Pictures from Dublin Zoo

[Oggie]

I used to shoot with a Nikonus 3 the underwater model got some nice sunsets too but they are all on paper. Ill see if I can dig some up sometime and scan them in for a gawk.

The subject matter will be interesting to you, but they arent a patch on the clarity and quality of yours though.

That is awesome, I'd love to see them if you get a chance to scan them. The underwater shots sound interesting, haven't seen too many of those! That is something I would love to do if I was ever over in your neck of the woods, under the water is like another world I'm sure. Loads more life and some truly bizarre looking and fascinating creatures, full of colour too.

[Andre]

I like the surf. I dived once and blew the old rings of the camera out and it died down there at 30 meters in Fiji.

The lower you go the more reds and vivid colors you lose so the film comes out very blue saved two shots but killed the camera.

I like looking at surf shots in the sunset or sunrise because the colors transpose into the moving water and it bends and becomes like a liquid sunset.

Surfing out in it is something special too ,getting a barrell through a churning pink,golden and blue liquid tube is mind blowing .

The relflection of an early evenings full moon coming at you in a track in blue black water when your surfing late is something special too.

[Oggie]

Definitely man, I would love to do some surf photography in the future. I'd love to invest in a really good telephoto lens, one that can capture the surfers on the offshore breaks.

We get some pretty nice swells here at times, especially from September - January. The north-west is regarded as the home of surfing here, not surprised to see it about to be smashed by another swell.

Here is a video of a recently discovered secret spot in the north-west, it's called 'Riley's'...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RjMMMhupyf8

Carlos Burle said that the day he was there, it was as heavy as Teahupoo.

The next few years are going to be very exciting for surfing here I think, it is getting so much more exposure than before, and new spots are being discovered all the time. If you can handle the cold water, it's a great place to be! It's always so empty and uncrowded, great for an escape from normality. We even had Kelly Slater in the small surfing town of Bundoran last year, enjoying some freezing swell.

[Andre]

Thats sik! Its way too much for me the largest id surf is that right hander at 1;14 to 1.18 and even then Id have to be in the mood.
I'd be sitting in the car with a dress on if we were about to surf that evil left.

I have a theory: I think its called O'Rileys cause everyone who paddles out says "O"!

[Oggie]

Haha, it is pretty epic alright. The lips on some of the waves are so thick, and you are hovering only inches above razor sharp slabs under the water. Serious cajones to even attempt it...

These are some shots (from the same spot) by the Irish photographer Mickey Smith, he specializes in surfing photography. I love his stuff!







The terrifying beauty of the ocean, eh?

[Andre]

Those water camermen get smacked and lip launched sometimes too.

We surf a break here called Meanos that does that same stuff but its much much smaller than that. Sometimes you think you have missed a wave totally and turn around and face the horizon to paddle back out and you just go over backwards and end up falling through the lip into the bowl and do the washing machine thing over a foot deep, flat rock bed.
A mate once turned looked at me shrugged cause he missed it, sat up on his board, started heading off backwards over the falls (which is funny enough in itself) but he starts singing Wish me luck as you wave me goodbye. his voice just fades off and we hear the water spit out the end of the tube ba boom over the reef then frrrrsssst and hes gone .