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The Sweeper – Isle of Wight SUP

s0ulsurfing — Tue, 08 May 2012 07:55:25 +0000

Another Isle of Wight SUP photo, and again its looking at stand up paddle boarding in Compton Bay. This 2 frame vertorama (vertical panorama) composition is all about reinforcing the space and sense of freedom.

The Sweeper – Isle of Wight SUP, originally uploaded by s0ulsurfing.

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©2012 Jason Swain, All Rights Reserved
This and the other photos on the site are all ©Jason Swain with All Rights Reserved. The image is not available for use on websites, blogs or other media without the explicit written permission of the photographer. Please contact me via email photo@jasonswain.co.uk if you want to use it in any way or license it for your own project.

Compton Fields Beach Clean, Isle of Wight

s0ulsurfing — Sat, 05 May 2012 13:29:51 +0000

A quick photo-blog about the beach clean that took place earlier today at Compton Fields on the Isle of Wight.

The bad news is the sheer amount of crap, the good news is that people are prepared to do something about it, so well done to all those that turned up on a cold and wet morning at Compton Fields on the Isle of Wight to give up a little of their time and get involved. This is not a one-off, beach cleans have been organised by the surf club, SAS, and eco-island already on the island this winter, and there’s more to come, which is good, because there’s no shortage of rubbish on our coast.

Paul Blackley got the ball rolling on this particular one a few weeks back by posting a few pics of the rubbish that had accumulated over the winter at Compton Fields, and asking for volunteers to help clear it up, especially appealing to surfers and other local beach users to look after whats on their won doorstep. The Isle Of Wight surf club (in the shape of Matt and Olly) responded positively and chipped in and helped make a facebook event of it, as well as getting the National Trust and Biffa on board to donate resources (bags, gloves and bins).

So here’s a few pics of the beach earlier in the week on a sunnier day, and a few iphone shots from today showing some of the crap everyone collected.

And finally, here’s a shot of what it should look like without all that man made crap in the way!

©2012 Jason Swain, All Rights Reserved
This and the other photos on the site are all ©Jason Swain with All Rights Reserved. The image is not available for use on websites, blogs or other media without the explicit written permission of the photographer. Please contact me via email photo@jasonswain.co.uk if you want to use it in any way or license it for your own project.

Isle of Wight Water Sports

s0ulsurfing — Sun, 29 Apr 2012 08:42:48 +0000

It’s pouring down with rain here again this morning so i’m forced to dig out a bit of sunshine and Isle of Wight Water Sports from the archives. I found a few more different views of stand-up-paddle boarding in Compton Bay from that time when the sun was shining (seems like longer than a few weeks ago), this one showing the SUP’s and some other water users (sailing and regular surfing)

Isle of Wight Water Sports, originally uploaded by s0ulsurfing.

One man and his gull – Stand up Paddle Surfing

s0ulsurfing — Sun, 08 Apr 2012 09:17:11 +0000

Another from the Stand up Paddle Surfing (SUP) shoot at Compton Bay, Isle of Wight, on a gloriously sunny and warm spring evening.

Using the sigma 50-500mm telephoto lens and deliberately shot into the sun for a silhouette and maximum shimmering sea. It was then edited up into a Vertorama (vertical panorama), and finished off using some flypaper textures to complete the painterly style i had first imagined when I saw them out there and visualised the image.

One man and his gull – Stand up Paddle Surfing., originally uploaded by s0ulsurfing.

We are sailing (well stand up paddle boarding actually)

s0ulsurfing — Sun, 01 Apr 2012 12:37:20 +0000

A bit more stand up paddle boarding (SUP) action from Compton Bay, Isle of Wight, on a gloriously sunny and warm spring evening last week. Bit of luck getting the yacht in the background!

Deliberately shot into the sun for a silhouette and maximum shimmering sea, and then edited up into a Vertical panorama, and finished off using some flypaper textures to complete the style i was looking for when I first visualised the finished result.

We are sailing – well stand up paddle boarding actually, originally uploaded by s0ulsurfing.

