Quiksliver Pro 2013 Finals Photos

Well, surf wise it is all happening on the Tweed (NSW) and Gold (Qld) Coasts in February / March.  We have just seent he finish of the Roxy & Quiksilver Pros from 2-15March, with Tyler Wright and Kelly Slater the respective winners.  Next week the Australian Surfing Longboard Open is held at Kingscliff beach from 20-24 March.

The finals of the Quiksilver Pro were held at Kirra on 13 March under brilliant conditions.  A big and enthuiastic crowd watched Kelly Slater edge out local stars Mick Fanning, in the semi-finals, and current World champ Joel Parkinson in a thrill packed Final.

To the Victor the Spoils. A triumphant Kelly Slater is carried up the beach after his win.

Joel Parkinson in the tube suring the Final.  His two top scoring waves of 8.67 and 7.83 were just not enough to beat Kelly Slater’s two top scores of 9.83 and 8.73.

Joel Parkinson in the barrel during his first high scoring wave of 8.67

Joel parkinson popping out of the tube on his second high scoring wave of 7.83.

And the second wave was finished off with a brief floater

Kelly Slater as the barrel forms over him on his first wave, which earned him a 8.73 score

And Kelly’s triumphant turn out of the wave

Slater pops out of the tube on his second scoring ride of 9.83. This wave featured a 17 second ride int he tube!

See a video here of this ride – last video on the page

A section of the big crown watching the Finals

My vantage point was just where these girls are setting up on the grass. By comp time (90 minutes later) it was wall to wall bodies on walkway, grass and rocks.

 

 

 

Roxy Pro Quarter Finals

I got up nice and early today and toddled down to see what was going on in the Land Rover sponsored Quiksikver and Roxy Pros.  I haven’t been able to get down before as I had something on earlier in the week.

I went to Snapper Rocks first, had a look around the ‘surf village’ and got a feel for the day.  Snapped this shot of possible future champs, who knows?  They were watching all the hoo haa that accompanies the Pro staff trying to corral and organise those big floaty things that mark out the ‘course’.

Future champions?

Then I drove over to Kirra, and was lucky enough to get a nice close parking spot (right by the loos, very convenient LOL), and I walked down to the rock wall at the southern end of the beach.  Most of my shots are from there, it was a good vantage point early but as the morning progressed the action went north.  Tomorrow I may set up a bit further north myself.

I managed to shoot all the competitiors bar Carissa Moore in QF4, the waves had moved along and she was surfing a L O N G way up the beach.  First, the results.

So, my images for QF1.  The first is Tyler Wright and the second Courtney Conlogue.

Quarter Final 2 was bewteen Stepahnie Gilmore, who scored the highest wave of the QFs at 9.8, and Alana Blanchard.

Stephanie Gilmore in the tube during her 9.8 ride

Alana Blanchard cutting up a wave during QF2

Stephanie Gilmore – always showing genuine pleasure when fans approach – here coming back after her round with a lovely smile fot eh folk hoping to snap a photo.

Stephanie Gilmore coming in with a smile for fans, after winning her Quarter Final and progressing to the semi finals.

Quarter Final 3 was between Bianca Buitendag of South Africa, who just could not seem to get a decent wave, and Sally Fitzgibbon of Australia who, perhaps knowing the beach better, caught several well scoring waves to progress to the Semi Finals

Binaca Buitendag in a tube which unfortunately closed in on her.

Sally Fitzgibbons caught this nice tube and rode through it and pulled off some good turna on the end of this wave.

QF4 was between Carissa Moore of Hawaii and Pauline Ado of France.  Again, Moore, who has surfed in Australia several times, seemed to catch better waves more often and progressed through to the Semis.  Unfortunately, I don’t have a good enough image of her to put up here.

Pauline Ado of France catching a tube during QF4 – unfortunately for her it closed in, leaving her nowhere to go.

And we were also treated to our local ‘Didge man’ (that’s what I always think of him as) who is a regular sight round the traps on the Gold and Tweed coasts.

Russel Corowa and his didgeridoo are a fixture at Snapper Rocks, where the Aboriginal man proudly celebrates his indigenous heritage by blessing the surf while overlooking the waves.

