Frames Photography

One day, three brides!

2011-03-29T23:51:00.000+01:00

Lamphey Court Hotel - provided the venue for the day.

If I’m honest it wasn’t my very best look. But then there is a reason why photographers are behind the lens rather than in front of it. Last Tuesday found me at the fantastic Lamphey Court Hotel for a wedding themed photo-shoot. The problem was more to do with how I’d got there – an overnight 15 hour journey from Thurso on the North Coast of Scotland – just a few miles off the most Northerly point of the UK mainland as it happens. (To see what I was doing there, check this link). Coffee and Red Bull had seen me through, but red eyes and pallid skin told the true tale.

Gabrielle - dress designed by Charlotte Balbier

Fortunately the weather was doing its best to cast a favourable light on proceedings and as the morning mist cleared the grounds of the Hotel were bathed in fantastic early spring sunshine, casting an attractive light on the impressive Georgian architecture. Unexpectedly almost too much light and heat.

Gabrielle takes a break from the intense sun-shine at the front of the hotel

Hair styling and make-up was quickly taken care of by the expert team of Seren Style (Rachel Lincoln) and The Make-up Lady (Lynne Gammage) – if you’ve attended a local wedding fayre you’ll be familiar with the quality of their work – if you’re not then check out the links to their websites.

Lisa, dress designed by Kate Sherford

The stunning wedding gowns were chosen and supplied by White Bride of Narberth (Sally White) and included designer dresses from Kate Sherford and Charlotte Balbier –a small selection of the many designs and styles Sally can supply. I borrowed Sally for the day as a photographers assistant and she provided a great help handling the Speedlite, reflector and diffusers like a pro. My only grumble is that she didn’t carry the camera bag.

Maria, in a Charlotte Balbier design

With three girls trying out their hand at modelling (and maybe getting a few ideas for the big day, when it comes) time for each shoot was fairly limited, but the team held together and we achieved some images we were all pleased with.

We all enjoyed working at Lamphey Court and agreed that it provides a fantastic venue for the perfect wedding. A mixture of country house style comfort and Georgian grandeur makes for a stunning back-drop to the big day and all of your requirements can be taken care of in-house.

Maria, in a Charlotte Balbier design

On completion of the shoot, I bumped into Raul Speek, who had just installed a number of his unique works of art on the walls of the hotel. Raul has a level of enthusiasm best described as “infectious” and his work is well worth checking out. If you can’t make it to the gallery in Solva, his pictures make for a great back-drop to a cup of coffee at Lamphey Court.

If you're interested in having some portrait, portfolio or commercial images taken by me, please feel free to get in touch to discuss your requirements - my email is adrian@framesphtoography.co.uk

Embarrassment

2010-12-23T09:41:00.003Z

More beach ball than robin - it seems remarkable that anything survives outdoors in this weather.

Pembrokeshire hasn’t suffered in the recent mini-ice age to quite the same extent as the rest of the country. Sure it’s been cold with unprecedented days, weeks even of low temperatures – but very little in the way of snow. A couple of very short flurries eventually brought us an inch or so of the white stuff and added to the chaos on the roads. The village of Bosherston was temporarily cut-off on Sunday as car after car failed to make it up the hill, ending up in the ditch, 5 in all before the police closed the road. The council eventually responded with an emergency gritter – only for that to execute a slow speed slide into a stationery vehicle.

Everyone seemed to be moving around ok again by Wednesday and the same idea had passed through the minds of Pembrokeshires legion of photographers – a chance of catching a sight of the otter on the by now almost entirely frozen over Lily Ponds, abundant bird life and some stunning sunlit colours courtesy of the near solstice sun.

The view towards the 8 Arch Bridge - the last remaining patch of open water just in front of the reed bed.

It has been said (by me) that the collective noun for a group of photographers is a “moan” – whenever we get together we moan about the lack of sunlight, the cost of kit, lack of pay etc. But I’ve decided that there is an alternative rendering – “an embarrassment”. As the photographers descended to the Lily Ponds en masse there were certainly more photographers than otters, slightly embarrassing at least.

The Nuthatch, not exactly rare, but a welcome change from the robins!

The light was starting to lose its strength around 3 p.m. and it was time to head back home. Not far from the Boat House, on the ice at the bottom of the nearby bank, something caught my. The otter and not another photographer in sight! This really was my moment. I stood still, removed the lens cap, and watched him slip silently back under the ice. Surely he’d have to resurface for air soon? I held my breath and waited. Then I spotted the otters footprints across the ice – seems as if he had quite a walk-about only a few moments earlier. 30 minutes of patient waiting later and it was obvious he’d given me the slip. The photographic hunt for the elusive continues…..

Deciding that only the very patient would catch a sight of the elusive animal, I walked further down the lake, to stake out a spot and try and catch some of the bird-life. The more exotic bird-life was surprisingly largely absent from view, but the robins were as tame as ever, sometimes even landing on my shoulder, or the tripod. So it was that I snapped a few more images of robins to add to my ever growing collection.

Doesn't look like the peanut will fit, but apparently a Nuthatch's beak is strong enough to crack open a Hazelnut!

A slightly more exciting visitor (a Nuthatch) was to be spotted around the Grassy Bridge, with local ‘tog Drew Buckley having found a nice vantage point to tempt out the relatively shyer birds onto a peanut-laced log. Kindly offering to share both his nuts(!) and the angle we spent half-an-hour together, not too much of it moaning about pay either.

This was an obliging little chap!

Location, location, location!

2010-11-22T14:14:00.000Z

Model: Natalie Polino, on location in Pembrokeshire.

“The three most important things about real estate are location, location, location." – So says virtually every estate agent on earth.

From a photographic point of view the statement rings just as true. A successful shoot is a result of many individual factors coming together, with one of the key elements being location.

Model: Natalie Polino, on location in Pembrokeshire.

So I’m pretty fortunate to live in West Wales, where stunning scenery is a stones throw from my door, in any direction. This is great for landscape photography, but great too for shooting portraits. Although the images posted here are focussed on the model in a very small part of the surroundings, it is the interaction with the location that gives the images an extra impact.

Model: Natalie Polino on location in Pembrokeshire.

While I love the control and comfort of working in a studio setting, there is something special about capturing an unique image outdoors. This is even truer if the location is one that has a special meaning to the client, whether it’s a site of outstanding natural beauty, or the local pub! So if you’re considering commissioning a portrait – either as part of your modelling portfolio, or to frame and hang on the living room wall, don’t write off the idea of stepping outside of the studio.

The light doesn't have to be perfect - the photographer brings his own! Model: Natalie Polino, on location in Pembrokeshire.

Autumn and Winter provide the opportunities to get some really atmospheric images. Model: Natalie Polino, on location in Pembrokeshire.

Frames Photography are very fortunate work in partnership with the fantastic Seren Style (based in Lamphey but available on a mobile basis for photo shoots) - who will make sure that on the day you look your very best, offering hair-styling, make-up and nail packages! If you’d like more details of our studio or location portrait packages, please contact adrian@framesphotography.co.uk for more details.

Paint People!

2010-09-10T16:21:00.000+01:00

Painted by facesunlimited

It's been a fair old while since I've blogged on here, a lot of my time recently has been spent running the surfing website, SurfTalk If it's surf sessions and blogs you're after check the articles on the home page and the blog section.

If you're interested in some of the other stuff going on in my life, read on...

Over the week of 23rd-27th August the 3rd Welsh International Face & Body Painting Festival was held in the stunning location of Candleston Castle, near Merthyr Mawr, South Wales. I attended a couple of the days to document the body painting. It seems the weather was on my side, despite the forecast threatening 50mph+ winds at the start of the week, in the end the days I attended proved to be pretty warm and sunny. The days inbetween were a bit rougher, and for those camping on the site (most!) I'm not sure if the tired eyes were down to the overnight party or the insistent rain storms. Probably a combination.

Alex Hansen, from Montreal

The venue is a pretty special place, not only the ruins of Candleston Castle, but even more so the huge network of sand dunes surrounding the woodland - once the largest in Europe, and still boasting the highest dune in Europe - known as the Big Dipper. If you're a fan of old films, some scenes from Lawrence of Arabia were filmed here.

It's not only the venue that is special - it's the people that make the event after all. Although the painting is competitive, with work judged and marked, the atmosphere is definitely that of a festival, with most of the artists bringing along the family. The food deserves a mention as well - how meals that tasty get served up in a kitchen so small, running off a diesel generator that wasn't 100% reliable, I'm not entirely sure.

The bodypainting itself is a pretty pain-staking business, with individual artists allowed up to six hours to complete their masterpiece. All of this taking place in a marquee that had the properties of a steam room, pretty much a necessity for the models wearing only enough clothing to cover the essentials - and a lot of paint of course.

More painful to me, is the fact only an hour or two after the work has been completed, judged and photographs taken, it's all washed off again, but given the nature of the designs, you could understand that the models might be reluctant to go shopping down Tesco's without scrubbing it all off first.

For me, one of the best parts about the bodypainting was the 3-dimensional nature of the "canvas". This allowed the artists (and photographer) the ability to create images that really leapt off the "page" in a way that would be hard, or impossible to achieve in the conventional 2-dimensional world of most artists.

Painted by Phizart

Painted by aboutface and Facial Attraction

Painted by Cats Creations

The themes available to the artists were "In the Beginning" and "Wild Things", with a freedom to interpret the brief as individually as they saw fit. I hope you enjoy a few of the images from the event as much as I did taking them, and if you're ever tempted by the thought of a body or face painting party, I'd recommend checking out the websites linked beneath the images.

Painted by aboutface and Facial Attraction

Painted by Cats Creations

If your "Paint-work" is on here, and I've not credited you, please get in touch!

Newgale Beach Clean

2010-03-31T15:32:00.000+01:00

Ominous clouds

Signifying the true start of “British Summer Time”, the wind-driven rain & sleet battered against the kitchen window-panes, early Tuesday morning. More in hope than expectation, I called Mari (from Keep Wales Tidy) to see if the beach clean at Newgale was still going ahead. Of course it was, so I set off through the flash-floods at the end of my road, the van packed with survival gear and waterproofs.

Newgale, pretty much at sea-level

Not the best opening day for the camp-site

As you drive in, you get a nice view of Newgale, nestled in the valley, rather precariously at sea-level protected from the wrath of the Atlantic by a huge shingle bank. Protected for now that is, but with the forecast rise in sea-levels, Newgale is under real threat. The day also marked the opening of the camp-site at Newgale, the flash-floods rendering the field more of a boating lake. It always amazes me how well the field dries out and becomes usable again, but with more heavy rain on the way this week I’d definitely recommend giving the site a call before setting out!

Some of the intrepid volunteers!

Sure enough, an intrepid band of volunteers was readying themselves for action in the car park near the life-guard hut. The first area to clean was around the kiln, the other side of the road from the beach. It’s a bit of a litter trap as the bits of plastic get snagged on the bracken, then shredded into increasingly small pieces in the wind. Most of the litter in this area is the light stuff that blows around easily – “domestic litter”, crisp packets, chocolate wrappers, plastic bags etc.

Having made a decent effort on this we moved to the beach. Newgale is fortunate that the beach itself is “cleaned” twice a day by the tides, with the water reaching all the way to the shingle bank. This sweeping action across the sand does tend to give the impression that the beach is litter free, but the shingle bank tends to act as a store for the litter that isn’t dragged back. As you might expect, here the majority of the litter collected was from a shipping origin, mostly broken fishing nets, fishing line and a lot of cable ties and packing straps. Perhaps more strangely a fair number of plastic plant pots had made their way down to the beach, something to bear in mind on the next trip to the Garden Centre.

Ian Meopham, National Parks Ranger at the stream, strewn with plastic litter

Mari Williams, Keep Wales Tidy. Strong winds making the job more difficult

After 4 hours, the air temperature of 1 degree C, 30mph wind and rain squalls signalled an end to the day. With around 10 volunteers in total, we’d spent about 40 man/woman-hours on the beach and collected a decent amount of litter. The clean was fun (honestly!) with good company and it’s rewarding too, so well worth the effort. But ultimately any litter clean is only a sticking plaster on a very nasty wound.

Mari keeps smiling, between the downpours

For more information on marine litter and its effects, click this link

For details of local beach cleans in your area, click this link

Fancy winning a brand-new Santa Cruz surfboard? Enter the SurfTalk competition!

The Shack is Back!!!!

2010-03-04T10:15:00.000Z

Our Shack, in the Middle of Our Beach....

Most Des Res, Pembrokeshire style

Complete with roof decor

These images are low-resolution versions of the original for quick viewing on the web.

If you would like to purchase an image please contact adrian@framesphotography.co.uk

Pembrokeshires own Banksy, (or team of Banksy’s?) has been at it again. Back in 2008 a series of desirable beach front properties sprang into existence on a number of Pembrokshire beaches including Tenby South, Manorbier and Broad Haven. Fashioned out of driftwood, fishing net, shells and other items the shacks blended into the dunes as if they were part of the natural landscape. Providing a fun shelter for holiday-makers caught out by the rain and even a useful point to line-up against when surfing, the fun was brought to an end at the close of the tourist season. The local council branded the shacks a health & safety risk and went to considerable effort to fulfil their “duty” to the public by demolishing the shacks and removing all traces.

Umm is that right on the high tide line?

Plenty of colourful decorations

In the Bronx hanging sneakers up marks the spot of fallen gang members. In Pembrokeshire it signifies that someone had an uncomfortable walk home

Now in 2010 the legend grows further – a new shack has grown out of the sands at one of Pembrokeshires most beautiful beaches, Barafundle. The source of and motivation for all of this creative recycling remains a mystery. Is it part of a film set, an environmental statement, or just a bit of fun? If you can shed any light on the mystery we’d like to hear from you. In a direct appeal to Pembrokeshires own Banksy: We’d love to set up an interview with you, your anonymity is guaranteed! Should you need an agent, we’d like to be first in line when your genius is recognised on a wider scale. Get in touch!