On golden pond ( SUP on the Isle of Wight )

s0ulsurfing — Fri, 30 Mar 2012 07:20:18 +0000

A bit of stand-up paddle board action from Compton Bay (SUP on the Isle of Wight). On a gloriously sunny and warm spring evening earlier this week.

Using the Sigma 50-500mm I deliberately shot it into the sun for a silhouette and maximum shimmering sea effect. I then edited up into a Vertorama, and finally used some flypaper textures to complete the style i was looking for when I visualised the image.

On golden pond – SUP on the Isle of Wight, originally uploaded by s0ulsurfing.

———————————–
©2012 Jason Swain, All Rights Reserved

This and the other photos on the site are all ©Jason Swain with All Rights Reserved. The image is not available for use on websites, blogs or other media without the explicit written permission of the photographer. Please contact me via email photo@jasonswain.co.uk if you want to use it in any way or license it for your own project.

The swell that kept on coming…

s0ulsurfing — Wed, 28 Mar 2012 13:39:38 +0000

So, its five days and counting now that this spring swell has hung around, and thats pretty good going for the south coast, especially accompanied by offshore winds.

Only had time for a really quick surf at lunchtime, and no photos either, but i did get back in the evening to shoot a few SUP’s enjoying some low tide sunset action, and Paul has also shared a few more from sunday so i though i’d do a part two for this blog!

So, first of all, a few more of me from sunday..

Date: Sunday 25th March
Location: Compton Bay, Isle of Wight
Surfer: Me (Jason Swain)
Photographer: Paul Blackley

Then a few more taken by me of the Monday…

Date: Monday 26th March
Location: Compton Bay, Isle of Wight
Surfers: Paul Blackley, Dave and Elliot Gray
Photographer: Me (Jason Swain)

Part three and some nice sunset SUP riders at Compton to follow as soon as i get some time!

I was there yesterday!! an overdue surf blog.

s0ulsurfing — Mon, 26 Mar 2012 19:49:51 +0000

Following up on the theme of my last surf blog, where i’d missed out on the good swell at Freshwater Bay because i had to stay in and have my broadband line fixed. This time i’m happy to write about the waves I did get on a glorious days surfing at Compton Bay, on the Isle of Wight.

Although unfortunately i didn’t get any photos myself, as I was too busy surfing on the Sunday. I was lucky that my good friend and excellent photographer Paul Blackley was there with his big lens to catch a few for me. And I was able to return the favour the next day by shooting a few of him nabbing a few fun sized ones on the Monday

Date: Sunday 25th March
Location: Compton Bay, Isle of Wight
Surfer: Me (Jason Swain)
Photographer: Paul Blackley

Date: Monday 26th March
Location: Compton Bay, Isle of Wight
Surfers: Paul Blackley, Dave and Elliot Gray
Photographer: Me (Jason Swain)

“I am just going in for a surf and may be some time” Isle of Wight Surfer – Ian Pacey

s0ulsurfing — Thu, 15 Mar 2012 10:27:19 +0000

Deliberate pun on the old “Scott of the Antarctic” quote here. This is my mate and Isle of Wight Surfer – Ian Pacey, going in for a surf at Compton Bay back in 2009. I always meant to post this shot the day he headed off on his travels (he went round the world surfing for a year) but somehow it fell through the cracks. Anyway, better late than never i suppose, he’s been back ages now and will probably enjoy the memories

“I am just going in for a surf and may be some time” Isle of Wight Surfer – Ian Pacey, originally uploaded by s0ulsurfing.

The Surf on the Isle of Wight is head high (if you squat right down)

s0ulsurfing — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 09:48:49 +0000

To be honest, the Surf on the Isle of Wight is probably not even that big today, but i’m just daydreaming of summer days at the beach and found this old shot of longboarding a lovely little wave at Compton Bay from back in 2009.

Real waves on their way though, there’s a nice big deep low pressure system in the North Atlantic heading our way soon!

The Surf on the Isle of Wight is head high (if you squat right down), originally uploaded by s0ulsurfing.

This and the other photos on the site are all © Jason Swain with All Rights Reserved. The image is not available for use on websites, blogs or other media without the explicit written permission of the photographer. Please contact me via email photo@jasonswain.co.uk if you want to use it in any way or license it for your own project.

