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Behind The Lens
Location
It was taken at the 2019 US Open of Surfing in Huntington Beach (Surf City), CATime
It was mid-morning.Lighting
The sky was overcast and dark for a typical Southern California summer day. As a result, I had to use a higher ISO and larger aperture than I prefer to freeze motions. I had a little help from the white water to light up the underside of the surfer.Equipment
I used a Canon EOS 7D Mark II and an 100-400 Canon L II lens set at 271 mm.Inspiration
Being from Hawaii, surfing is a part of life. US Open of Surfing is one of the best surfing competitions in the world.Editing
Very little post-processing was done.In my camera bag
I shoot a lot of sports and wildlife, for these shoots, I use the 7D Mark II and the 100-400 lens; for everything else, I take a Canon EOS 5D Mark IV with a 24-105 and either a 16-35 or 70-200. I travel light - Canon EOS M.Feedback
There are many ways to capture surfing: in the water, from the beach, and from above are the most common. Fifty years ago, when I was younger, I had done all three. In the water, it is up close and personal. It could be dangerous and prepare to drink water. On the beach, you need a long lens and you will get the same pictures everybody else with a long lens gets. I like to shoot from above. At this angle, you may not capture the “fancy” surfing moves but you get nothing but the wave action for background. You can eliminate advertisements and other distractions one finds at a competition. The photo here was shot off the Huntington Beach Pier. I used a shorter and lighter lens and I did not use the full zoom capacity of the lens.