Fancy winning a brand new Santa Cruz surfboard? Go to http://www.surftalk.co.uk/

On the 'bier

2010-03-01T09:02:00.000Z

Back-lit, but not for long

These images are low-res versions of the original files for quick web viewing.

To purchase an image contact adrian@framesphotography.co.uk

Visit http://www.surftalk.co.uk for more surf images from this session!

Wednesday found some quality swell charging past the wave buoys, matched by a pretty stiff Easterly wind. The size of the swell and strength of the wind meant that Fresh was going to be out of the question, and as I was baby-sitting for the morning, there was only one option for me. Manorbier. So when the child-care arrived in the form of the Mrs. I headed for Mano at warp speed. It was a fantastic day – blue skies and sunshine, so I had high hopes. Parking up at Mano – I could see it wasn’t at its best, but there was a decent bit of size to the sets, and with the sun perfectly back-lighting the waves, chances looked good. I headed for my vantage point, set-up, waited for the set, and got one back-lit photo. I was just remarking to myself how much warmth the sun had, when the clouds came in. A temporary blip I thought, as I zipped up the jacket I’d just undone. Then things went grey, followed by a light mist. Typical! The good lighting never returned and I was left peering at the guys through the half-gloom. Time to relocate further up the cliff.

Puddles are more dangerous than landslides round here

If Clark Little had taken this picture, it would have been sunny. And 8ft.

Obviously there had been no shortage of rain as the cliff path was pretty muddy, so I was treading carefully. Taking little baby steps where the path got narrow, I still managed to slip, executing a half-split that left my right foot dangling over the edge. I’m not saying I was near to going over, but to someone who constantly battles with vertigo it was enough to touch a little cloth.

One of the chunkier sets

Jumping off the back. Nooooo. Take the drop!

The other side of the puddle seemed a good place to stop, so this became my vantage point for the rest of the session. At times some real chunky sets came through, tending to break in the middle rather than peeling from the reef, catching the entire line-up out. How I laughed.

The whole line-up were caught out of position by this one.

A couple of kayakers paddled out, sensibly in the middle rather than into the line-up, until they too were caught by a set breaking in their path. Perfectly positioned to take the lip to the head, I expected (and hoped for) some canoe based carnage. But in the right hands those things are clearly unsinkable. Whereas a surfer in that position would be chewing doughnuts, one of the guys just blasted through the lip and boosted an air off the top, whereas his mate just took a quick trip in reverse all the way back to the sand, barely getting his hair wet. I’m not a fan of kayaking, but good work boys!

Kayaking is just as much fun on the sand

It looked like things would get messy

These things are unsinkable!

It was good to see Hazza back in the water after his trip to Indo, which clearly hadn’t done him any harm. Definitely the stand-out while I was there with his tight snaps, and one particularly nice fins-out re-entry.

Hazza, blasts an air with soul

Hazza, fins out

If anything, it seemed to be getting more consistent as the tide dropped, but the light was getting worse and as the film speed crept up I was starting to lose motivation, so headed back to the car. On the way I decided to fall back on the time honoured tradition of a surf photographer with nothing better to do, and took a few snaps of the dogs playing on the beach. One in particular – Carys was really entertaining, dredging the stream of the biggest pebbles she could carry, and carefully depositing them in various positions on the beach. I quite fancy adding a bit of pet photography to my portfolio, so if you have a beautiful pooch who deserves a framed print, let me know!

Carys

No need for a towel when you can spin dry

Surf Talk

2010-02-23T11:42:00.000Z

I've been pretty quiet on the blog for the last month, as I've been immersing myself in the murky world of HTML, Javascript and all those other wonderful languages that make the World Wide Web go round. In fact the more web-site building I do, the more amazed I am that the great www works at all. But thanks to a good few late nights and coffee the light at the end of the tunnel will be switched on March 1st, with the launch of a new web-site aimed at the Surf community - http://www.surftalk.co.uk/

At the heart of SurfTalk is a "next generation" message board, (or a Forum if you want to sound formal). The aim of the boards is to build a fun, friendly and occasionally informative community of surfers from across the UK and beyond. It's not all talk - you can post pictures or gopro clips from your latest sessions or perhaps ask for opinions and advice from the pro's.

More than just a message board, SurfTalk will feature regularly updated articles on everything from the Dream Tour to the grom competition at your local beach. And it's not just about competition, we're keen to feature the "local heroes", the everyday surfer and the weekend wave warriors as well. So if you know of a story or a feature we should be covering, get in contact! Email us at admin@surftalk.co.uk

Fancy writing your own blog? SurfTalk will be happy to host your blog entries, and the blogs don't have to be restricted to surfing - we're interested to find out what you lot are all about!

Perhaps most exciting of all is the launch competition, the good folks at Santa Cruz Europe have generously donated an awesome prize. The winner will be drawn from the first few SurfTalk members who sign-up (all for free of course) and correctly answer a question set by the folks at SCE. We're currently finalising the details and will launch the competition on or as close to March 1st as we can, so keep checking the website for details as soon as we're live. It's going to be well worth the wait!

Inspiration

2010-01-18T21:32:00.002Z

“Inspirational…the energy is incredible”. This was the promise made on the flyer advertising Tim Noble from Pure Star Productions. Tim came to visit West Wales Dance Academy on Sunday, to start a programme of dance workshops. If you’re an aspiring dancer, Tims biography is probably as inspirational as they come.

Tim originally trained at the Central School of ballet, and played the part of Jonny Casino in the West End musical Grease for 4 years, then joining Starlight Express for two years in 1998. In 2000 Tim teamed up with Kylie Minogue and has been her dance captain for the last 5 years, choreographing her live International shows including the Show Girl world tour in 2005.

The kids were in awe of Tim

Other names that Tim has worked with and can drop into the conversation include the likes of Madonna, Girl’s Aloud, Britney and Justin Timberlake. You’ve probably heard of some of them. The kids in the workshop certainly couldn’t get enough of the celeb stories in the breaks between sessions.

Dan strikes a pose at the workshop

It’s not all talk though and Tim soon put the kids through their paces working out a routine to present to the parents at the end of the day. Tims enthusiasm was pretty infectious, keeping the whole thing fun while imparting hints and tips to give the students an extra edge to their dancing. It seemed to me that everyone who attended left at the end of the day feeling that they had been part of something special.

Happy Tim sandwich, with Kelly and Melissa from WWAD

Pure Star Productions will be running another workshop with West Wales Academy of Dance later this year, so be sure to contact them if you’re looking to accelerate your chances in dance.

School Daze

2010-01-15T11:41:00.000Z

These images are low-res versions of the original files for quick web viewing.

The full set of images can be viewed at http://www.framesphotography.co.uk

As an insight into how far behind I am with my editing, this set of pictures was taken back in the heady days of late autumn. When I look back at these images, it reminds me that autumn also had extreme weather conditions to contend with, this time being the gales that blew in off the Atlantic. Things might look pretty still but these pictures were taken in the face of 50mph+ winds!

This is the worlds most uncomfortable swing. Fact.

Despite very carefully choosing this lolly for Modlen, she didn't take a single lick of it. Maybe she'd read the list of artificial additives on the wrapping.

"Reluctant". I like this pose because it seems to convey a message that most school kids feel about going back to lessons. I also like it because a few minutes later we realised Modlen had an audience of guys looking through the windows.

For this shoot, Modlen and I had two themes to work on, the first being the School Uniform shot. The idea Modlen was looking to portray with this shoot was that girls are growing up too fast. We visited a couple of "urban" playgrounds, and in my opinion Modlen had far too much fun on the swings and climbing frames.

On the way back we checked out a graffiti subway wall that I’d always wanted to shoot against, and came up with my favourite shots of the day, which Modlen called, “Homeless”. I'll blog the second theme next month.

Snow Beautiful

2010-01-12T12:44:00.001Z

This plaque was left by the Campbell family, obviously without a trace of irony as they destroyed Stackpole Court in 1963 to avoid paying inheritance tax.

These images are low-resolution versions of the original file for ease of viewing over the web. To view the full set, or buy an image, visit http://www.framesphotography.co.uk/

The only flowing water to be found was under the shadow of the Eight Arch Bridge.

The Eight Arch Bridge, Lily Ponds completely frozen over with snow cover.

The view from the Grassy Bridge. Completely frozen over Lily Ponds.

Sunday morning dawned with apocalyptic predictions of day-long snowfall and the instruction from the Pembrokeshire Emergency Services to stay indoors and not even venture out. I chose to heed the philosophical words of Arsene Wenger (Arsenal FC, Manager), "It's a price we pay. We live in a society today of 100 per cent security. We don’t accept any risk." I stopped listening at this point and assumed it was a rant about all the cancellations because of the snow and felt vindicated in leaving the house. When I later read the full interview, it turned out he was backing the decision to cancel a game earlier in the week on safety grounds. Oh well, can't be right all the time. Maybe it's the surfer in me. As a surfer you chose to invite upon yourself a calculated risk every time you step into the ocean. That doesn't mean being reckless, it means making a logical assessment of conditions and the probability of an event occurring. So think of it this way. Surely the safest place to be is in a hospital bed, in the event that the worst does occur, the very best of health-care will be immediately on hand. Of course this in itself carries a risk. Apparently 1 in every 200 hospital patients falls out of bed. This risk can of course be alleviated by the use of a "prevention strategy"; bed-rails. Unfortunately bed-rails carry a risk in themselves. Confused or frustrated patients can climb over them (and then fall from an even greater height) or even get entangled - a potentially fatal situation. (I'm not making this stuff up, the gist the above is taken from a solicitors website!) So anyway you get the picture. I left the house.

As the only other option was jumping off the cliff to get out of the way, I opted to stand still and take a photo instead.

Pony, no trap.

As cold as it looks.

Swan Lake, on ice.

Cormorants look a bit untidy, but have fantastic patterns on the back of their wings.

Winter means pictures of robins in the snow. In this case, a single snowflake has to do.

It wasn't a great day for photography, in terms of quality of light. Of course light is pretty much the be all and end all of a photograph. With completely overcast skies there wasn't that much light around, and with heavy snowfall landscape shots tend to take on a grey and drab character, as shooting through snow is much like shooting through mist. So for the most part I chose to focus on the smaller details, such as the birds. Bosherston Lily Ponds has to be a birders paradise. (My collective noun for bird-watchers - not sure if this is how they choose to refer to themselves or not). Only 2 years ago, in the balmy winters of old, we had swallows over-wintering at the Lily Ponds. Hopefully they have a natural weather forecasting ability that is superior to the Met Office, who to make up for the "Barbeque Summer" (just the mention of that still hurts) promised us a "warmer than average" winter. I certainly didn’t see any sign of the swallows. In contrast robins are all over the place. I can’t work out if they’re friendly, or following you in order to see you off their territory. Either way they certainly like to get up close. If you suffer from Ornithophobia, you might not enjoy the way they’ll fly right up into your face so that you can feel the wind from their beating wings. Otherwise the up close and personal bird experience is quite a joy. The snow made the common and not so common birds easier to spot. As did the ice, with the entire Lily Ponds one sheet of ice, with the only flowing water to be found under the span of the Eight Arch Bridge. With the light covering of snow, the Ponds looked quite stunning. While this weather for us is beautiful but inconvenient, the reality for the local wildlife is that this is a matter of life or death. Sadly a number of birds had quite simply frozen to death on their perches.

After a slow walk around the ponds, I emerged at the “stream” that runs onto the beach at Broad Haven South. A testament to the amount of water that has been running down from the ponds (also the strong offshore winds), the bank was some 8 foot high; when usually in summertime it’s only a few inches. I took a tour of the beach and then, having neglected to pack any food or water and not fancying putting my survival skills into practice by melting and drinking the snow, I headed back for home. The whole trip had taken some 5 or so hours, and I had a slight fear that Rachel may have rung up the Emergency Services and reported me as a missing person, as when I left, I told her that as the light was so poor I’d probably be back in half-an-hour. I checked with her when I got in, and to my relief, although a little concerned, she hadn’t phoned the Rescue Team, as she thought she’d “wait until it was dark”. Health & Safety doesn’t get any better than that!

Panoramic view of Broad Haven South.

Thats not white sand, it's snow. Church Rock.

Whoever left this can obviously loves their Coca-Cola, but leaving litter on the beach is the ultimate disrespect for the environment.

On the way home.....

2010-01-08T22:07:00.000Z

Nice tree, shame about the sun-set

In my experience, great landscape shots very rarely come by chance. More often than not, when you see an angle or have an idea for a set-up, you have to visit and re-visit the spot until the light is right and all the elements come together in the manner you envisioned.

Home to roost

These pictures were taken during walks around Bosherston Lily Ponds and Stackpole Estate over the Winter holidays, with 4 kids in various states of cold and tiredness in attendance. But they show the value of always travelling with your camera, because although they might be more snapshot than art, you can still capture moments of beauty and cherished memories.

Familiar view, less familiar snow

Working with the kids is becoming a bit of a necessity these days - so far in the first week back to school, they managed a total of 3 hours schooling before we were called to be informed that the school was closing. With the cold spell forecast to last at least another week, it looks like the Christmas holidays might be stretching to a month or longer, inversely proportional to my patience which is frayed and prone to snap any minute. The ironic thing of cause is that while school is closed, I'm driving around Pembrokeshire, in the snow and ice with no problem at all. Largely because we don't really have much in the way of snow. I can't help thinking that the reaction to the cold weather in this area is more about hysteria and less about reality.

First light

These images are all low-res versions of the original files for quick viewing over the web. View more images from this set at http://www.framesphotography.co.uk/

Power Rankings

2010-01-05T14:56:00.002Z

These power rankings for the 2010 Dream Tour are not the result of any mathematical or logical analysis. Nor are they the result of any special insight into or knowledge of the surfers taking part in this years tour. They're just my opinion, for what it's worth - given the above probably not much. It's not even complete. Some surfers I either didn't know enough about or didn't have enough to say, so I've not ranked them at all. Add to this the possible confusion that will arise from the changed format for rankings from the fifth event, and I'll probably need to reassess this at some point in 2010, or even remove it from the blog to save all that egg on my face when every prediction back-fires. Until then, read on while you can.......

