Afternoon Delight

My brain feels like it’s in ADD mode more so than usual. I’m waffling around trying to get one task done and even that feels like I’m trying to climb a mountain. The mountain in this case is the blank page staring back at me. Forget waffling (except not for breakfast, waffles are the best, second only to Honey Nut Cheerios). Let’s blog.

This afternoon was unexpected. I knew I was meeting up with Dave Homcy to film me shooting at Pipe. I had a feeling that I didn’t want to use my fisheye lens. Yes, I honestly get feelings about which lenses to go with.  I wanted a wide-angle without distortion. I decided on a 16-35mm set at 18mm. I don’t have the zoom gear for that lens port so I treat my 16-35mm like a prime lens once it’s in the housing.

It was a perfect small WNW day with crystal clear water and skies. Frankly, the ocean looked glorious. The cast for today was Dave, Crystal (his wife), Naia (daughter)Brooke Roy, and guest starring Amy Hodel. Based on the conditions (the waves were small and breaking consistently in one area) Dave and his wife Crystal asked 6 ½-year-old Naia if she wanted to swim out. She was game and I trusted their judgment. Disclaimer: This was an advanced swim lesson and I would not recommend trying this at home.

Dave went to shoot Brooke bodysurfing so I hung out with Crystal and Naia. We swam under a few waves, watched surfers pull into fun-size barrels, and took a break from reality. Crystal was teaching Naia and I was documenting. Also, I was inwardly really happy I didn’t use my fisheye because I ended up shooting more portrait style photos. Fisheye distortion with portraits, ewww 90s (actually, I sometimes like those but I wanted to say, ewww 90s, so there).

We transitioned and Dave went with Naia, while I shot Crystal and Brooke bodysurfing, then swapped again. Dave shot me swimming underwater with my housing, and I got taken out by the whitewash (comes with the territory). We packed a lot into that hour. Naia turned into the blue kid at the pool (zero body fat factor) and the Homcy’s swam in together. I stayed for a bit longer, shooting with Brooke for a few waves and then called it a day. Tada! Here we are, top of the blank-page-blog-mountain, thank you for climbing with me!

The best things in life are Funk!

Dear Reader, that catchy closing line is under construction as other things can qualify as the best things and don’t have to be a Funk or it may endure the test of time, stay tuned, dun dun dun

Naia & Crystal

Naia

Crystal & Naia

Naia

Naia & Crystal

Amy Hodel, Crystal, Naia

Naia

Dave, Naia, & Crystal

Brooke Roy & Crystal

Brooke

Brooke

Brooke