I should have been there yesterday (The story of Isle of Wight surfing)

s0ulsurfing — Tue, 20 Dec 2011 13:23:26 +0000

Isle of Wight Surfing.

Returning to a familiar theme for this blog, and probably for most people who ever done a bit of Isle of Wight surfing too, the old ‘you should have been here yesterday’ routine.

Over the last 20 years I’ve built my life next to the sea and the West Wight in particular, with the simple (and now not so secret) aim of leading a quiet life and surfing whenever possible, as well as trying to avoid hearing that dreaded sentence so often heard in Isle of Wight surfing circles ’you should have been here yesterday’ as much as possible too.

But sometimes life has other plans for you, and after a few weeks of niggling broadband complications and lots of support calls and emails (involving a long boring story of telephone exchanges being upgraded to ADSL+, a ten year old router not being able to keep up with the change, and then a mystery line fault that pretty much seemed to me to have lots to do with a very windy and rainy night) i couldn’t really be out when the engineer was finally scheduled to come and test the line and put me out of my misery. I wanted to but couldn’t really hang a ‘gone surfing‘ note on the door and hope he would come back later (why don’t BT introduce that as an option when you sign up?)

Of course the only time-slot available on the morning of Friday 16th December, coincided with the biggest swell in weeks, and of course it was also the only day the wind blew offshore after endless days of howling onshores.

So, the day after triple overhead clean sets were reported as being ridden at my local break (from reliable local sources, who wouldn’t exaggerate the conditions) Saturday morning found me at Freshwater bay bright and early, full of hope and excitement for what i might find. Inevitably the classic conditions from the day before were long gone, and to be honest what was left looked pretty unappealing out there with the wind now blowing cross-shore and the swell not really doing it with the sets barely head high.

BUT… remembering my last blog and how i ended up kicking myself for passing up what turned out to be the last waves for a few weeks, this time i didn’t hang around in two minds and encouraged by a couple of hungover locals, pacey & sam, who turned up for a look too, decided to get in there and blow away a few cobwebs anyway.

The good news is that the swell picked up a bit and although it certainly wasn’t anything like the classic conditions of the day before, we had a few overhead sets, and a few bumpy but fun rides, and of course, its always better to have been in than sat around thinking about it.

After a quick surf and to make the most of the morning, i grabbed my camera and headed up onto the cliffs and got a few shots from a different point of view (away from my old favourites of the cabbage patch or right in front of the albion hotel) Whilst Andrew Court, Matt Harwood, Ian Pacey and James Ranson made the most of what was left before it really did get a bit windy. Even managed to get a few shots of some local birds and a random fishing boat in the line-up to complete this little episode of Isle of Wight surfing.

The morning after the night before…

s0ulsurfing — Thu, 08 Dec 2011 17:24:09 +0000

Sitting here today, on a miserable grey December day, looking out the window at howling on-shores blowing out any chance of getting any decent waves, and i’m looking back over a few pics from a surf session that i voluntarily missed out on a few weeks back. I wasn’t too busy, i didn’t have to be somewhere else, I wasn’t feeling poorly, or even lazy, and i didn’t even have a hangover as the title suggests… it’s just that I had recently had too much of a good thing, and for some reason (that seems insane now) I decided the little clean waves weren’t worth the effort and spent half an hour not making my mind up on the beach instead of just getting suited up and going in for a bit of fun. What a knob-head.

My reasons seemed sound enough at the time, I’d surfed some amazing waves the night before (so only about 12 hours previously) and for most of the previous week (November was an epic month for surf this year on the South Coast), and as the swell had dropped off so much, i didn’t want to erase and replace the great waves i still had in my mind, with the little tiddlers on offer in front of me.

In my defence, i didn’t completely waste my time, at least i took a few photos, managing to catch a few rare photos of Paul Blackley surfing, the even more rare sight of Pacey on a longboard, the quite common sight of chris court falling off a SUP and few nice ones of a puppy playing fetch on the beach, but looking back at the pics now…. just stop thinking about it and get wet and have some fun, you never know when the winds gonna turn, and its been blowing onshore pretty much ever since.