Breakdown

Let's face it, taking shots with a drone is very similar to taking shots with any other camera. Flying your camera to the point where you want to take that shot is slightly more of a challenge, especially if your subject is moving as well. But as they say, practice makes perfect....after many attempts I guess.

I'm still not near perfect when it gets to catching a surfer on a wave and getting the background that I had in mind in, but I am slowly getting there. The composition is not always the way I want it and I am surprised at how fast a wave is moving when you are waiting for a surfer to take that wave. Positioning your drone at the right spot is not always that simple, especially not if the surfer has the option to go left or right. I usually end up with a surfer in the bottom corner just about to leave the frame. You have to be quick on the controls which is up, down left, right, forward, backwards...and then you have to think about composition and pressing the button. To me it sounds like multitasking and we know how men are when it comes to multitasking.

I have to say that it is so much fun and getting on picture is rewarding enough for me at this stage. Here are two shots from Doodles again.....

What would it take to fulfill a dream?

I am sitting on a boat just outside Hout Bay and I am thinking hard.  It is the Rebel Sessions Big Wave competition at Dungeons and I am there to take photos, but something does not feel right inside me.  On the boat and in several other boats around me are more photographers who are all basically going to get the same shots which they are going to post and get an "ooh" and an "aah" from everyone that bothers to comment. Not because it is a great shot, but because it is a shot of something great.  A shot of big waves and guys with big balls....or was it boards? Yes, big waves and big boards...and that's an "ooh" and an "aah" worth.

I have always said that I prefer to be a participant and not a spectator and clearly that has not changed.  I want to be part of the action and not the dude in the boat taking pictures of guys having fun. I want to surf Dungeons.  I am just wondering what it is going to take to get myself to that point?  No, I don't want to take part in a Big Wave competition, I just want to surf Dungeons. So let's see where I stand right now...

On the  down side I am on the wrong side of 50, maybe a pound or two overweight, very unfit and with the lung capacity of a tiny bumblebee bat.  On the up side I can surf, I still have a heartbeat and I have balls. Maybe not big enough right now, but I am sure I can grow them larger with the right head shift and plenty of exercise.   

I am only speculating but I have looked at the waves at Dungeons and I am sure they are doable for anyone with surfing experience and a long breath. The sharks feeding on the local seal population is something I can cope with. I will not attempt the traditional paddle from the foot of The Sentinel through shark infested waters to get to Dungeons.  At my age I will be excused, or should be excused. Most of the surfers take the boats out anyway. I'm not there to prove anything, I am there because I want to feel the rush of catching a wave that size and not capture a wave that size.  But there's the problem with water, lots of water.  How long must one be able to hold your breath? 10 seconds, 20 seconds...a minute? Two minutes? I don't have the facts, so I need support from someone with experience.

I am sure that we have seen the last sets for 2017 breaking at Dungeons, and the next swells will only be winter 2018.  That gives me 8-10 months to train. Get fit, loose the belly and expand my lung capacity. While doing this I can gradually work my way up on larger boards until I get the chance to paddle for my first wave at Dungeons.  All I need is someone to train me or keep me on a training program.  

Are there any Dungeon surfers out there who wants to take on this task? We can record my progress, make videos, get sponsors (I can't afford another surfboard) and surf as much as possible for a year. I need to do this because I won't be wasting my time in a boat taking pictures at Dungeons ever again......

My two minutes of fame...

I never imagined the day when I posted my first IG picture that I would one day be invited to chat on a national television station's morning show about my IG account? But, I had my 2 minutes of fame..which for most part of it was nerve wrecking and felt like an eternity... on Expresso, a live morning show on SABC3.

I cannot say that I have said everything that I wanted to say, but I was only asked three questions if I remember correctly. Further more there were no spin-offs after the show apart from 9 extra followers and an old flame of mine from my primary school days who saw me on TV and made contact via FB. Which makes me wonder why she never did it before. Was it only now because I am famous now?  Hahaha, never take me seriously, but I have to say just being asked to appear was a huge compliment to me.  They did ask me how I use IG as a marketing platform and it made me realize that I don't really do.  There is some homework for me.

You will never get these two minutes back if you do, but feel free to watch my two minutes of fame below...