Russel Corowa – didgeridoo man

Valentine’s Day Surf at Duranbah

‘Twas a beautiful morning yesterday and I had a very early errand at Murillumbah, so I decided I might as well take the cameras (I always do anyway) and head down to the beach afterwards. I went by Snapper first but it is already closed off for the upcoming Quiksilver & Roxy events (they don’t start until 2 March!).

So I mosied on down to D’bah where the durf was small but nicely shaped waves and a beautiful clear vlue green colour.

Here’s a few from the day.  Click on the photo to link to my website image, and check out the whole gallery of 2013 Gold Coast/northen NSW surfing shots.  I am adding more all the time.

 

 

 

Sunrise!

I planned to be up nice and early for the pool this morning for my swim – they open at 5.30am and I usually swim then so I am done for the day and it beats the heat.  But today I woke at 2.15 am and could not get bnack to sleep, then dropped off and slept til 5.30am.  And when I looked out of the window and saw this glorious cloudbank out of the window the pool was abandoned for the camera.

3 shot pano in portrait mode, 1DsMkII & 50mm f1.8.

First Sunrise of the New Year

I dragged myself out of bed at a very unGodly hour to catch the first sunrise of 2013 from Currumbin Alley at the rock platform.

It was gloriously pink to start but that was short lived 

It was gloriously pink to start, but that was short lived and soon the Sun’s orange influence began to be felt.

The last rays before the Sun popped out of the cloud were lovely.

A good morning’s work if I do say so myself.

Happy New Year!

Image

I will make a conscious effort to attemopt to post every day, hopefully with a photo.

 

Yesterday’s excusions and alarms

Yesterday morning I set off to the north to photograph the huge C17A Globemasters as they did a fly over of Brisbane and the Gold Coast.  I was on the beach at the end of heron Ave, not sure what suburb – and my research of checking the maps on the RAAF site paid off, I was right where they did banking turns at the end of their run down the coast.  Quite pleased with this shot.  Canon 1DsMkII & Sigma 150-500, this is a full frame shot, no cropping.

Then at 1030 last night I  awakened to the crack of thunder – staggered out to the east facing verandah to see if there was any lightning worth getting the camera out for.  I took 25 shots for 2 keepers.  Both ISO 160/f8/15 secs with 1DsMkII & 17-40 f4 L.

 

 

Dawn at Lake Ainsworth, Lennox Head, NSW

On Sunday 01 october I dragged myself up at 0130 and collected a friend at her house at 0300 and we set off for Lake Ainsworth at Lennox Head (about 90kms south). Lake Ainsworth is a freshwater lake with distinctive tannin-stained waters from the surrounding tea trees which make stunning shots possible when the conditions are right.

Lake Ainsworth was named after James Ainsworth, Thomas Ainsworth’s son. The Ainsworths were one of the first European families to take up land in the region, settling on the North Head of Ballina in 1847. The Lake is situated north of the town and 50 metres behind the dunes.

We’d hoped for mist rising as we had a few drops of rain the night before but it was not to be. Still achieved some nice images.  I plan to go back and stay at the adjacent caravan aprk and do a sunset, night and dawn shoot.

Mamiya 645DF & Leaf 22

4 October is World Animal Day.  Red Bubble is supporting The Nature Conservancy by offering a discount and a contribution to the Nature Conservacy.

Purchase from RB using the code ‘wildthings’ between now and October 4th and you’ll not only get 5% off your order, they’ll donate another 5% to support The Nature Conservancy in protecting nature and conserving habitats around the globe.

To support this special initiative (that sounds SO stuffy!) I have placed special reduced prices for mounted, framed and canvas prints and posters on 3 of my best whale images from the current season – ‘Big, Beautiful Fluke‘, ‘Joy of Life‘ and ‘Up & Over #2 with Mt Warning‘

Hustle on over and grab one before it’s all over.  Strictly until 4 october, on 5 october these images will go back to being only available as postcards and posters at RB, and prints at the normal price from my website.

 

 

SPECIAL OFFER! One only canvas print.

A 1 metre x 1/2 metre canvas for just $200 plus postage.  (Solid colour wrap  NOT canvas wrap.)

This my most popular image on the net over all my galleries and webpages, and most viewed, featured and commented on at RedBubble.

I will have another image, By Road or Lake,  as a canvas soon for the same price

I calculated the Courier delivery to various capital cities as follows: Brisbane $23, Sydney, Canberra, Melbourne and Adelaide all $29, Hobart $37, Perth $37, Darwin $42