Surf’s up !
There has been some really great waves around of recent. Here’s a couple of shots from a few weeks ago when we had a really nice early spring day in the mid-high 20’s. The swell was up, winds offshore ( a bit too strong ideally) and the weather warmer at last !
These were shot on the 5D2 with pretty crappy old 75-300mm USM lens which annoys me for sharpness ( or lack of ) in particular, so hence I rarely use it and I would really like a nice sharp lens in the 200-400mm range. The shots are basically resized straight from the camera as I didn’t have much motivation for editing them. I also shot some HD video this day too that I edited up which I may post another day. I really dig it as at one point at one of the breaks there was a Southern Right whale cruising by about 50m from the triple head high barrels – SWEET !
‘ About to cop it on the head – Canon 5D2 ’
‘ Picking off a small lefthander – Canon 5D2 ’
‘ Slotted or slammed ? – Canon 5D2 ’
Tony Middleton - Inspired Landscape Photography 
awesome Tony – I have rarely seen our waves looking this big and surfable, especially the bottom pic. Phillip Island area?
hi Cain,
thanks mate – yeah it can get pretty sweet. I recall one day we were working near the break in the bottom shot and it was going off ! It was a bit bigger than that and clean as – so after a surf check at ‘smoko’ no one returned to work til the arvo and I shot some video for the guys. lol
living on the coast can be hard to take sometimes…
cheers,
t 🙂
wow that top wave is a beauty.
don’t think i’d be game heading out into that at all! 😛
no – one spot has killer rips and the other is very heavy… not my domain either Stephen 😉
those are some big waves! i’ve never been confident in my swimming abilities to be out in those waves lol
I don;t blame you Chloe – besides these aren’t advisable places for a swim 🙂
do you surf? i don’t, i’m scared of the creepy crawlys in the ocean. these are some good waves, i’ve never seen waves like that in melbourne
hi Katie – I only have a splash about in summer when everything is considerably warmer. Thanks for stopping by Katie 🙂
Wow heavy surf. Glad I wasn’t the 3 surfers in the top image, they arrived just a fraction too late to avoid being pummelled. Great shots, it must have been pretty awesome watching from the comfort of the shore?
hi Michael,
Yeah – that was the bigger wave in a set and hence it sort of closed out a bit deeper. It is pretty cool being at the beach with conditions like these – even if no one’s out the waves just look unreal I reckon !
Great shots Tony!!
I would only like to be in one of those photos…guess which one!!
Cheers,
Mark
hi Mark,
I’d assume in the ottom pic beneath that tastey lip – I can’t recall what the outcome of it was – lol There were heaps of barrels that day and I also shot some video with the 5d2 but I didn’t have my tripod due to thinking… surf photography – fast shutter speeds = one less thing to carry ! Then after being there 5minutes I thought…I can shoot HD video ( I still quite forget this awesome option !) so I had to shoot it hand held (300mm) – not ideal..
cheers,
tone 🙂
Look like nice waves mate, wetsuits look too thick for my liking though! I also have one of those lenses, use it only if I have to!
A bit cold for my liking as well… but if you want waves with real power… none of that east coast stuff then one has to harden up a bit… 😉
Yeeeeooowww I`m out there, where is it? Bells is on my to do list sometime next year, so I might have to hit that 1 as well! Just had a nice swell hit this week over here. Thanks for those Tony.
hi Michael,
Did you get any pics from the recent waves there ? these were shot on or around Phillip Island. As you can see it can get pretty gnarly 🙂
cheers,
That last photo is a ripper, mate. Great timing with the spray and the blues are stunning.
cheers Beau – yeah I love it when it looks like that and the swell is cranking !
Love the surf shots Tony. Cant wait for the video!
hi Josh – cheers mate.. the video is actually up on vimeo but I’m not over happy with the footage as I had not taken a tripod. I had thought… surf photography fast shutter speeds = I don;t have to lug a tripod for once ! But I keep forgetting that I can shoot video with the 5D2 and sure enough after been there for 10 minutes I had the brainwave – hey I should shoot video ! lol