1) Kelly Slater. Don't fool yourselves that Kelly had a bad year in 2009. Kelly doesn't have bad years. Not winning in 2009 was all part of the plan. 2009 was just a warm up for 2010. Kelly didn't want to win in 2009 because winning his 10th world title in 2009 would not sound as good as winning his 10th world title in 2010. Don't believe me? Kelly is known for his love and knowledge of statistics within the surfing arena. Kelly has had enough of the tour - witness the stirrings about the rebel tour that eventually fizzled out with some restructuring of the Dream Tour as announced at Mundaka. But the number 10 is like a monkey on his back, and until he's scratched the itch and satisfied the monkey he's not going anywhere. My best guess is that he'll walk the tour in 2010 then announce his retirement. For a second time. Only this time he'll mean it. What Kelly really wants to do is replace Tiger Woods as the nations greatest golfer, and then go on to redesign the golf club, then re-organise the sport (golf, that is) into something more worthwhile. He'll compete in only one event a year, the Eddie, and will amaze the crowds and win the crown on an old battered board that is more filler than foam, a board that he leaves stored out in the garden for 11 months of the year. Oh, hold that was 2009, very nearly. History will repeat itself one more time.

2) Mick Fanning. The latter part of 2009 found White Lightning in rampaging form. Most of us were happy to toast Mick from the hidden drink carriers stashed in our Fanning model Reef sandals when he won the tour at Pipe. 2007 may have been the year that Mick won his first title, but 2009 was the year that Mick stamped his intent for the next 5 or 6 years all over the tour. The only thing that can stop Micks’ progress now is Mick, myself or Eugene. As Mick has turned himself into the supreme surfing athlete and seems to have his alter-ego's well under control, it would be hard to bet against another stellar year for the Ozzy. But can lightning strike twice? You betcha. With the first 2 events of 2010 kicking off in Australia, you'd expect the year to start the way it ended, and a carry through of that momentum may find the unstoppable force (Fanning) meeting the immovable object (Slater).

3) Taj Burrow. TB jointly holds the dubious honour with Parko as being "the best surfer to never have won the tour", out of the current crop at least. Theories abound as to why he's never quite made the grade. Some of the stuff he does is so technical and so well executed that the judges don't score it highly enough is one of the conspiracy theories. His win ratio against the top flight, such as KS probably has more to do with it. I wonder if TB believed enough in himself when facing Slater for the umpteenth time. The fact he beat Slater at Pipe in the final in 2009 has to go some way in boosting that self-belief. In fact TB himself declared it as the best heat of his life. The problem with this is that the conditions at Pipe had really deteriorated, and Taj won because he surfed to the conditions at the time, rather than because he had mastered spitting dredging Pipe. This isn't a criticism; this is after all the way you win a heat. I just don't see the momentum of the victory at Pipe being carried all the way through 2010. Changes to the scoring criteria will suit Taj, so he's still a top 10 contender.

4) Adriano De Souza. I predicted big things for Adriano in 2009. Thinking that he was going to prove his big wave accusers wrong by completing his game plan and performing in every wave from 2ft junk to 20ft punk. But it didn't quite materialise for Adriano. Not showing up for the Triple Crown added more fuel to that fire. With his first win under his belt at Mundaka, (the only event of the year that I didn't include him in my fantasy team) Adriano can add to this tally in 2010. But he can't overcome a rampaging Fanning or on form Slater until he sticks it in the big stuff.

5) Bede Durbidge. The invisible man. With a 2nd and 3rd in consecutive years, surely Bede has to be the most consistent surfer on the tour at the moment. Yet he seems to do it all under the radar of media hype. Maybe that’s his strength, he'll come along and win the tour without anyone noticing he's done it. I see another strong and consistent finish for Bede, but not quite enough to take the crown.

6) Joel Parkinson. The 2009 title belonged to Parko before the tour was half way through the year. What went wrong? Some have said that Parko is too nice, lacking the killer instinct needed to be the ultimate competitor. The ankle injury he sustained while free surfing at Canguu when he rolled it trying to land an air probably had more to do with his complete loss of form - and the fact he never brought it up as a reason or excuse in interview, or even moaned about it is to his eternal credit. As is the gracious way he conceded defeat to Fanning - read his blog written on the 12th December, these weren't just empty words to make him look good, Parko is genuinely one of the good guys. But can he bounce back from such bitter disappointment? To have owned the tour for so long, then watch the grip slip over such a protracted period must do bad things to the mind. Winning the Triple Crown must have gone some way to softening the blow, and hopefully keeping the self-belief intact. I'm really glad he left 2009 with something, but I can't see 2010 being his year - 2009 was probably the best shot he'll ever have.

7) Dane Reynolds. Pound for pound Reynolds is undoubtedly the most entertaining surfer on the tour, on and off the field of play. He had a solid rookie year, then backed it up with a good year 2. Only in year 2 he and the judges started to realise that surfers could not only entertain in a heat, you could also win heats when going all out to entertain. In 2010 I see the judges rewarding DR's style of surfing even more than they did in 2009. And now it's getting closer, DR is starting to get a taste for how victory on the tour might feel. Don't let the soul surfer act fool you, he's starting to want it, but he will do it his way, staying true to himself and his values. My favourite surfer on tour for the last 2 years, no contest.

8) Jordy Smith. Probably started his rookie year on the Dream Tour with a greater fanfare than any other surfer before him or since. It didn't help. Made some very odd decisions in his heats, which I can only put down to nerves. Pulling some moves in the end zone at Chopes instead of scurrying for the channel remains one of the strangest decisions I've seen on the tour. Watching Jordy stranded on the reef, too shallow for rescue by the jet-ski will be an image that I remember for a while. I'm sure he will as well, it must have left a mark on the sole(s of his feet). Jordy looked like he was hitting form at the tail end of 2008 in Hawaii only to be cruelly denied a showing at Pipe when he got injured in macking Sunset. Jordy has the talent and the all round game to shine in the dream tour, but something is still mis-firing. Some have said he needs to stop taking defeat so well and start to get angry. I'm not really into angry surfers as it tends to turn them into arses, so I sure hope Jordy keeps his cool, but starts to get the results he's more than capable of.

9) CJ Hobgood. CeeJ owns Teahupoo if the swell arrives, so that’s one tour event victory lined up. But where will the other results come from? CJ is a great buy for your fantasy team - not faltering to any 33rd or 17th places at all in 2009, but not busting into any finals either. Mediocre won't win CJ any world titles, but the work with coach Chris Gallagher seems to be paying dividends, so he's going to be there or thereabouts. Here's hoping there's no repeat of the swiping of his entire quiver of boards that happened in France - he ended up competing on a board that he'd signed for the boys at Euro Glass that they'd had hung on the wall for the year. Redefines Off the Wall.....

10) Owen Wright. The last time an incredible trail-blazing surfing talent came up from the WQS - Jordy Smith, things didn't work out quite as expected. Although a Rookie year will always be a tough year, I think that had more to do with Jordy and the pressure of expectation heaped on his shoulders. How will Owen Wright fare? Taking out Kelly Slater in Portugal, effectively ending any interest the King had in the title race might be a clue. If there was one person capable of stopping Fanning at Supertubes it was Ozzie. Sadly while we were all frothing at the prospect Ozzie face slapped the flats and burst an ear-drum giving Mick a by for his heat. I wonder if even the mighty Mick breathed a sigh of relief? Owen will put in some stellar performances this year at individual events. Not enough to sustain a campaign for the title, but enough to put the old guard on notice.

If you had a board like this, you'd surf as good as Owen Wright, maybe.

Owen Wright, making good on a bad day at Brimms.

11) Andy Irons. Most people will be pleased to see Andy back on the tour on the basis that he's supposedly a "fly in the champagne" for Kelly Slater. At his own backyard at Pipe in 2009, Andy didn't stay around long enough to poop in Kellys champage. Was a years sabbatical long enough? Personally I don't think so. Andy is still the showman - witness his crazy Waimea shore-break pull-in at the Eddie. 3 World Titles don't just land in your lap. But I'm still not convinced he's hungry enough for it to make a difference this year.

12) Bobby Martinez. Since Bobby joined the tour 5 years ago, he's never finished outside the top ten. That’s a pretty impressive statistic. But why hasn't he pressed home the advantage and gained himself the world title that Slater predicted when he was Rookie of the Year? Why did he start 2009 without a main sponsor? I don't know the answers to those questions, but Bobbie is an awesome tube rider, he just needs to fine tune the other parts of his game. Losing Mundaka from this years tour will hurt as that seemed to be a home from home for Bobby.

13) Damien Hobgood. The other half of the Hobgood equation comboed Andy Irons at Pipe. As far as I'm aware, that is a first for Andy. Does that reflect on where Andy's head is or where Damo's at? Damo went on to eliminate John John “so good they named him twice” Florence, who was just epic up to that point. I was gutted cos I'm a big fan of John John, but heck his time will come. Will Damo's time come? Like his brother the work with Chris is paying off, but I don't see a title in 2010.

14) Taylor Knox. It all came good for Taylor, the oldest geezer on the tour in 2009. 15 years competing and to me he still looked solid. Taylor has the complete act, including the nuttiness to take home an XXL award in earlier years. I'll always cheer Taylor on in a heat, and that should see him through enough rounds to place in a similar position (12th) on the tour in 2010.

15) Kieren Perrow. You get the feeling that if the waves turn nasty, Kieren Perrow will be the man to step up to the plate. Generally you don't get to see the worlds surfing elite thrown into the worst that the ocean can offer, so he may not get the chance to shine.

16) Daniel Ross. Top Qualifier from the WQS. I don't see Daniel struggling too hard to assert himself in the CT. His rookie year won't be trailblazing but it will be solid.

Daniel Ross looked every inch the future WCT competitor at the Boardmasters

Fistral regulars will be familiar with a wave that looks like this, less regularly seen being used as a launch pad though. Daniel Ross on his way to victory.

$16,000 ain't bad, but the cheques will be much bigger for Ross next year

17) Tom Whittaker.

18) Luke Munro. That'll be Lord Munro to you. His class showed through every heat of the O'Neill Cold Water Classic, and he got his "Lord" title as runner-up to Adam Melling. Munners brings his fluid polished and powerful style back to the CT in 2010.

Lord Munro, pure, aristocratic class.

19) Dean Morrison.

20) Ben Dunn improver for 2010.

21) Brett Simpson. You’ll remember Brett for the sick with envy feeling you had when he cleared $100,000 at the Hurley US Open, taking home the biggest winners cheque in ASP history. He dusted two former champs on the way, in CeeJ and Fanning in the final, so he did it the hard way. This was in front of his hometown crowd though, and stranger climes might prove harder to crack.

22) Tiago Pires. The best European surfer on the tour, in the absence of Jeremy Flores. Maybe the best European on the tour including Flores. Pires on his backhand in a nasty barrel like Teahupoo is as solid as anyone else on the tour. His elimination in the early rounds at Supertubes was as devastating to my fantasy surf team as it was the Portuguese nation. The fact he went out in poor conditions sums it up. If the tour scores some heavy barrelling waves, Pires will be a force to be reckoned with. If the waves don't come to play, neither will Pires. Hopefully the re-jigging of the schedule will go some way to boosting his results in 2010.

23) Adam Melling. That'll be Lord Melling to you, after he won the coveted O'Neill Cold Water Classic in freezing conditions at Thurso, in Scotland. Part of the prize included a plot of land giving him the right to the title, so the Dream Tour has a touch of class in 2010.

Adam Melling, travels further on a floater than most of us travel on the face

Adam Melling, minutes away from being made a Lord. And hypothermia.

24) Blake Thornton. One of the boys from the ‘Bra.

25) Fred Pattachia. Just too inconsistent in 2009. I'm not sure that there is any reason to expect a change in 2010. Freddy P is better than his results. I'd recommend a year out to surf the waves he loves and come back to the tour recharged

26) Julian Wilson. You might remember Julian for some ridiculous surfing featured in Quiksilvers Young Guns III. You might also know him for his brightly coloured ‘80’s style “Pop-video nightmare” graphics on his boards (painted by his Mum). In 2010 you’ll know him for popping some mind-blowing performance re-defining air. Probably at Teahupoo.

27) Dusty Payne. Good to see a Maui boy joining the CT in 2010. Bringing some swagger with him and comparisons are being drawn with Bruce.

28) Jeremy Flores. Raw talent. Had to sit out most of 2009 with an injury, but didn't have to rely on being handed a deserved injury wild-card to get back on the tour in 2010, having re-qualified through results on the QS. But what will his physical and mental condition be on his return? Long term injuries can play on your mind and hold you back from hyper-extending anything that might snap if it's hyper-extended again. Of course Fanning proved that fear of injury does not have to hold you back, but you have to really, really want it. Before his injury Flores seemed to me to have lost interest. That might be grossly unfair because he might have been holding back to try and protect himself from what eventually happened anyway. 2010 could decide the direction of Jeremy's career from now on. Too good to disappear into obscurity, but might choose to follow the free-surfing route for a year or two.

29) Kekoa Bacalso. Rookie of the Year in 2009.

30) Drew Courtney. Got the results in QS competitions to re-qualify. Will scrap for his place again in 2010, but may be relying on QS results to be there in 2011.

Drew Courtney at Thurso East before it turned nasty

31) Roy Powers.

32) Luke Stedman. Only managed to surf two events in 2009 due to injury, and fairly and squarely was handed the injury wildcard for 2010. That said I'm not sure Luke will capitalise on this to return in 2011.

33) Patrick Gudauskas. One third of the San-Clemente brotherhood, poised to challenge the family dominance enjoyed by the Hobgoods. Finished second in the ‘QS in 2009.

34) Matt Wilkinson. Apparently lists Homer Simpson as his hero. A diet of doughnuts will see this kid flying high on a sugar rush.

