Compton Beach Panorama Vertorama, Isle of Wight., originally uploaded by s0ulsurfing.

A nice little summer swell rolls into Compton Bay

That’s it now, the last batch of surfing photographs from the last big day, maybe we’ll get another good swell now that they are all gone.

You can also see the five previous photo blogs here

http://soul-surfing.co.uk/you-shouldve-been-here-yesterday/ (15 photos)

http://soul-surfing.co.uk/yshbhy-part-two/ (15 photos)

http://soul-surfing.co.uk/hands-up-if-youre-having-fun-yet-yshbhy3/ (9 photos)

http://soul-surfing.co.uk/the-swell-that-just-kept-on-coming-yshbhy-4/ (12 photos)

http://soul-surfing.co.uk/you-should-have-been-here-in-february/ (14 photos)

Been so long since we’ve had a decent swell to ride here (and photograph), and with summer almost here, its probably not going to pick up anytime soon, so i returned to archives for ‘that day’ back in February, and had a look at the shots that were overlooked at the time, I took over 700 pictures that day, so there’s plenty to choose from! I’ve also tried to keep the processing to a minimum, just the occasional bit of ‘punch’ and horizon straightening in Lightroom!

You can also see the four previous photo blogs here

http://soul-surfing.co.uk/you-shouldve-been-here-yesterday/ (15 photos)

http://soul-surfing.co.uk/yshbhy-part-two/ (15 photos)

http://soul-surfing.co.uk/hands-up-if-youre-having-fun-yet-yshbhy3/ (9 photos)

http://soul-surfing.co.uk/the-swell-that-just-kept-on-coming-yshbhy-4/ (12 photos)

Just a photo blog today cos i had fun shooting them, and as much fun as the iphone hipstamatic was for the Walk the Wight blog, i definitely needed the 7D for these next shots!

Taken at the Owl Centre in Muncaster, in the Lake district. A fabulous place to visit, run by the ‘World Owl Trust’, another group of people working really hard to help endangered creatures.

All the shots here are watermarked lo-res web versions, if you are interested in using hi-res images for any reason please visit the wildlife gallery on my website, I will make a donation to the world owl trust for any sales made.

©2010 Jason Swain, All Rights Reserved
These images are not available for use on websites, blogs or other media without the explicit written permission of the photographer.

I talked about being in the right place at the right time (photographically speaking) in the first part of the blog, and for many of the classic lake shots, early morning or late evening light shows them at their best, with the peaks lit up and reflected beautifully in the calm waters of the lakes.

But for the stone circle at Castlerigg i think the bright sunshine and cumulus skies were just what i imagined, and exactly what i would have wanted. I called the first shot ‘Sun Worship’ because that’s what it felt like to me (i’ve no idea what they were really worshiping).

And heavy brooding skies seemed perfectly apt for the menacing presence of Scafell Pike and the desolate windswept landscape surrounding the Hardknott Roman Fort.

Not too much more to say about the photos really, hopefully you’ll enjoy looking at them, simple as that. One more set of Lake Landscapes to come, and them maybe an Owl blog, and hopefully one day in the not too distant future, i’ll get to see some waves again.

So once again i’m posting non-surfing pics on my site ‘dedicated to surf photography’. But its been a really long time since i’ve seen good waves, i’m struggling for anything surfing related to blog about again, and I was up in the Lake District the last time the Island had a swell, so there it is. Maybe soul-surfing will evolve to just being my general blog site if the surf doesn’t pick up soon!

I’m also pretty sure my surfing time will be badly affected by the fact that my good friend and surf buddy ‘pacey’ (psychedelic surfer on fiickr) has gone travelling for a year. So i wont be getting those excited early morning phone calls on cold winter mornings telling me to get my ass out of bed because the bay is going off and there’s no one in! I hope he stops to think about that as he pulls into another barrel in indo or Oz the lucky #!$@#….

