usually some dumbass male with an oversized ego that\u2019s causing me to take evasive action.<\/p>\n

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

\u00a0Sand banks down in Kommetjie had their moments<\/strong><\/p>\n

I am still very inexperienced with water shooting. I have only tried it a dozen or so times to date.
\nI do not surf so I am still getting used to swimming in the impact zone and reading waves. This is pretty tough when you need to swim while holding a big, heavy housing that can easily smash ones teeth out.
\nHowever, it\u2019s pretty fun and added a new dimension to my work and I hope to get wet more and keep learning.
\nA big spinoff to water shooting is that my fitness is pretty decent now. One has to be pretty darn fit to take the beatings some of these waves hand out.<\/p>\n

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

\u00a0Dylan Wichmann smashes one , backhand<\/strong><\/p>\n

All in all it has been a fun (ish) summer. I do regret not shooting more. I do get very depressed missing out on all the epic sessions and not taking photos.
\nHowever
\nI am grateful and stoked for the opportunities I did get this summer \u2026<\/p>\n

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

\u00a0off to work with Dylan Wichmann<\/strong><\/p>\n

Short gallery of images from our summer<\/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