35) Travis Logie. It's been a tough route back to the WCT for Travis and no one could begrudge his return to the top flight. Having had to withdraw from the 2007 tour due to injury, he was handed an injury wildcard in 2008, but was still hampered by the injury. Only just qualifying (in 13th spot) the hard way through the WQS, Travis has it all to do again to stay in the CT in 2010.

36) Mick Campbell.

37) Michel Bourez

38) Kai Otton. Had a fairly solid season in 2009. Why do I think Kai will drop around 15 places in 2010? I don’t really, I just need to make one obvious mistake for everyone to focus on. Expect Kai to finish some way up from here.

39) Jadson Andre. Finished 3rd on the ‘QS in 2009. Exploded onto the scene seemingly (to me) out of nowhere. Only 20 years old. Plays some big moves, but still has some style issues to iron out. Is it possible to continue such an astonishing rise up the ranks? I can’t see it for this year, but I can see him re-qualifying for the Dream Tour with another good year on the ‘QS.

40) Adrian Buchan. Working hard to recover from a knee injury.

41) Nathan Yeomans. A common factor among the highest qualifiers from the ‘QS was a strong performance in the O’Neill Cold Water Classic. With an extra 1,000 points available to each CWC winner, it gave a huge boost to the ratings. Taking home the Steamer Lane event, saw Nathan complete his charge to the WCT.

42) Marco Polo

43) Tanner Gudauskas. One third of the San Clemente brotherhood.

44) Neco Padaratz

45) Chris Davidson.

Don’t blame me if your fantasy team bombs out this year. I had a great rookie year in 2008, but 2009 saw a slide to the top 20%, so I have form in getting things not quite right. If you’re interested in joining the Frames fantasy league, I’ll be setting one up as soon as all the 2010 stuff is in place on the Surfer web-site. Check back here regularly for updates.

Fresh Lines

2010-01-04T13:58:00.000Z

When trying to make the call as to whether or not to head out and check the surf, spending 10 minutes scraping the ice off the inside of the windscreen before you leave home is as good an omen as any. When we moved down here 8 years ago, the locals told us “We don’t get frost in Pembrokeshire”. This proved to be a small extension on the truth, one which I had opportunity to curse with fingers burning as the circulation gradually restored itself on the drive down to Fresh. The thought of paddling out with the leaking holes in my mitts sure didn’t add to the appeal. Still the buoys had jumped from an overnight reading of 3.0ft @ 5 seconds to an altogether more impressive 5ft @ 10 seconds, and Newsurf were bizarrely calling it 1ft on the surf report for Newgale, so I knew it had to be good.

Stacked up, but when's it gonna break?

Sure enough the lines were stacked all the way to the horizon, with a gentle offshore grooming the faces into sheet glass. If you looked out at Middle Bay that is. The view from Middle Bay looked really promising, but the swell wasn’t breaking until it was pretty much over the rocks, and with a bit of size to it taking my chances didn’t seem the best option. The beach was a mess though. The same old story for Fresh – it can make a bad swell good, but equally makes a good swell bad. As the period picks up the rip cranks up a gear, and the inside becomes a wish-wash of cross-currents, cross-waves and a generally frothy mess. Further out looked more promising, but with a sub-zero wind chill today wasn’t a day for multiple duck-dives. Jack joined me at the cliff top, and was going to wait for the reserves to arrive before heading in. I reckon around low if the banks are good it could be really smoking, but sadly I can’t make the return journey as I’m back on term-time kiddie duties.

The Seaweed Hut, flower for a friend.

On the plus side, the lap-top has been replaced, and I’m pretty much back up and running, apart from a few Windows 7 / FTP issues. I was going to do a review of 2009 on the blog, in fact I spent about 2 days putting one together, and just before I pressed publish, Blogger threw a wobbly and erased the whole lot. So not looking backwards, only looking forwards, welcome to 2010.

ASP 2010 Schedule

2009-12-27T16:36:00.000Z

With 2009 nearly at an end, time to start planning schedules for next year. The ASP have published the schedule for 2010, with some significant, but not unexpected changes. I guess the biggest change is that Mundaka has been dropped. Such an amazing wave, but completely unsuited to a CT event. Peniche takes its place , so the storm damage from this years event didn't put Rip Curl off. Given that it was the only leg in Europe that really supplied any decent surf, this wasn't really a surprise either. Chopes has moved, so here's hoping they get to surf the real thing for once. Looks like a busy Autumn is in store...... The name at the bottom of each event is the defending champ.

ASP World Tour

Feb 27-Mar 10

Gold Coast,Qld-Australia

Quiksilver Pro

ASP Int'l

$400,000

N/A

Parkinson,Joel

ASP World Tour

Mar 30-Apr 10

Bells Beach,Victoria-Australia

Rip Curl Pro

ASP Int'l

$400,000

N/A

Parkinson,Joel

ASP World Tour

Apr 21-30

Santa Catarina-Brazil

Hang Loose Santa Catarina Pro

ASP Int'l

$400,000

N/A

Slater,Kelly

ASP World Tour

Jly 15-25

Jeffreys Bay-South Africa

Billabong Pro

ASP Int'l

$400,000

N/A

Parkinson,Joel

ASP World Tour

Aug 23-Sep 3

Teahupoo,Taiarapu-Tahiti

Billabong Pro Teahupoo

ASP Int'l

$400,000

N/A

Martinez,Bobby

ASP World Tour

Sep 12-21

Trestles,California-USA

Hurley Pro

ASP Int'l

$400,000

N/A

Fanning,Mick

ASP World Tour

Sep 25-Oct 5

South West Coast-France

Quiksilver Pro France

ASP Int'l

$400,000

N/A

Fanning,Mick

ASP World Tour

Oct 7-18

Peniche-Portugal

Rip Curl Pro

ASP Int'l

$400,000

N/A

Fanning,Mick

ASP World Tour

Oct 30-Nov 10

Somewhere

Rip Curl Search

ASP Int'l

$400,000

N/A

Fanning,Mick

ASP World Tour

Dec 8-20

Banzai Pipeline,Oahu-Hawaii

Billabong Pipeline Masters

ASP Int'l

$400,000

N/A

Burrow,Taj

If you can't stand the heat, get out of the kitchen!

2009-12-18T10:30:00.000Z

With the onset of global warming, incidents like these are on the rise

In a long and established history of such events, this is not the proudest moment of my life. Those of you who know me, will know that we are a large family, living in a small house. Time is precious and life is cluttered. So I need to do some work, and not having an office or studio, I usually work on the kitchen table. Only this time as I hauled the "lap-top" (it's a bit of a beast weighing in at 8kg) through to the kitchen, the table needed clearing to fit the computer on. But then so did all the kitchen sides. There was only one space in the room, and that was the ceramic hob. Not the smartest place to rest a laptop you may think, even temporarily, but then, the oven hadn't been on all day. So I put the lap-top down, and wander off to sort out some child related catastrophe back in the living room. The next thing I know is Rachel is shouting "no, no, no" and there is a lot of acrid plasticky smoke drifting around the house. Although the smoke alarms are apt to trigger at the merest hint of singeing every time you use the toaster, when it really counts of course they stayed stubbornly quiet. Rach grabbed the lap-top and lifted it off the hob as best she could, leaving half the casing behind. Turns out the hob might have been on after all, and might have been on for a while.

Cue uncomfortable conversation with the household contents insurer. So now my poorly computer is off to be assessed, with the repair / replace decision being scheduled for December 25th. Not sure if they'll be working that day? Thankfully all the files on the hard drive were either backed up or recoverable so no work has been lost, but time-wise don't expect much from me for the next couple of weeks, as our second computer doesn't have the software or the processing power for photo editing. Any excuse for some time off.....

This is Urban Surfing

2009-12-15T10:57:00.001Z

I'm without wheels (currently "between cars") and stuck in doors editing hundreds of dance photos while outside there's probably a pristine 2 foot wave peeling off at Fresh West, going unridden. To keep my sanity I work with my You Tube playlist randomnly playing in the background. This little clip popped up from a couple of years back and reminded me of the genius that was Liam Tates stop-animation entry into the Carve / Resin 8 competition. It always makes me laugh, so I thought it was time to re-discover the genius. I hope it brightens up 1 minute and 8 seconds of your day.

After the Eddie

2009-12-11T00:01:00.001Z

This doesn't happen very often at Manorbier, just as sweet when it does

Thanks to an awesome live feed on the net, I got to watch the 25th anniversary running of the Eddie at Waimea a couple of days ago. Seeing the guys throw themselves over the ledge on 25ft walls of water, pull into gaping barrels in the shorey, not to mention seeing 60 year old Clyde Aikau paddle into and make a 20ft+ wave alternately filled me with inspiration and despair. Clearly those Hawaiians are made of sterner stuff. As I write this the live feed for the Pipe comp is on and once again the day has been thrown into some kind of perspective. But warm water perfection aside, what's occurin in Wales?

Crowds. If you surf here, you're going to have to deal with them

More often the section folds

But when it holds, you'll still have speed bumps to negotiate

The forecast had been solid for a few days so the session was pretty well anticipated. After the incessant run of storm surf, a high pressure system bringing sunshine and really light Easterly winds was pretty welcome. First place to check was Fresh West, but typically when a big swell comes along and the wind has only just turned offshore, the beach just wasn't holding the swell. Sketchy, big lumps of water were rolling in with shifting peaks and a long hard paddle on offer. The whole area was smothered in a sea mist turning the water a bleak, cold and uninviting grey. Hazza was checking the line-up along the Bay, pretty unenthused by what was on offer. Not another single surfer around. Rumours that Dickie was going to be heading out nearby with jet-ski assist were enough to keep me around the area for an hour, not to mention flash-backs to the Eddie, but thankfully reality imposed itself on my consciousness and I decided to head to calmer waters.

The spot much favoured by longboarders, this looked like a sweet ride

What a difference. Leaving the gloom of Fresh, I arrived at Mano in a blanket of warm, almost spring-like sunshine. Instead of the unmakeable lumps and half a mile of white water, a pristine, clean small peeling wave was on offer. But it was small. Torn between going back to Fresh and taking what was on offer here, I agonised for half an hour. Fortunately Hazza is pretty enthusiastic and his optimistic assesment that things would improve won the day and how they improved. With near perfect lighting, the water surface was mirror-like in its smooth perfection. Thats when it happened. Hazza got a barrel in the bowly shore-break section. Then it happened again. Soon a mini-barrel fest was on offer. I'm not exactly a regular at Manorbier, as I'm not a great fan of the way the wave usually surges and backs off as it pushes onto the beach. But perhaps the decent long period swell is what it really needs to get going. I probably saw more barrels in one day than I have in all my other visits to this spot.

Perfect light....

.....and.....

.....some smooth faces

It was pretty darn shallow mind. The angle needed for the pix left me in the slightly uncomfortable position of having to sit on the inside over the reef. Generally this wasn't too bad, but occasionally I'd catch a point on the reef, usually when I'd just spotted a set that required me to paddle a little further out - not exactly the start you want when you're scratching for the horizon. The first wave of the rogue set of the day rolled me, and I got to the surface in time to see Hazza on the second wave, but no chance to click the shutter before I was taking the reverse elevator drop for a second time. Hazza got thrown into a ledge and I got to thank the knee-pads on my O'Neill wettie as my knees took the impact but the wetsuit stayed intact and rip free.

Hazza sets up the turn

Sam hitting off the lip with intent

After a couple of hours my fingers were starting to sting and it was time to call it a day, I left the water pretty stoked to have captured a small but sweet day at a spot I don't visit all that much, then raced back to see what action was going on at Y-bocs before the school run. Nothing much had changed - Fresh was a little smaller, a little less grey and mencaing, but the Box just wasn't on. Tommorrow however.......

Hazza, one of a good number of bazzas

Aurora Dance

2009-11-24T20:24:00.000Z

Aurora go street. Aerosols optional.

Hannah, free-style solo champion, 2006

These images are low-res, compressed versions of the originals for web-viewing. The full set of images will shortly be available at Frames Photography.

Although this November has been pretty much all-time in terms of producing waves worth photographing, it's not only about the surf. While I was out at Tourist Town last Saturday a very last minute call came through asking me to attend a rehearsal with Aurora Dance Entertainments (Professional dance troupe) and the Kites cheer-leaders (Official Scarlets cheerleaders). Never one to shirk responsibility, no matter how heavily it weighs upon my shoulders, I of course accepted the assignment ;-)

Umm, is the safety catch on?

The location was a bit of a photographers nightmare, I had no time to arrange for any studio lighting, so was relying on the lighting available at the venue. Those who know Paddles will know that there is no lighting to speak of - certainly no natural light and only very little illumination from the dance floor lighting. So armed with only a single off-camera flash and a reflector / diffuser I set to work.

Layla

Layla plays the part of a cheeky sailor girl rather well!

Hannah in sequins

The aim of the session was to capture an example of the many different styles and costumes that Aurora are able to offer a client. This gave us very little time to arrange poses or re-shoot if an angle or sequence hadn't worked out from a compositional perspective. Despite the limitations of time and light, the day was great fun. The girls gave the session boundless energy and kept the fun and enthusiasm going all the way through. Emma even kept smiling through the discomfort of wearing dance shoes 2 sizes too small - talk about the show must go on!

Emma, show (must-go-on) girl

I'll be working closely with West Wales Academy of Dance (encompassing Aurora and the Kites) over the next few months, and as I'm now armed with a new portable studio rig me, hope to provide some even stronger images soon. Keep checking back for updates.

Yeah baby! Austin Powers never danced with anyone as good as this!

Lightning doesn't strike the same place twice

2009-11-23T14:40:00.002Z

Ooof! Tourist Town wasn't taking prisoners

Shooting into the sun at Tourist Town was a bit of a nightmare

Well scientifically of course, that old myth isn't actually true. Just ask Roy Sullivan, who holds the world record as the man struck by lightning the most times - 7 in all. This inconvenient truth aside, it was perhaps too much to hope that having scored all-time Tourist Town only a week ago, the same thing was going to happen this weekend. But that seemed to be the promise on the swell forecast.