So back to the lakes, it was my first trip to this stunning part of the world, and the first time i can remember going anywhere without a surfboard or wetsuit in a very long time. The only thing that sweetened that pill beforehand was that I would be taking my new camera, and i’d get to try out the 7D on some seriously beautiful landscapes.

Of course visiting somewhere as photographed as the lakes comes with its own pressures, I’ve seen some truly amazing images from the lake district, and aside from having the right kit and the skills to use it properly, a big part of getting a great landscape is knowing where to be to catch the best light and compositions, and then of course having good lighting conditions happen whilst you’re there.

I could add that you need to be in the right place creatively speaking too, but i’m taking that for granted here, because if the lakes don’t inspire you, you’re not meant to be a landscape photographer.

Bearing that in mind, and being honest with myself, I dont think i’d call any of the shots I came back with anything really special. The trip reminded me that i’m still on a learning curve with photography, and I’m also certain that i need to be there a lot longer and at different times of the year to really even begin to see and understand the beauty of the place and appreciate the rhythms of nature and weather up there. It’s not all bad, I do like some of the shots, but many are lacking that certain something that you get when you truly know a place. I’m also wondering if i should pick up the paint brushes again, I’ve got a little itch somewhere in my mind, and maybe the problem i have with the photos is just that they’re not paintings?

So here’s the first batch of photos anyway, your thoughts and constructive feedback are appreciated, i’ll probably do a couple more photo-blogs from up there and then move on to something new, (I’ll also try and talk a bit more about the place and the walking / hiking / climbing in the next blog)

*Bonus surfing pic because i cant ignore surfing completely! this one is for Pacey, hope you & SJ have a great trip mate

So… more fun shooting red squirrels than surfers? well you got to do something when the sea is flat for weeks on end.

It’s not more fun than surfing itself, i can just about remember how much i love that, and it’s been so long since we had good waves to take photos of (6th feb) that i might have just forgotten the fun of doing that. But for the last few days, dawn patrol has been in my back garden with red, and i’ve been more excited about that than i remember being watching the action at Compton or Freshwater Bay.

It started with the squirrel box that i got for my last birthday (thanks freya) and lots of expert advice from Paul Blackley (who has to be the best wildlife photographer on the Island in my book). The fact that i got the Canon 7d now and it can shoot at 8fps and up to IOS 6400 helps too, but the secret mostly consists of a big bag of hazelnuts and a lot of patience.

After a while i’ve learnt the routes he takes, and where he likes to bury the nuts, but its the way he bounces around at high speed and constantly keeps you guessing what he will do next that makes it such good fun to try and catch with a camera. There is a similarity there with surf photography, but i’ve found that after watching and taking pics for years, i can usually read the wave and anticipate what a surfer will do next,  compared to that a squirrel is just a lot more random and so in that way, exciting.

These shots (except the obvious ‘urban acid’ surfing edit) are all shot in RAW and posted here as mostly sooc (straight out of camera) apart from the odd crop and in a few cases a little tweak to the contrast or exposure. In addition to being the first action shots with the new 7D, it’s also the first time i’ve used lightroom (beta 3.2) for managing the files and i’m liking the really subtle control and streamlined workflow its given me.

And because i couldn’t ignore surfing completely, i’ve chucked in an edit of one of my favourite photos from the last good swell.

Hope you like the pics, comments, feedback and criticism are all welcome in the comments box below!

Click here for part one of ‘You should have been here yesterday’

Click here for part two of ‘You should have been here yesterday’

Click here for part three of ‘You should have been here yesterday’

Click here for part one of ‘You should have been here yesterday’

Click here for part two of ‘You should have been here yesterday’

The shot was taken during the good swell on the 6th Feb 2010, you can see more from that day in the ‘You should’ve been here yesterday…’ blog

Life is just a series of peaks and troughs. Retro surf style

Click here for part one of ‘You should have been here yesterday’

There were quite a few eye witness’s to Al Reed’s full on barrel ride, but sadly i dont think anyone manged to get a shot of it, there is one included here of him going into one another one, but he didnt make it out this time.