Shot from the pier in Oceanside, the sun was going down fast shedding a lovely golden light over the waves and the surfers.  In this photo I love the way the spray is lit up as well as the movement in the water suggesting its power.  Taken with a Sony a350 with Sony 70-300mm G lens and processed from raw in Aperture.  More surfing shots here.  DSC01339

Another December surfing shot – this time from Encinitas, a bit further south than Oceanside.  The weather was a little cold but still bright and sunny and I was using my Tamron 200 – 300 mm lens.It is big and heavy and slower to focus than the Sony 70-300 mm which means more dropped shots – but it does pull you in that bit closer to the action.  The sea was quite lively so there was so9me good surf action to be seen, but not many youngsters around.  Maybe I’ll post a “mature” sample next time!  More photos from December in California on my flickr here.  DSC00196

Here’s another shot – the older brother – from my trip to Oceanside.  December surfing requires a wetsuit in the cold water conditions, even though the weather was beautifully sunny that day.  Taken with my Sony a350 and processed on a PC with Photoscape (excellent and free).  More photos from Oceanside on flickr here.  DSC09587

I’m in California for my son’s wedding and took the opportunity to go to Oceanside.  The weather was gorgeous and the surf  looked good.  There were a couple of guys surfing by the pier who were really good and I was able to take quite a few photos.  Later I met one of them and he asked for copies of some of the photos which I was thrilled about.  This is the younger brother, taken with my Sony a350 and processed (because I’m away from home) not on my usual Aperture but with a free PC editor called Photoscape – which is excellent.  More photos from Oceanside on flickr here.  DSC09582

Here’s another reminder of summer – a surfing shot from southern California.  I just love the expression of sheer joy on this boy’s face – or exultation.  Not quite sure what, but he’s certainly in the moment!  Taken with my Sony a350 and processed in Aperture as usual.  More surfing on this blog here and on my flickr here.  DSC05058

Here’s another shot from the summer – this time a young fellow who seems to be putting in a lot of concentration trying to remain upright on his boogie board.  Shot with a Sony 300mm lens on a Sony a350 and processed in Aperture with Noise Ninja removing some noise.  See yesterday’s shot and more surfing on this blog.  DSC05128

It’s been a little while since I last posted because I’ve been busy programming stuff in javascript, php and mysql (all new areas for me) leaving little time for photo editing unfortunately.  And the weather in England has been wet and cold too, so I thought I would post a reminder of summer sunshine.  This was taken near where my son lives in Encinitas, California, last summer using my Sony a350 and processed in Aperture.  I like the way the sun highlights his water covered body and rainbow shorts.  More photos from California on this blog here and on my flickr account here.  DSC05111

Encinitas is the place to be for surfing!  Probably not D Street, but still there was a fair bit going on while we were there.  This is another boy who did a lot of surfing and was very good.  More surfing favourites on flickr here and more on this photo blog.  DSC05979

California this summer seemed to have a lot of seaweed on the beaches – more than usual, maybe that’s why this boy is looking instead of running into action!  Actually, he was surfing practically all day and was very good.  Photo taken with Sony a350 and processed in Aperture.  My California 2009 set on flickr is here.  DSC05209

Here’s a regular surfing action shot from California taken with my Sony a350 and processed in Aperture as usual.  But then i added various layers of processing in Photoshop and using Topaz Adjust to improve the colour, soften the water, and enhance the skin tones and reflection.  I hope you like the result, which doesn’t look too unnatural.  More from this summer in California here on flickr.  DSC05938