It started for me exactly as it did last Saturday. First I went East. It was ok, nice enough and a fair few guys already in. But it wasn't epic, and on a 20ft+ swell only epic will do. So I went back to the Wedge. The Wedge was empty, if only because Vaughnie had just got out to fix a new leash. No surprises there - it was (just like last week) big, nasty, messy and all but unmanageable. Not that Vaughnie seemed to mind. With the spray and shifting peaks, although tempted (if only to stand poised by the torpedo buoy to give Vaughnie a tow the next time he snapped his leash) I decided not to stay because these horrible conditions at the Wedge had to mean that Tourist Town was on.

When I got there, the car park was pretty full. I had the horrible, sneaking suspicion that I might hold at least some of the responsibility for this having published the photo's earlier in the week. This time I was tempted to leave before even looking at the water, before any of the locals spotted me and fancied a spot of revenge. Then I remembered it was Dickies party the night before and that a good proportion of the boys would be far too worse for wear to start any trouble. Right on cue Jack and Oli turned up with coffee, serious hangovers and no intention of starting anything. Perhaps I'd just check the water....

Thats where the lightning analogy comes to play. As soon as I saw it, I knew that this week lightening wasn't going to strike. The wind so much stronger, and cross rather than straight offshore. There was still a good size to the waves, but they weren't as hollow or consistent. Photographically the set-up wasn't great either - sun high and shining straight down the lens. I took a few token pictures then headed for home.

Richard points out that the roof is coming down, and that water ain't none to deep

Ryan Shepard, on a round one

Big pit

There was one card left to play. A beach riddled in Pembrokeshire myth and legend. I call it Neals Yard, partly named after a cool part of the West End I used to go visit when I wanted a break from the madness when I was living in London and partly named after Neal, who (according to folk-lore) very nearly broke his neck body-boarding in the ridiculously heavy and shallow shore-break. I've taken the trek many times, but rarely found anything worth the effort. The wind along the cliff-top was pretty intense and with darkening skies it didn't look like a great call, but when I got to the beach, I saw Richard and Ryan suited up and ready to go in. At last, it was on! With mostly lefts breaking off the cliff, the boys were taking some heavy and fast drops into the shallowest water - it didn't look remotely makeable for a stand-up surfer. Within minutes Richards leash had snapped and the rest of the session must have been spent with a very tight grip on the board, cos he didn't have to swim as much as might have been expected.

With late drops like this, it's no surprise that Richard lost his leash early on in the day

Ryan, Speed Blur

Eventually the 50mph wind driven rain just proved a bit too much to stick out - especially as I'd left my water-proofs in the car, having been in too much of a rush to get to the beach to spend the extra 10 seconds it might have taken to put them on. So I called it a day.

Another late drop, this time from Chris

Chris makes it under cover

When it's this shallow you should be kicking out, not taking off

No time to make a barrel, surely?

This is going to end in tears

The reason Chris is stalling is because his fins are ploughing sand

Feeling the pinch

Only one way to finish this now

Sandwich

Only I couldn't. At home every buoy update is checked on the half hour and when it read 21.7ft @ 9 seconds, I just had to go out again. Re-tracing my steps.....only 3 cars parked up, but all recognisable. I sprinted as best I could up the path into the headwind. It wasn't just good, it was really good. So shallow it made East look like a deep water break. Barely makeable sand-sucking barrels were peeling left down the beach, with the odd rogue set catching the 3 boys out. More makeable than early this morning for the stand-ups. Chris in particularly had a period where he slotted into barrel after barrel - 3 in 5 minutes by my reckoning. After months of mush, barrels are becoming such an everyday experience over here that they're almost too common to comment on and tommorrow looks pretty good too.....

Another left, another barrel for Chris

Making it look all too easy

Some rogue waves went unridden

My definition of square

The unridden realm

Tourist Town

2009-11-16T14:37:00.001Z

The definition of a Shore-break

Chocolate Perfection

Also known as being in the wrong place at the wrong time

The day started the night before really. As the hours passed by and the forecast stayed solid the inevitable "Point Break" and "Perfect Storm" quotations started to be bandied about. The torrential rain came at about 3 p.m., ahead of the winds and how it rained. By 5 o'clock, Rachel who was working at Manorbier was pretty much stranded - surrounded by flash floods and broken down cars. Given the hopeless mobile network coverage in our part of the world, a few slightly tense conversations were held along the lines of, "I'm stuck at....." beeeep. "I'm going to try and drive through......" beeeep. Inbetween times I took a look at a map and tried to plot a journey that avoided dips and hollows. But no signal meant she was on her own. To console myself I took a look at the Pembroke bouy. 8ft @ 6 seconds. This did not help. Even Manorbier wouldn't be breaking. If you don't get the readings you want off the Pembroke buoy the next step is to look further out in the ocean to see what might be coming your way in the next few hours. The Brittany buoy was at 20ft and the Sevenstones buoy was at 16ft. Still hope then, now all I needed was to get Rachel home. The next telephone conversation was more hopeful. She'd made it to Pembroke, and now the last real challenge would be the flood at the end of our lane, which already had a broken down car floating in the middle. Expecting Rachel to be walking the last mile, I headed off to meet her - but she'd made it through. So with the hatches well and truly battened down we settled in for the night.

Hazza, rips every wave he gets

Luke Cromwell was all over the lefts

Another left, Luke again

Luke getting a wedgie

Next day dawned and the wind was still pretty wild. The rain was lashing down too, but as Rachel was working mid-morning, I set off a bit nervously for a dawnie. The roads were a mess, full of debris washed in from the night before, branches down, abandoned cars stranded in the middle of the road. I was heading for Tourist Town, but wanted to take the back-roads so I could check out the route that Rachel would take later. All went well and I made it to the first beach, a very rarely breaking bay, offering some shelter over-looked by a private caravan park. Sure there were waves, but the crazy winds were churning it up into a mess of white-water. I'd find out later in the day that it provided a 2-3ft of fun in the shorebreak. So I carried on for my destination a beach I've only ever managed to surf twice in 7 years - but only made it another half a mile before the road was impassable. By now Rachel was on the phone - funnily enough you can get signal when you don't want it - and wanting me to come home so she could leave early and make it to her appointment.

So the next few hours were spent pacing up and down at home with the kids, watching the bouy updates as the swell got bigger and the wind kept turning more and more offshore. It was turning from epic, to all time and I was out of the water. When Rach made it back I sprinted from the house, jumped in the car, and gunned it for my best guess beach to meet the crew. Empty. Thinking everyone must have headed for the Wedge, I back-tracked. Empty. Only one beach left - Tourist Town. Cursing the wasted time, I took the main road route into town. Lines on the horizon. Parking up I passed Adam - he'd broken 2 leashes already and was warming himself up for a third session. This was Tourist Town as good as it gets - chocolate brown water, fast heavy barrels breaking in shallow water with peeling lefts from the old Cafe, mostly rights but a bit of an A-frame on the main peak in front of the ramp. The Pembs crew were all over it, taking their fair share of beatings as well. Hazza, Luke (sequence to follow on next blog) and Will Howells had the best of it while I was there. I stopped counting how many leashes didn't hold up to the strain. In the short time I was there 2 boards were snapped in half. I think 2 more ate it before I got there. Sams wetsuit was ripped apart at the seams.

Sam Goodwin tucks in

Sam, seems to have a water retention issue

Ali Richards, possibly still dazed and confused and trying to duck-dive

Siwan, barrel exit strategy

Siwan, alternative exit strategy

A mention should go to Siwan, the only girl in the line-up today and charging. Sporting a black eye from connecting with her board earlier in the week and despite snapping her board in half on her first wave, she borrowed another board and got stuck back in there.

Pete and Owen were set up taking pictures off the beach so a good record of the day is sure to have been captured. The light faded fast and not long after 4 p.m. I decided to pack my bags. The waves were still going off though and if anything conditions got cleaner the more the day drew on. Should have packed the surf-board and sneaked in a twilight session. But musn't grumble.

Will Howells, sequence

Dawnish.....

2009-11-09T21:32:00.000Z

Going right and late at the Wedge...

...regular readers may guess how this might end up...

...just another victim.

Wednesday 4th November:

Apologies that the blog is running out of sequence. These images are the ones that didn't make it for submission to the mags, hopefully you'll be seeing some of the best waves in print!

This ride got covered from two angles, if you know who has the water shots, drop me a line

The same unidentified surfer as above, boosts the end section

I couldn't make it today. Or at least I shouldn't have. I had other commitments, business, family duties and the like. But as the kids all wake up early, I flicked the computer on over breakfast, saw the numbers, and started to plot an escape. I couldn't escape everything I had to do, so the opportunity presented itself to get to the Wedge (quickly) shoot an hour of photos from the beach, and get home again quickly too. I wasn't really that early getting there so can't claim this as a Dawnie in my book of surf sacrifice, but it was close enough for some beautiful golden sunlight to be filtering through the waves, so this gains me half a house-point as a Dawnish.

It's not often you can sit in one place at the Wedge and get the same result

But this was as consistent as it gets

It was going off. The middle peak was throwing sand dredging barrels into waist deep water. Shooting from the sand seemed a pretty smart option, so I was glad of the excuse. It looked like a board breaker - later confirmed when Toby got out and told me he'd broken one Tuflite board earlier, and had a nice looking gouge out of his replacement board. Looks like Al Merrick will be in business for a while yet....

Dickie Reed has this place wired

Richard Livock, a good day to bring a body board

Toby was all over the middle peak and between him, Rob Blythe, Dickie Reed and one as yet unidentified surfer (from Gower way I think, you know who you are, drop me a line so I can credit you!) I saw perhaps the best display of shore-break barrel riding I've seen at that spot.

Toby, on more sand than water

Toby, feeling the pinch but making it nearly every time

The spongers deserve a mention today, it's all about barrel time and those boys were clocking up over-time. It's been a week of superlatives. Or as Adam put it quite simply, "special". The best of the images will be submitted to the mags, so here are a few smaller pix and out-takes, hopefully you'll see more in print soon. Aloha.

I need a day off....

2009-11-06T11:04:00.002Z

Reuby Williams gets a nice shack on his first wave

Dickie Reed - not a lot of room but he made it

Thursday 5th November - These images are from the out-takes and rejects pile! With apologies to the boys for some of what follows, as all the best waves and technically good shots have been submitted to the mags.

Going right and late at the Wedge....

...rarely works out the way you hoped

Sam Goodwin, will nail the right, or get nailed

It's not often that you look at the forecasts half-hoping that the current pattern of good swell and favourable winds will break soon. But I have this nagging feeling that this is exactly what I'm doing. I couldn't help but smile a little at the thought of a day off. I know I'll regret this (probably tommorrow) but at the moment I'm pretty tired. Those who know me, will also know that winter has not found me at the peak of my fitness and five days in a row have left me looking forward to staying warm, dry and rested for just one day. A biting North Westerly wind, added to a cold, wet wetsuit didn't improve the appeal this morning much either.

Richard Livock might tell you he doesn't get enough waves off the surfers, but he still gets to spend plenty of time in the green room

Still the effort was soon rewarded with the Wedge once again offering compact but near perfect barrels, some running for a good length down the beach. In fact one of Dickies rides has to be the longest I've seen at the Wedge, from the furthest peak on the left pretty much the whole length of the beach. The ride pretty much had it all nice drop, barrel section, off the lip. Annoyingly, I was only positioned to capture the take-off as it didn't barrel until past me. But believe me, it was worth a hoot. With just a small and local crew out today, the vibe in the water was great, all fun, no aggro. When Jack dropped in on Oli, I think I captured the funniest sequence of facial expressions in the surf to date. The best of the days pix will be submitted to the mags, so the blog represents a few out-takes. Hopefully you'll catch one or two of the rest in print.

In Pembs, we like to share with our own, it's how we roll

But at the end of the day, rules are rules

So if you are going to drop in

There is one way to settle the argument

Pop an air

If Jack lands this, it's his

Oli's wave then.

Promises, promises....

2009-11-03T21:42:00.000Z

Adam, on his backhand drops into a smooth one.

Adam, ahead of the jaws, but not in the eye.

Adam stalls some more as it starts to pinch.

It started promisingly enough. Really promising. 14ft @ 8 secs of promise. Not just promise as in a forecast that is bound to fail to materialise, but promise as in an actual reading on the Pembroke bouy. Not just an actual reading but a series of readings hour by hour, building, promising. Plans were made and the plans looked good. First off to a fickle gem of a wave at a tourist town, that when it's on provides a surprisingly heavy and fast barrel. In fact the heaviest wipe-out I've ever witnessed in my life was at this beach. Surprising given the amount of broken boards I've seen at the Wedge, but this wasn't just a broken board. This was a board broken in two, leash plug ripped through the tail of the board and two fins bust out. I've no idea if the guy whose board it was survived the impact, but I like to think so, if only for my own peace of mind.

So I was a little nervous. I checked a beach enroute, and was surprised to find it flat. Surprised because the beach I was heading too is normally about 1 ft bigger than this beach on the same swell. A quick text to one of the boys I'm meeting up with. He assured me it was a low tide anomaly and that the session would be on. So on with the drive. Park up at the beach, stomach in knots. Climb the dunes to see ...... 1 foot. Peeling nicely, but not exactly what we had in mind. Now this is a familiar feeling for a surfer in Wales. That horrible sinking feeling, that you're not just at the wrong beach, at the wrong time, you're simply in the wrong country.

One of the bigger drops of the day.

We gave it half an hour, while Olly undertook some "board repairs", involving gaffer tape and not a lot else. It didn't help the swell though. So we decided to split and meet up back at the Wedge for mid-afternoon. The Wedge wasn't exactly firing but there was promise of swell as the tide pushed in. For once the promise materialised. Not huge, heart stopping, gaping barrels, but good fun drops, a nice pitching lip and no need to fear for your life. Apart from when James attempted to dice 'n' slice me. Caught inside, as I so often am, as I was going to take a beating anyway, I decided I might as well take a picture of him dropping into the wave before going under. By now, it was as good as dark, and the first realisation that James had that I was in front of him was 2 bursts of strobe-like flash. I don't know if strobe makes it easier or harder to drop into a wave, but I ducked as he took off straight over my head. I expected to have three fins raking a trail down the back of my neck, but was pretty stoked to come up uninjured. I think James was pretty stoked not to have maimed me as well.

