New Camara with Waterproof Housing my first successful surf photo.
Used a Sony a6000 in a Sea Frog housing shot at Sebastian Inlet Jetty. On a shine high to waist high wind chop day.
I’m digging speedo man up on the pier.
I use an inexpensive waterproof camera from Costco. I tie a cord to my shorts and keep it in my pocket. When I want to shoot, I pull it out and shoot, then put it back in my pocket to surf. A lot of my friends have lanyards they wear around their neck and put the camera under their rash guard to push through the surf. We don’t shoot for quality, just to get a few shots of the days waves for everyone to enjoy watching later. When I take my camera I’ll sit in the deeper water and let the current pull me out. I shoot until I get back out, or until a nice set comes to me. I prefer shooting video.
I post the clips without music on youtube as - Surfing Tennis Courts Ala Moana Park then the date. Here’s an example.
I’ve dabbled in surf photography for years. A couple of years back I invested in a big white lens. Here a couple of recent samples.
I’ve heard it said back in the day that photography is more about the lens than the camera. “The camera is just a device to hold the film.” I do however like what Sharkcountry is doing with his minimalist approach.
The nice thing about the inexpensive water camera is that when it gets damaged, and they all do, I won’t be bummed. This is my 4th water camera. Killed 3 already, and it was all from leaks. If I drowned my expensive full frame Nikon, I’d be extremely upset.
Once upon a time the lens was all that mattered. Now with digital sensors, there’s a lot more to think about. Lenses are still extremely important, but it depends on what type of shooting you plan to do. I started working in TV back in 1976, and it made me appreciate moving pictures more than stills. Stills are much harder to get the perfect shot when you shoot fast sports action like surfing. Add lighting angles and it gets even more complicated. I used to shoot surfing from the beach with a 500mm century lens, but these days Canon, Nikon, Sigma and others offer some excellent glass. Nowadays you can get a good camera that shoots almost as fast as a movie camera and get that perfect shot. Back in my time we had 36 shots before a reload, or you spend a lot and buy the bulk load camera back. These days, you can shoot thousands of shots one a single card. The first job I had in TV was developing 16mm movie film, something that existing in every TV station in every city. Now it’s a very rare occupation.
If I was serious about shooting surfing, I’d get a good full frame camera with a very good water housing, or a very long lens and heavy tripod. I already have the camera and tripod, just don’t have a good supertelephoto lens or waterhousing. The other thing is, I’d shoot 4K video (or higher) and just get frame grabs for stills.
Water shots are a whole different animal. Wide angle lens and close proximity to the surfers make it very dangerous. I prefer to use a bit of zoom, sit further away, and get what I get. I miss guys like Jamie Ballenger who’d come out and shoot everything and post them for people to view and purchase if they want. Today’s shooters only shoot the people that pay them to go out and shoot. My childhood friend’s wife loves to shoot photos, so she goes with him and shoots all the action she can then posts it on Facebook. I’ve had some of my best action shots from her.
Shark I noticed you mentioned Jamie Ballenger , I havnt seen him in a long time , I know he was ill , is he still with us ?
I don’t know what happened to Jamie. I think he went back to Maui, but I’m not sure. Jamie gave me this shot. He was a using an inexpensive camera that day.
For land based shooting it is far more about the lens than the body. You can put a good Canon or Nikon lens on just about any of their bodies and come up with great photos. The sensors are all real good these days. The lens gets you the reach, the speed and the sharp focus. With a cheap lens your keeper rate will be a lot lower and there won’t be the level of detail in the shots. The body these days is more about processor speed and frame rate for shooting bursts. An inexpensive body like a Canon Rebel might only let you shoot a short burst at 3 frames a second while a moderately priced body like the 7D Mark II which is geared towards sports shooting will let you shoot really long bursts at 10 frames per second. On the high end you have the 1Dx which will set you back about $5,500 for the body alone will let you shoot 170 pictures in a burst at 16 frames per second at the highest resolution without slowing down. The better bodies have a lot of other advantages like low light performance, weather proofing, better tracking focus and so forth. I wish I had the budget for the right gear to do the job but for now I’m using a used 7D with a lens that was also purchased used. Going used I’ve got about $1,500 invested in my rig. To go new it would be a little over $3,000.
I was at a contest last week where a legend of surf photography was shooting and he walks around with two cameras around his neck at the same time. A 7D mark II and a 1Dx. For walking around the event he uses the 70-200 F2.8 on one body and a 24-70 F2.8 on the other. If he’s up in the tower on a tripod he’s using a $10,000+ 400 or 600mm lens. I figure he’s travelling around with $20,000 worth of gear.