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The tenuous surfing link restaurant review / blog – Justin Brown at Farringford

s0ulsurfing — Thu, 10 May 2012 17:03:13 +0000

Yesterday was my girlfriend’s birthday and seeing as she puts up with cooking for me and my son william all year round, i thought it might be a nice idea to treat her to a night off and take her to a fancy restaurant. Living in West Wight can narrow down the choices for fancy restaurants a bit, but luckily enough we do have a very very good one on our doorsteps with the new(ish) “Justin Brown at Farringford” in Freshwater Bay.

Normally this part of the soulsurfing blog is reserved for reviews of surfing kit, wetsuits, boards, surfing videos, that sort of thing, but i haven’t had anything like that to review lately and i’ve got a tenuous surfing link and a pretty picture to share, so here it is…

The tenuous surfing connections start right away, because our excellent waiter is also a surfer, who i’d first met at Compton a few months earlier, and its also one of only three restaurants i can think off where, if there is a good swell and the wind is in the right direction, you can hear the surf at Freshwater Bay (the others are the fat cat (at sandpipers) and the dandelion cafe).

At this stage I won’t try to pretend to be a food critic and waffle on like i really know what i’m talking about as they do on master chef (because i don’t) but I’m getting on a bit now, and I have eaten in my fair share of good restaurants all around the world (i’ve not always been confined to the western end of a small rock half way up the english channel) and i do know good food when i see and taste it. So I can say with some confidence, and some basis for comparison, that it was genuinely top quality food, and it was definitely a fantastic all round dining experience too. The service was first class, both waiters were friendly and knowledgable without being at all patronising (as I’ve found can be the case in some lesser establishments that were trying to be posh and mistook snobbery for class).

The food itself was not just delicious, but each dish was presented like a work of art, right down to the colour and textures of the plates, and each new course contained surprises, often a flavour combination that i hadn’t come across or even imagined before (raspberry and lemongrass soup for example!). As you might expect from a restaurant thats just been awarded two AA rosettes, It wasn’t the cheapest night out, and the bill was more than i could afford to do every week, but it was such a good meal that i left there thinking it was well worth the money to have food expertly prepared by someone at the top of their game and I will be going again as soon as i can and also recommending it to friends.

Finally, seeing as i’m a photographer and this is a photography blog as well as a surfing blog, i took some photos too, but very quickly and just with my iPhone hipstamatic, just to grab a bit of the colour and style in the dishes that were put before us.

I should also say that i’m not connected in any way to the restaurant, i’ve never met the chef, and they dont even have any of my photos on their walls!

Some of the dishes we enjoyed at ‘Justin Brown at Farringford’.

Play that Funky SUP – Stand up paddle surfing on the Isle of Wight

s0ulsurfing — Wed, 09 May 2012 09:44:57 +0000

A slightly different view of Stand up paddle surfing on the Isle of Wight. Shot with the 500mm sigma zoon lens, this tight crop makes me think of playing funky bass guitar for some reason, and i really like the bokeh caused by the light on the breaking wave.

Play that Funky SUP – Stand up paddle surfing on the Isle of Wight, 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.

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.

———————————–
©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!

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.

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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.

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)

Mustang Sally – Lady Surfer

s0ulsurfing — Fri, 24 Feb 2012 09:10:21 +0000

This shot was conceived as an idea to update one of my all time fave photos “Portrait of a Psychedelic Surfer” but this time with a female perspective and a lady surfer. Of course it has nothing like the same spark, as this was contrived where the original was a spontaneous reaction to the way the elements combined on a special day.

But it has a certain something that i like, the quirky englishness of the way she’s standing there in her stripy pink wellies! and the way the long shadow anchors her to the corner of the frame.

It was hastily arranged (in a few hours) with the first willing female i could find in reaction to a request from a potential client who was on a deadline, i don’t think it will come to fruition with that particular customer, but I thought it was worth giving the shot its moment in the spotlight here.

Massive thanks to Sally for being game to turn up at short notice and wade about in a very cold english channel (the boots came off a bit later) whilst i tried to figure out the best way to deal with shooting almost directly into about a billion megawatts of direct sunlight.

Mustang Sally – Lady Surfer, originally uploaded by s0ulsurfing.

This and the other photos on the site are all ©2012 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 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.