Oli surfs so hard, he bust the nose of his board before even completing the drop - see if you can spot where it ended up!

Ten more minutes and it was now so dark, the inside was proving a dangerous place to be, as each incoming swell lost its definition in the dark and I couldn't work out exactly what was, or was not, coming towards me. So I called it a day and reflected on the Wedge at what may well be it's best. Not it's biggest, heaviest or most perfect, but its most fun, for sure.

On a technical note, still some issues with the new kit, but I'm getting there.

West Wales Wedge

2009-11-02T23:09:00.000Z

Chris Rigby, on a bomb.

With the AXL / DOH Welsh Pro very sensibly wrapped up in one day on Saturday, I found myself free to enjoy some Pembrokeshire juice on Sunday. Having travelled a fair few miles and had some outrageously early starts this week, it was a pretty good feeling to note that the "right" tide was not until mid-afternoon. Waking up to a Westerly wind gusting at over 50mph, it looked like the call was good. Thankfully the wind had dropped a bit by the time I got to the Wedge, but still plenty of spray being driven back up the face in the stiff offshores. With a couple of hours of push left in the tide, the wedge was already a clean 2-3ft, with the promise of some seriously heavy lips and more size as it found the right banks.

Shade from the setting sun can be found under the lip.

After a heavy night out in fancy dress, I couldn't tell whether some of the boys hadn't managed to wipe off all of the face paint, or were still feeling a little peaky, but the promise of the session to come would soon clear out any hangover.

Reuben, always got a smile for the camera.

Don't come here then ditch your board. Ever. Check in the lip.

The Wedge was breaking fairly shallow, but I avoided calamity for almost 2 hours before I got caught inside. Unable to dive deep enough in time I took the familiar reverse elevator and hit the bottom, thankfully managing to keep the housing out of contact with the sand. By the time I'd found the surface the second wave of the set took me for another spin along the bottom then before I'd found my bearings the third wave slam dunked me into the sand. Obviously I wasn't in the best position so decided to walk out, move back up the beach and into the water somewhere a little less challenging, but I was done. I made a half-hearted attempt to paddle out then decided to call it a day.

Chris again, dropping into a smooth one.

Owen was on the beach, testing out a home-made remote triple-flash unit (with Megan as his "flash" assistant) for some beach shots in the twilight, so hopefully if the kit worked out there may be a second perspective of the session. Very kindly no mention was made of my flogging, I'm just hoping he was looking the other way....

Reub eyes the lip.

The problem with a water housing is the limit to changes you can make "on the fly". To a large extent you live or die by the settings you make on the beach, and annoyingly I didn't quite have it wired today, given the quality of the conditions, and some of the rides, these pictures don't really do the session justice. No such thing as a dry run in surf phtoography though, so I'll keep working at it, until I'm happy. Watch this space.

Harry Cromwell, into the sunset.

AXL / DOH Pro - Welsh Surf Contest

2009-10-31T23:21:00.001Z

Joss Ash gets air.

Joss Ash rotates.

Joss Ash lands it.

These images are low-res (lower quality) versions of the original files.

The full set of images from this event will be available at framesphotography in the next few days.

Going Vertical.

Chucking Buckets on a small wave.

Speed Blur.

The downside of communication by e-mail is that if the computer is turned off, you don't know that "you have mail". If I had known I'd received this particular message, we may not have left for Porthcawl quite as early as we did. As It happens, the message from Simon Tucker informing me that I needed to be at the contest for 8.30 a.m. went unheeded. So 7.30 a.m. found Jack and me pulling into the car park at Rest Bay to be greeted by lines... of 2 foot mush. Not too inspiring. But with the tide still dropping there was still the promise that on the push Rest Bay could put on something worthy of surfers of UK Pro Surf Tour calibre. With Russ Winter back to defend his 2008 event crown, a very in-form Mark Harris and 2008 tour champion Reubin Pearce all in attendance, the task for the local boys was always going to be a tough one. Team Pembrokeshire was well represented by 2009 Elusive Welsh Open Champion, Harry Cromwell and the smooth surfing (but probably rather tired) Jack Crisp.

That'll be an onshore wind then.

The promised off-shores never materialised, with moderate cross-onshores gradually increasing throughout the day. Helped along by the pushing tide, wave size increased as well, and the cream of UK surfing talent proved just what can be achieved in the kind of waves and conditions we see everyday, rather than the perfection provided (this year excepted) by the Dream Tour. Team Pembrokeshire started strongly with Hazza clearly taking his first heat ripping into every wave that came his way and snapping all the way into the shore-break. Next heat up saw Jack book his place in the second round. Just as the Pembrokeshire take-over was gathering momentum it faltered as the shifty and unpredictable conditions saw both the boys eliminated in low scoring heats.

Hazza on his way in, going out.

Following exactly what was happening proved to be a bit of a nightmare. The "speaker stack" consisted of 2 speakers and the sound output from these was lost before you got to the bottom of the slip-way, let alone out on the water. Bizarrely the air-horn was even quieter than the commentary, leading to a number of surfers (including Jack) starting their paddle out after the heat had already started. The heat sheet only confused matters further due to a number of no-shows, last minute entries and the heat running orders being shifted around. It took a good ten minutes for me to realise that the wave size hadn't in fact massively increased, but that the boys Under 16 competition had taken to the water inbetween the Men's Quarter and Semi-Finals. As high tide approached the infamous Rest Bay rip started to do its thing and I didn't envy the boys paddling out one bit. Even more insane was the inability of the organisers to clear a competition area amongst the free surfers. Where the fault lies is a point of contention, but I have never seen a contest held anywhere, when the finalists have had to thread their way through 30 or so complete beginners on 10 foot foamies.

Speed bumps on the inside.

The final was eventually taken out by Oli Adams, who gave an emotional acceptance speach as he was crowned 2009 champ. Defeating Russ Winter, still the UK's best surfer and Mark Harris - who generated so much speed he should be known as the Mick Fanning of UK surfing - an event win must surely be round the corner for "Egor" Harris.

Oli, well pleased with the result.

Despite the slightly disappointing conditions, most people enjoyed the day and it was good to meet up with friends old and new - some very new - 3 month old Fin, fast asleep following his first swim. (In a swimming pool, not the sea!) Good times.

Board goes vertical, rider not required.

4 a.m. ?

2009-10-27T15:57:00.001Z

These are low-res (lower quality) versions of the original files.

With the clocks going back this week, most people were celebrating the extra hour in bed. Not the surfers amongst us. For the surfers shifting the clocks back represented a new opportunity to squeeze a dawn surf into the extra minutes of daylight before work. For the clinically insane, getting up at dawn is not enough, and therefore I found myself getting up at 4 a.m. for a visit to a break way East of Pembrokeshire. Needing company in this mission, I brought Reuben along for the ride, with promises of endless empty barrels. Not being one generally to over-call the surf, Reuben foolishly chose to take me at my word, and therefore woke up at 4.45 a.m. to the sound of me throwing stones at his bedroom window. So much for I'll be up and waiting for you, eh Reuben? With the Scarweather buoy pushing at around 17 seconds the signs were good.

As the beach is a good 15-20 minute walk from the last possible car parking point, I had to make the call on which lens to take in with me, without sight or knowledge of the break. The fish-eye was the logical choice for the waves I thought I'd be capturing, but as we climbed over the dunes, we could see straight away that endless empty barrels would not be on offer today. I had the choice to walk back to the car, swap lenses, then return to the beach - but that would have meant the best part of an hour spent walking before taking any pictures. With time not on my side before the boys had to get out and go to work, I chose to run with teh equipment I had.

Plenty of close-outs were on the menu, and trying to hold position and sit inside the surfers while a set of close-outs thumped around, meant that more often than not I wasn't where I needed to be, and when I was the perspective of the fish-eye meant that most of the surfers looked like little stick men in the distance. Of course when I got home and looked at the images, I wished I'd taken the walk back to switch lenses. But here they are for the record, and whatever the conditions and results, a couple of hours swim in the sea is undoubtably the best way to start the day, but next time, I might just leave home a little later.....

For a report of the session from the other side of the lens, check this blog.

Maternity Photoshoot - Danni

2009-10-26T10:44:00.000Z

These are low-res (lower quality) versions of the original files.

The full set of images are available to view at http://www.framesphotography.co.uk/

I don't usually shoot studio shots. Mostly because I don't have a studio, but as the day dawned for the "maternity" shoot with Danni, it became clear that indoors was going to be pretty much our only option. With wind speeds averaging 35mph and gusting up to 50mph the driving horizontal rain was going to make shooting conditions just that little bit tricky. Usefully we decorated the living room in fairly neutral colours, and some hastily re-arranged furniture just about gave us the space we needed for the shoot. The sofa even provided a useful vantage point to give me a little height, although perhaps before I take this option again, I might chose to put a wedge under the wheels to save me trundling towards my subject....

Danni didn't have any previous "formal" portrait experience, so we kept the session as fun and natural as possible. Danni gave the shoot some fantastic energy, despite only have about a month to go to due date. With a little footballer on the way, a sponsorship from Nike is surely the way to go! Check my blog soon for "Baby Watch"!

St. Ann's Head Lighthouse

2009-10-12T22:40:00.000+01:00

These are low-res (lower quality) versions of the original files.

The full set of images are available to view at http://www.framesphotography.co.uk/

More photo's from the vault! These images were taken towards the end of June, and have been languishing in my "to do" pile on the computer. On a late evening, when the promise of a barbeque summer still seemed a possibility I set off to take some sunset pictures of the lighthouse. Thanks to the geography of the coastline, the journey to St. Ann's Head by car takes around 1 1/4 hours from my house. This is a little frustrating, because as the crow flies, the distance between the two points is just under 10 miles. You can see the lighthouse for most of the journey, you just can't get there quickly without a boat.

Arriving at St. Ann's Head I realised that my time-keeping was out - not by minutes or hours, but by a few months. At this time of year - pretty much the longest day - the sun sets much further around the coastline than I thought it did, somewhere way over St.Davids. So a direct sunset shot was out of the question. Still the setting sun was throwing a nice soft yellow light onto the walls and the sky had some nice colour to it. I hung around till dark taking shots and getting eaten alive by the gnats.

St.Ann's head lighthouse isn't the prettiest lighthouse on the coastline with some more modern and functional buildings built around the original "Low-light" that was constructed in 1841. It's shorter than most lighthouses as it's built on the cliff-top at the mouth of the Milford Haven. I hadn't realised until this visit just how shallow the sand-banks are around the mouth of the Haven. Considering Milford boasts one of the deepest natural harbours in the world, and bearing in mind that some of the worlds biggest (and potentially most dangerous) cargoes are shipped in through this route, I'm sure that the lighthouse has played an invaluable life-saving role over the years.

I plan to document some of the other lighthouses around out coastline, so if they're your thing, be sure to check back here again soon.

Modlen, modelling

2009-10-07T15:33:00.000+01:00

These are low-res versions of the original files.

The full set of images are available to view at http://www.framesphotography.co.uk/

In a rare break with tradition I actually managed to get these images out of the camera and onto the computer within a couple of weeks of taking them. As I told Modlen - too good to leave gathering dust on the Hard Drive!

I'll resist the temptation to say that Modlen should be locked up for her own safety, given the experience we had with lost keys the day we had this shoot... Modlen and I will be working together again towards the end of the month, and we have some more good ideas to work with, so be sure to check back here soon!

For the full story of this shoot, see the post below, "Modlen on manouvres".

Modlen on Manoeuvres

2009-10-02T12:05:00.000+01:00

These are low-res versions of the original files. The full set of images is available to view at http://www.framesphotography.co.uk/

More pictures of Modlen to follow next week, be sure to check soon!

Having booked up weeks ahead, the day finally dawned on what became possibly the most planned photo-shoot in history. Over the weeks running up to the shoot Modlen and I had regularly exchanged emails with ideas, and the more we talked the more ideas we had. Realistically we probably had enough ideas to fill 2 or 3 days, so we were always up against the clock. The first shoot we held was at a nice quiet location I'd checked out a few times, and had never, ever seen anyone else at. Needless to say the tourists turned up on queue. It's not everday you see a girl in hot-pants posing on a flight of steps in rural Pembrokeshire, so I'd like to think that the visitors left the county with some special memories of their visit.

Modlen is a complete joy to work with, needing very little direction and effortlessly moving from pose to pose with a wonderful natural quality- in a word photogenic. Our second location was a nice ripe field of sweetcorn, and parking up a few hundred yards from the field provided an opportunity for Modlen to practice her thumbing a lift pose. Surprisingly no one offered to stop and pick her up, but I'm guessing the accompanying photographer complete with backpack full of photographic equipment probably complicated matters some.

Back to my house for a change of outfit and a hair-restyle and we were good to go again. As the third location was down a narrow country lane, it seemed sensible to drop Modlens car off enroute, allowing us to save some time on the way back to the fourth location. This was a good plan. The weak part of the plan was the moment that Modlen shut her keys in the boot of her locked car. As we were in an area with no mobile phone coverage we decided to drive to the next location anyway and make some calls from there. Her heart probably wasn't really in it, but we did manage some great shots in the short time we spent on location, before moving swiftly on, as there was no mobile phone coverage to be had there either.

Some more calls and the breakdown service was duly booked. We thought we'd kill some time at the next location, but this had rather randomnly been turned into a family barbeque area and for some reason Modlen didn't fancy climbing a JCB in mock-army gear with a crowd of onlookers. Defeated we headed for home, but spotted a JCB parked up at the road-side so took a few impromtu shots, although the backdrop wasn't ideal, it was definitely a laugh.

By now the breakdown service was drawing near and we thought Modlen's keys would be released "within minutes". Although the poor guy tried his best, I'd probably pretty much recommend a Golf if you want a secure car - Gone in 60 seconds it was not!

