shiny toys for sale..........

BGA is having a bit of a quiver cull and has some tasty boards up for sale, apologies for the crappy pictures!

9'9 Thomas Campbell / Junod Pignar

pic above

Proper pig, surfs really great and looks beautiful. Wish i could buy it! This was one of the first few Junod and t mo made together £750 Very rare, maybe the only one in the UK!

9'8 Junod Two tone noserider

This is michels everyday log, slightly wide point back shape, smooth controlled pocket noserides and pivoty turns. Glass on single fin, lovely glass job £550


6'6 Joel Tudor Karma

THE egg tudor rode everywhere a few years ago (think shelter dvd, sprout etc) £450

You can email BGA at alastairgreen@sky.com

Contacthim quick before he changes his mind!

all about chemistry

In this case it's film processed outside its normal environment causing good things to happen.


What an amazing little run of summer swell last week! Too many fun logging waves to count, bare arm paddling, salty smiles and sunburnt shoulders. I try to be all grown up and mature about going surfing but man i LOVE it!

Completely random song posting, havent heard it foryears, it just popped into my head in the line up the other day

from the shed

 

Yet another SeaPea shot. It's been getting a lot of water time recently. It's amazing how much fun a little board can make a 2 foot windswell day. My shortboarding still lags behind my logging ability-wise but it's a blast all the same. It's definately going to be in the van for our annual trip to france in a few weeks

for miles

Someone was asking me the other day which longboarders i thought had good style. It's not an exhaustive list but i come back to segments from the following time and again

Dane Peterson - smooth flowing jive and catlike grace
Jimmy Gamboa
Joel Tudor - smooth and precise
Knost
Jai Lee
Tyler Warren - love watching him on shorter boards too

143

Another SEAPEA convert, they're addictive things to ride although I guess surfing itself is pretty addictive.





There's a massive wave in front of me, awesome in its beauty, terrifying in its power. It's been out there for miles, a pure visceral force of nature, driven by gravity. It fills my vision, my blood pounds in my ears as my breathing shallows. I should be scratching for safety but it's so perfect I'm caught, a rabbit in the headlights, mesmerised. I know what's coming yet am helpless before it, just a tiny speck in a raging sea, stomach in free fall as it feathers and breaks over me. Plunging me down, disorientating yet all encompassing, my heart straining so much it hurts. I'm fighting to breathe but there's no more air down here. Rag-dolling out of control at the mercy of a power bigger than me, bigger than any of  us, there's no fight just acceptance.

 I surface feeling more alive than before, searching the horizon, craving that feeling again. I know it's there.

fish scales and tall tales

 

What with all the SeaPea related excitement, i hadn't ridden a keel fish for ages until the other day. Pretty much on a whim i paddled my 5'8 mabile out on a tiny day, really way too small for anything but a log. It felt tiny and thin compared to a mini simmons despite being half a foot longer. I'd be lying if i said it was an epic session but there was a lot of satisfaction from generating speed and getting a couple of turns in on a tiny gutless wave. In summer everything is fun right?

the view from here...

I've been slowly getting more egg curious over the last few months. Inspired by Devon Howards instagram feed and a conversation i had with him a few years ago, back when Loose fit surfshop first opened. I've never owned a proper californian style egg and there's a hole in my quiver between 5'8 and 9'4 that some kind of midlength would happily fill. Part of the fun in ordering a board is agonising over the who's and the how's and the exactly whats. I think i've got my decision made but it's one thats likely to require some patience.

I'll keep you posted...

a place to bury strangers...

 

Somewhat macabre title to this post, for no reason other than it's the name of a band (heavily influenced by my bloody valentine) and they just popped up on my shuffle!

Obviously i took this a couple of months ago (in Norway), it's the cabin we stayed in. It's a shot from the first roll of film through my Lomo Konstructor camera. The roll came out pretty well for a first try and i'm happy to have another plastic beauty to add to my camera quiver!

If you didnt click the link yet, the Konstructor is a plastic SLR 35mm camera that comes in a kit of plastic bits with a screw driver and some instructions. It's actually fairly easy to build and with the exception of the film counter it pretty straight forward.

It's probably a bit less robust than a holga because of the folding hood thing for the view finder and it takes a little more care and effort to frame and focus up a shot. That said, because it's a reflex camera, what you see through the viewfinder is actually what you get, in contrast to the somewhat random relationship between exposure and viewfinder on a holga or diana.

It's a cool looking little object and there is a definate warm and fuzzy feeling to building it up and using it. A good one to add to your birthday list!

seeds

The Embryo of FineFlow from Fine Flix Films on Vimeo.

When Thomas Cambell  set out to make his hugely influential "seedling" film, he was documenting a scene that already existed in Southern California. His film didn't start things, just introduced it to a wider audience.

Matt Howard and is girlfriend Courteney Leonard were heavily involved in the resurgence of heavy logs and, amongst many other creative outlets, had begun to document themselves and their friends. The embryo of fine flow was filmed around 97 and contains much of the DNA the seedling in a less polished form. The continued influence of Matt Howard is often overlooked but he deserves more recognition.

no waiting

Big scary birthday today......remember, age is just a number.........

cup 'o' joe

 

A surf check is better with coffee in hand.

swing thing

I moved house a few months ago, not far, just an extra five or ten minutes to the beach, but far enough. It's a testament to the beauty of devon that a few miles makes such a difference to your feeling of space. As i drive home i feel lucky to see the stars shine, uninhibited by light pollution, to wake up to this view every morning and hear only sheep and the occasional tractor. Country soul indeed...................





Please note, this doesnt mean i've gone all "good life" and started rearing chickens, there are limits!