Pegi

2009-09-22T21:49:00.000+01:00

These are low-res versions of the original files. The full set of images is available to view at http://www.framesphotography.co.uk/

Naturally enough the day before i'd arranged a model shoot with Pegi, I'd walked the location in glorious sun-lit perfection. Pembrokeshire at its best with a golden sunset and sparkling blue ocean gently lapping the shores. Not hot, but pleasantly warm and about as good as this summer is going to get. As the day of the shoot dawned we were presented with dull, overcast skies, although gradually they cleared some and we were granted at least "sunny spells". Not very warm though, and with some bikini and water shots on the cards, Pegi was going to need to be blessed with nerves of steel. To say Pegi came up with the goods would be an understatement. Definitely a natural Pegi worked through the sets with a great awareness of her shape and form and was really easy to work with and a great laugh too. :) As you'll see from the photo's Pegi has some great tattoo's especially the bird on her back which is richly coloured and beautifully detailed. Each tattoo of Pegi's has a story and a memory - although apparently not a memory of the pain of the tattoo as she's immune to the horrors of the needle. With some interesting creative ideas of her own, I hope to work with Pegi again very soon.

I've entered a couple of pictures of Pegi in the Digital Camera Photographer of the Year competition. Please check out this link to see them, and the rest of the portfolio that I've submitted. Link to Digital Camera Photographer of the Year If you'd like to support me by voting I'd be really grateful! You can vote for as many pictures as you like, but only one vote per photo. You need to register to be able to vote, but registration is free and you only need to give first name / last name and email details to register. You don't have to upload any photos of your own, or create a profile in order to vote. Closing date for voting is 30th September, and as I only submitted the pictures a couple of days ago, I have some catching up to do! Thanks for your support!

Rob & Alyssa's Wedding

2009-09-02T14:01:00.011+01:00

These images are low-res versions of the original files. The pictures provide a small sample of images taken at a private function, if you were in attendance and would like copies of these or other pictures, please contact me directly.

I'm not a wedding photographer, but when the girl next door gets married, you can't really say no when asked, so I played wedding photographer for the day. The day started brightly enough but gradually as the day moved on overcast skies threatened a downpour which thankfully never materialised. Alyssa looked gorgeous in her wedding dress and despite a reluctance to practice any poses beforehand, seemed to be a bit of a natural when it came to posing for the formal portrait shots. A bit of a hidden talent there I'm guessing ;-) Rob understandably mostly looked like the cat who got the cream, but also showed an ability to launch a smouldering stare into the camera when required. Between the two of them a very easy couple to take some nice shots of. Tanya helped out with the photo gear and reflector, gamely trudging through the muddy paths in the woods barefoot - thanks Tan, hope you've removed all the brambles from your toes now! As far as photo editing goes I did not a single pixel of retouching on Alyssa, whatever her skin care routine is her skin is flawless, no airbrushing required. After the formal shots were over the party started, in a gorgeous marquee overlooking the Lily Ponds at Bosherston, a dream setting if there ever was one. Around dusk the dance floor was cleared and a "Mums", "Dublin Girls" (Bride & Hens), "Pembroke Boys" and "Cardiff Boys" dance off ensued. The result was a complete fix, partly due to the head judge (Rob) being part of the Cardiff Boys team, and partly due to some very suspect mixing during the Dublin Girls and Pembroke Boys routine, the musical equivalent of changing from 5th gear at 70 mph and throwing it into 1st. Still, I'm sure all the team captains will treasure their consolation prizes. The evening wrapped up by about 11pm with the happy couple setting off for a honeymoon cruise and a lifetime of happiness, I'm sure.

Relentless Boardmasters, Newquay, Days Five & Six

2009-08-10T10:38:00.006+01:00

The last couple of days of the Boardmasters inevitably finished as a little bit of an anti-climax, with the WQS competition having been wrapped up on the last of the decent swell on the Friday. A weak 1-2ft swell greeted the crowds on Saturday validating the organisers decision to wrap up the contest early rather than hold out for the weekenders. The whole day had a bit of a feel of the day after the night before, with a large number of casualties from the Watergate festival wandering around with red eyes and pale faces or crashed out on the sand. With the aerial event still to run there was still some hope of injecting energy into the day. The organisation wasn't great with the jet-ski getting launched about an hour or so after it was due to go out for the practice sessions. With some very sporadic and barely audible commentary when the competition itself finally got up and running no-one on the beach really knew what was going on - I'm not even sure if the surfers did either. To start with some fairly decent crowds watched from the waters edge, but gradually the numbers thinned out. As the swell dropped further the strategy seemed to shift from towing at the wave to towing in, with the surfers all but giving up attempting aerials and ending up going for big gouges and hacks. It just goes to show that poor quality waves are poor quality waves, with or without a jet-ski assist.

The vert skate ramp semi-finals were held on Saturday with the final on the Sunday, and both lived up to expectations. The competition favourite Alex Perelson took first place with a display that takes vert ramp skating into new territory. Attempting and sometimes making moves that were almost beyond comprehension - not just from the perspective of the bystanders, but also from the other skaters in the event. Without a doubt , at only 18 years of age, Alex is the Tony Hawke of his generation. After the final Alex made two attempts at a 900 - a move which has never been pulled in the UK - and Alex is one of only four people in the world to ever make the move, but didn't quite manage it at this event.

So the Boardmasters wrapped up for another year. With the main event sponsors, Fosters and Rip Curl dropping out late in the day, Relentless stepped into the breach and should be pretty pleased with the outcome.

Despite the fun, they say travel makes you appreciate home more, and I for one was pretty pleased to leave the crowds and commercialism behind and head back to the relative tranquility of West Wales. I'll not complain about crowding of my local break for a while, thats for sure.

Relentless Boardmasters, Newquay, Day Four

2009-08-07T21:22:00.006+01:00

The 2009 Relentless Boardmasters Champion was crowned today in an inconsistent 2-3ft onshore swell. The winner - Daniel Ross, undoubtably deserved to be picking up the winners cheque, and perhaps even more importantly bagged another 2000 points towards his campaign to join the WCT next year. Given that his total is now a record 14,975 points, don't have any doubt as to whether we'll be seeing him on the 'CT next year. Ross owned the final (competing against Basque surfer Txaber Trojaola) from the start, picking off the best of what was on offer with a level of consistency that he held throughout the competition. Former Boardmasters champion Wiggolly Dantas was taken out by Ross (his fellow team rider) in the semi's, and John John Florence fell to Ross in the quarters. Ross had the toughest draw and exceeded the test every step of the way. Also falling by the way-side at the semi-final stage was Aussie / Irish surfer Glenn Hall whose surfing impressed and must surely have raised his profile some. Alan Stokes was the highest place English surfer with a fifth. Russ Winter went out the round before and was clearly really upset - refusing an interview with a chasing presenter and electing to climb the cliff at Little Fistral rather than take the walk up the beach. Despite the improving standard of UK surfing Russ is still at the top of the tree pushing his turns with a level of commitment and power that is still largely unmatched.

Over the weekend we have the promise of a tow-at aerial competition that could prove spectacular and definitely a crowd entertainer, and the finals of the Vert Skate competitions, not to mention the Bikini Babes contest.

Relentless Boardmasters, Newquay Day Three

2009-08-06T19:05:00.005+01:00

Guess where the board ended up?

The sun is within reach

Travis Beckham, fins out

Sometimes being a surfer is a tough life

Air-time

These are low-res versions of the original files. The full set of images will be available to view at http://www.framesphotography.co.uk over the next couple of weeks.

When you've spent 10 hours on the beach, and need to check the results on the web to know what's going on, something must have seriously gone wrong. I blame it on the sunshine and the constant squinting into the glare off the sea. Early morning waves were good. With lighter winds than the day before even if the swell had dropped slightly the lack of wind more than compensated and if anything conditions were even better than the day before. But it couldn't last, on a dropping tide the onshore winds slowly kicked in and by low the waves were small and inconsistent. Time to check out the ramp. Annoyingly I had decided not to shoot the ramp today so hadn't packed my flash. I took a few shots without flash, but with the bright sunshine created back-light havoc so I decided to cut my losses and head back to the hotel for the required gear, passing a mud wrestling session on the way. (Don't ask - I didn't have the flash, did I?) Returning to the surf and the afternoon sun was now shining straight onto shore reducing the surfers to silhouettes against the glare off the sea. Pretty but no good for photos. Back to the ramp, now armed with flash. A flying board skinned my knee, but given that I was crouched down taking the shot and a second before my camera lens had been where my knee was, I can count myself in some ways quite fortunate. Could have been a very expensive session. So what happened at the comp? Well from the bits I did see, Daniel Ross looks every bit the WQS champion and was fairly mobbed on his way up the beach after his win in the Second Round. It probably took him 15 minutes to get up the beach after having photos, handshakes, interviews and autographs between him and the surfers HQ. Wiggolly Dantas firmed up his campaign to hold onto his crown as last years event winner with an impressive 17 point heat total, taking out Sam Lamiroy in the process. Brit interest now rests with Stokesy through to the Quarter Finals, and Russell Winter, due to surf his Round of 16 heat tomorrow. With a dropping swell and about 5 or so hours of surfing left, tomorrow may see the final day of competition, unless the organisers try to hold off for the benefit of the crowds at the weekend. With low tide getting later each day, the scheduled start time is being put back each day. This is great for a lie-in but not so great for photography. At least I make it for breakfast.

Relentless Boardmasters, Newquay Day Two

2009-08-05T21:27:00.005+01:00

Russ Winter throws a savage hook

Vert ramp perfection

These images are low-res versions of the originals. The full set of images will be available to view at http://www.framesphotography.co.uk over the next couple of weeks.

That rarest of combinations in the UK came together today. At the same time, at the same place. Sunshine, waves and favourable winds. Well not quite favourable, but let's not split hairs. A moderate cross shore made for some chunky sets and a testing paddle out. Today I was actually pretty pleased that my new water housing hasn't arrived from Oz yet, cos I definitely would have wanted an excuse not to swim out....

As the comp moved from the round of 96 and into the round of 48 the Brit contigent held firm. "Egor" set the standard with a creditable second place to Daniel Ross, that saw him through to the third round of 24. Next Brit up was Reubyn Pearce, who took out his heat ahead of my hot tip from yesterday, Travis Beckham who surfed well, but not with the dynamic style that saw him through yesterday. Following Reubyn was "Slammin" Sam Lamiroy and finally Alan Stokes, both of whom came second in their respective heats. With Russ Winter and Micah Lester still to surf their second round heats tommorrow the Brit contigent still looks pretty healthy. The bar is raising pretty high though, with Wiggolly Dantas looking sure and confident, John John finding some form and Matt Wilkinson scoring the highest single wave and heat score of the contest with a near perfect 9.57 backed up by a solid 8.5

Following the surf comp, the Beach Sessions began, with a beer tent, live music and the Vans skate ramp. It's ages since I've been on a ramp and although I wasn't skating today, just to be up there and taking photo's brought the stoke back from my teenage days before brittle bones and a brittle brain made me think twice about falling off onto concrete, or even ply for that matter. The opportunity to shoot some pro's up close on the ramp has definitely been the highlight of the comp so far.

On the downside I have the mother and father of all headaches, sunburn (on one side only) and some technical issues that are complicating the whole blogging process. Firstly the Wifi connection doesn't work in my room. This means that I have to work in the bar, with a bottle of Corona for company. Testing I know. The other more serious issue is Microsoft and my continuing hatred of all things Windows. I have a hard-drive partitioned into 3 sections, and the one containing Windows is full. Full of windows. I have no other software on it, but it's chock full. 50 Gb of Windows stuff. This is presenting me with a bit of a problem when I try and edit my photos. I think the solution is to re-partition the hard drives as it seems that Windows won't allow me to relocate it to my D or E drive which has more room. I also assume that to re-partition is a bit like a re-format. Either way I'm not risking it till I'm back home, so for now my blogs will have to continue in written form with photo's to follow. Sorry guys!

Relentless Boardmasters, Newquay Day One

2009-08-04T21:16:00.004+01:00

It didn't worry me unduly that the entire 5 hour journey to Newquay last night was in either thick fog or torrential rain. It didn't worry me because every time I've ever driven to Newquay it's rained. Sometimes for two weeks straight. So while rain wasn't a good thing, at least it was expected and something I could deal with. I arrived at Fistral around 6.30 a.m. It wasn't bad. Moderate cross-shore, around 3 foot, not exactly punchy but peeling reasonably well. Definitely raining though. By the time I'd reached the press office I was too wet to stand near anything electrical. By the time the first heat started it was so dark that even with the camera set at an ISO of 3200 I was struggling to get enough light into the lens. The only thing I wasn't struggling to get into the lens was water. I actually shot 5 pictures before everything went blurry despite lens hoods, protective sleeving and all the rest. Time for a break. The rain came and went, as did the light, the winds, the tide and the swell. It was a little inconsistent and a little frustrating that for much of the time Little Fistral (the contest site) didn't look as good a wave as further down the beach, where the tourists were getting rolled around in the soup. The one thing that didn't disappoint though was the level of surfing. Given the average standard of the waves, some of the surfing was just unreal. Daniel Ross showed why he is current WQS ratings leader, John John Florence generated warp speed out of nothing, finishing off most moves with air 360's - I swear he busted a 540 in free surf before the event. But head and shoulders above them all was Travis Beckham from the USA he was more than worthy of the highest heat score of the day of 16.44 Every wave he caught ratcheted the tension with the expectation of the move that was coming, or better still sequence of moves as he linked snap into layback snap and more. If he can carry that form into the following heats we already have our event winner.

Out of character for Newquay the next couple of days forecast looks really good. Dry, sunny, building swell and light onshores. If the weather guys are right, this could just be the best Boardmasters in living memory. Well for a while.....

Sorry no images are posted yet, I'm a bit short of time, but will post some as soon as possible!

Relentless Boardmasters, Newquay

2009-08-03T11:43:00.005+01:00

So we've reached the time of year again when the "sleepy little town" of Newquay, wakes up to the call of an additional 50,000 visitors for the Relentless Boardmasters supported by Vans. (That is 50,000 in addition to all those already there for family holidays / hen nights / stag do's etc.) There's one way to get around town this week and that's by faking a major accident and hoping for the Coastguard helicopter to come and airlift you out. The final destination can't be guaranteed using this method though, and you might find that a hospital stay is actually required when the crew discover you were just looking for a hyper efficient taxi.

Logistics aside, things are looking promising for the competition. Firstly there might actually be surf, of at least an averagely good standard. Magic Seaweed http://magicseaweed.com/Newquay-Fistral-Surf-Report/1/detailedLongRange/uk/ is promising a 5-6ft swell with light onshores, which should guarantee some great action from the WQS boys. Add to this the "tow-at" Aerial competition, skate and BMX ramp comps and the high quality field of entrants and it should be a pretty good show. The Met Office even hinted of sunshine later in the week.

A few of the surfers expected include Wiggolly Dantas from Brazil (last years event winner), Daniel Ross (current WQS ratings leader), John John Florence from Hawaii, and perennial Brit contender Russell Winter. Check out the Competition web-site at http://www.relentlessboardmasters.com/ for more details, or check my blog, as I'll be updating daily from Newquay, while braving the crowds, rain and annoyed Coastguard crews for the week.

I believe I can fly....

2009-07-31T10:19:00.006+01:00

These images are low res versions of the original files.

See more images from this set at http://www.framesphotography.co.uk/ with more pictures of Kelly to follow over the next few weeks.

It was somehow inevitable that the day I'd booked a few weeks in advance for a beach shoot with Kelly would turn out to be the day that the Met Office released their somewhat retrospective forecast, downgrading the weather from a "Barbeque Summer", to something of a wash-out. Fortunately, having anticipated the rain we'd also arranged an alternative location, which provided some cover, for Kelly at least. To make sure she didn't have things too easy, I found a nice cold, wet and mossy stone bench for her to lay on. (Well we found the bench - I knew it was there but got a bit disorientated in the woods and we ended up trekking around in the mud for a while). It was at this point that Kelly mentioned an unusual talent. You can forgive me for being a little sceptical when she told me that she could fly. So we took a trip to the Lily Ponds, to ensure a soft landing when gravity inevitably exerted its influence. My recollection of what happened next is a little hazy - but they say they camera never lies so I have to rely on the photograph for proof......

Hundreds and Thousands

2009-07-22T22:20:00.006+01:00

These images are the low-res versions of the original files.

See the full set at http://www.framesphotography.co.uk

Back in the last day of June I headed down to the beautiful beach at Broad Haven South, equipped only with a camera and a tub of hundreds and thousands. It seemed that Katie couldn't resist those sugary charms, and soon buried her face in them . Having just applied her lippy more stuck around her mouth than went in it - better luck next time Katie! More seriously though, I learnt that I need to practice my Poker Face some. Although it was my idea, I couldn't help cracking up with laughter at the sight of Katie plastered in coloured sprinklies. Having told her to think of something sad to stop her laughter dislodging the sugary strands, I couldn't manage to hold it together myself. Probably not the most encouraging thing for a model, when even the photographer is laughing at you. Still we overcame the challenge and got the shot, plus a few more that gave me the opportunity to get editing creatively with. Expect more food related foolishness sometime in the future.....

Groyne Strain

2009-07-14T12:57:00.006+01:00

These images are low-res versions of the original file.

See the full set at http://www.framesphotography.co.uk/

So I'm still paying catch up with a hard drive full of photo's, going back in time to our early "summer" in late June. One Tuesday evening, under a milky sky I again headed off to Amroth, in search of groynes. By mid-evening the tide was still too high, with only a few posts of the groynes exposed. Being just off the longest day, the late sunset gave me some chance, so I took some pictures of some pebbles (something I never tire of) and waited. As twilight fell and the exposure times grew, a row of posts finally emerged from the smooth sea and it was game on. I had about 15 minutes of light left before darkness and with exposure times approaching 30 seconds, there wasn't a lot of opportunities to get it right. With the last shot of the session I finally got the image I wanted, it just goes to show, even rusty old groynes can be a thing of beauty.

Tenby Twilight

2009-07-10T13:48:00.008+01:00

These images are low-res versions of the original.

See the full set at http://www.framesphotography.co.uk/

Remember that gorgeous spell of weather we had a couple of weeks ago? The one that in true British fashion we called a "heat wave"? Well it may seem a long and distant memory now that Wimbledon is over and we've reverted to the summers we're used to, but by way of reminder I thought it was time to start editing a few shots I took in the balmy evenings of our short summer. In true tourist style, I headed to Tenby on a Friday night. It was probably the last day of the good weather and by about 7 o'clock signs of the change were already approaching, darkening skies and portents of rain. I sat down on the sofa, tired and not motivated to go out. But I was even more not motivated to stay at home and work on the computer. So kicking myself into shape off I went. Within half an hour of parking up and making my way to the North Beach the sky was really clouding over, and bands of rain could be seen making their way across Carmarthen Bay. Just as I was weighing up my options (having not brought any wet weather gear with me) a fantastic rainbow appeared across the bay - photography gold. With the sun setting behind the old town I didn't have long to work. It was at this moment that my trusty tripod decided to dismantle itself. Over 10 years of service and this was the first time I've had a problem with it. I lost a few precious minutes working out how to re-construct it, but still had enough time to capture the glorious colours. It was a fairly hazy rainbow, but presented a beautiful image across the water and horizon. My only regret is that the arc wasn't strong enough to be seen all the way across the sky, as it touched down around the spire of St.Mary's Church in the old town. If the bow had been bright enough to make a complete arc I might have been onto a winner. As it is I'm still pretty pleased with the result. As twilight fell the clouds dissipated and the rainstorm never made it across the bay. Tenby harbour looks fantastic at night, although the scene isn't quite as idyllic as it appears, as I had a good number of stag and hen parties to keep me company while I was setting up the shot. All good natured stuff, and the sounds of happy drinking didn't make for the most unpleasant backdrop. My only regret about the place is how early everything closes - taking photos works up an appetite (as indeed does any form of activity or inactivity as far as I'm concerned) but the "late-night" chippy closes at 10.30pm. Got to be a business opportunity there, innit?

Up and Running ....

2009-07-04T21:29:00.007+01:00

After a few months of promise, I'm finally fully functional, up and running, or the web-site is at very least. Please follow one of the links to the Frames Photography Website and take a look around, and let me know what you think. As I've spent so much time developing the site, its a bit short on content at the moment, but the good news is I now have a big back-log of images to edit and upload to the site. Even more importantly I'll be able to spend less time grappling with html and more time behind the lens. Good times :)

You'll notice that the site isn't set out as a gallery, more as a stock image library. The search feature should enable you to find the images you're interested in very quickly. Images can be purchased as prints for personal use (just right for that wall behind you?) or they can be licensed for rights managed commercial applications. I'm now looking to expand the site to include content from other photographers. If you are, or know of any quality photographers who might be interested in licensing their images for publishing or print, direct them my way!

Watertight

2009-06-22T22:28:00.007+01:00

Please note that all images on this blog are highly compressed to enable quick browsing.

Originals are of a much higher resolution and quality.

I think the last time I blogged, I may have mentioned something about "light at the end of the tunnel". Well the tunnel got a little longer, and the light got a little dimmer. Slowly but surely I've given my life over to web development and neglected most other things in an attempt to get the site up and running. I'm nearly fully conversant in php, html, xml, css, javascript, my sql and all sorts of other stuff that would be even more impressive if I really knew what they meant or did. I've lost hair and gained bloodshot eyes. It's not so pretty. Add into the mix that baby Reef arrived and my hands have been full - of everything but a camera. it's been about a month since I took a photograph for work and alongside the rising panic of getting the web-site live was the rising panic that if I didn't take a photograph soon I was going to have to rethink my job description on Reef's birth certificate. So today I bravely decided to take a day off from the screen and take a picture I've been wanting to capture for a while.

The conditions were just right for this picture - overcast oppressive skies and the tide just at the stage I wanted it. Only it wasn't. I'd forgot to check the tide height and by the time I got to my intended location it was already far too low. Not being at a point in the road where I could turn round, I figured i'd drive half a mile or so up the road to the next junction and hook a left back to home, already rubbing my hands with glee at the thought of more programming time. Only there weren't any junctions. By now I was in Pendine and it seemed foolish to stop, so I carried on to Laugharne. Shamefully I've not been to Laugharne before and what a beautiful place it is. Full of tourists with cameras, mind you, so I stalked off onto the mud-flats to find a shot that no-one else was either taking, or in the frame of. The mud isn't treacherous, but it sure is slippery, and as I discovered while trying to keep very still to take a picture of a cormorant, you will sink up to your ankles if you stay in one place for too long. In the event of disaster even the nearby boat looked a little less than water-tight. Still the extra effort gave me a few photographs and a view of Laugharne a little less ordinary than that experienced by the tourists. Superiority restored I squelched smugly back to the car.

Excuses, excuses

2009-06-07T22:50:00.007+01:00

Please note that all images on this blog are highly compressed to enable quick browsing. Originals are of a much higher resolution and quality.

I'm conscious that i've been neglecting my blog of late. It's been a tough week or so, I'm pretty much spending all my available time on developing the web-site. The light is finally visible at the end of the tunnel on that one. Alongside the website, the surf has been surprisingly good, if you know where to go. A tiny long period swell with consistent offshores has produced days of sweet waves at the right spot at the right time, with no one on it apart from a couple of friends. I kept meaning to take the water camera out, but never quite managed to get off the surf board long enough to do it. Rach is now 3 days over-due with the baby, so the tension is ratcheting up a bit! So as soon as the website is complete and the baby is with us, I'll be back up to normal speed. Until then just some excuses, and a pic of Katie.

It's just not cricket...

2009-05-26T08:03:00.015+01:00

Please note that all images on this blog are highly compressed to enable quick browsing. Originals are of a much higher resolution and quality.

We live just a shout away from the village cricket ground. As soon as the first cries of "How's that?" come echoing across the field, the kids are badgering me to go and watch a game. I don't know where they get the love of cricket from as i'm not really a fan. That said I do love a game of cricket as a backdrop to doing something else - such as lazing in the summer sunshine. I also love it when we beat the Ozzies in the Ashes, but that doesn't happen so frequently. There's something quintessentially British and summery about the whole game. The children seem to feel the same way. They don't actually watch cricket, they just like it as a backdrop to running around and playing their own games, such as chasing butterflies.

The local cricket ground is in a beautiful setting,with a neat club house and a well manicured and cared for pitch, with a rough meadow grass field around the boundary, bordered by trees. It was while laying in the grass and looking at the clouds, listening to the game (so much better than watching) that I saw (in my mind) a great photo opportunity. With a superb weather forecast for the next day, plans were made. Everything came together, Katie agreed to model and the sunshine was on cue. Katie is a fantastic model to work with, moving easily and naturally from one look to another. The only element I hadn't accounted for was the strong south westerly wind.

The idea for the image was for a picture of Katie, taken at ground level looking up through the long grass and buttercups in the foreground. I took a lot of shots in this pose, checked on camera and was confident that i'd got exactly the look I wanted. Individual blades of grass were plucked out / flattened and generally rearranged to ensure i'd captured the perfect shot. But when I came to edit on the computer, every single shot actually had a stray blade of grass invariably across the eye. I've played around in Photoshop some and I'm just not happy with the result yet. I might get there, or I might have to arrange to shoot that pose again. The day was well worthwhile though, with lots of other succesful shots taken, here's one I liked.

And finally...... O'Neill Cold Water Classic at Thurso East 05/05/09

2009-05-09T21:40:00.010+01:00

Is that wave smiling?

Adam Melling, interviewed after making the final

Russ Winter boosts an air, and lands it fakie

Meanwhile, it's clean, barrelling and empty elsewhere....

Please note that all images on this blog are highly compressed to enable quick browsing. Originals are of a much higher resolution.

They don't call the WQS tour "The Grind" for nothing, but on signing up few surfers could have expected to face a 5 a.m. start. "The earliest start in ASP history" was unfortunately timed to be the day after the O'Neill meal/party at Ackergill Tower, near Wick. Endurance and Red Bull, in a quantity previously unknown were clearly called for, especially when it became clear that to make the most of the swell on offer, the competition was to run through all heats to the finals, eventually finishing in the grey light of 9p.m. Not many people display much sympathy when you complain of having spent 16 hours on the beach, but believe me, at Thurso at least, it's a pretty tough deal. For the finallists this represented a total of 5 heats surfed in one day, 2 1/2 hours of competition plus paddle in/out time, all in that 7 degree C water.

Never quite managing to be classic Thurso East, the waves were at least a decent size. The light was poor for much of the day, and quality photo opportunities were pretty limited. I took some pictures, but at one point to make up for the lack of light, the film speed had hit ISO 3200, which is never going to give an image that will blow your socks off.

The final came down to Luke Munro and Adam Melling, both well deserving to be there. Luke and Adam had been the stand-out surfers in pretty much every heat they surfed, and it seemed that to split the two in the final would be near impossible. But as it happened Adam stamped his authority all over it from the first wave, and things never quite worked out for Luke, including putting his foot through the tail of his board landing a floater towards the end of the heat.

Losing finalist last year, Adam was pretty stoked not only to pick up the $20,000 winners cheque, but also the coveted Highland Open Sword, surely the coolest trophy in surf competition. Might struggle getting that one through customs though, especially as it appears to be pretty sharp, as Adam jokingly stabbed his board with it, to be surprised and perhaps a little alarmed when the point of the blade slipped straight through the deck and out the other side. Both surfers can now rightfully be declared as "Lords" having been presented with the deeds to about 10 square feet of land in Scotland, carrying the honourary title with it. With hypothermia on the verge of setting in, perhaps the ultimate stoke of all was getting off the beach and sharing a celebratory drink with the crew. Job done.