Mavericks is always a spectacle to witness, but in 2005 no one had a better view than the Coast Guard. I found it particularly amusing that amid the chaos of the event the Coast Guard found the time to check out the action. I’ve yet to see a repeat of this and I think its unlikely this type of scene will unfold again quite as nicely. Even still every year I return to photograph this event I keep waiting for another moment like this to present itself.
Today’s Bring Your Own Big Wheel event in San Francisco was in a different location than last years BYOBW on Lombard Street, but it was just as fun. The crowd is always a blast to photograph. Below are a few favorites and more of my photos from the event can be seen in this Flash slideshow BYOBW Photo Highlights. Enjoy!
Check out the LaughingSquid site for more pics and a video (with a brief cameo with me in action). Scott (aka LaughingSquid) was next to me during most of the runs. Great guy and a great site.
January 15th was the big day at MacWorld Expo 2008 and as always I made my annual pilgrimage. Apple is doing well these days and as a result the number of vendors attending the expo seemed to be at an all time high. I can’t recall a MacWorld that was as large and well attended as this one. On the other side I thought this was one of the poorest run MacWorld events. Pre-registration hardly yielded much benefit. Many registration stations didn’t have scanners and getting badges was a pain as long lines developed. One other downside to the event was that there was poor wireless support. Normally that wouldn’t be a big deal, but core to Apple’s product strategy is Wi-Fi support. iPhones were rendered useless for coordinating with friends or just emailing photos as connectivity was lacking. Not only that AT&T seemed to be having some major problems. SMS messages were delayed in reaching recipients by as much as 30 minutes! It’s tough to bash Apple, but I’d have thought the event would have been run a little tighter.
On the product side the MacBook Air was pretty neat, but priced a little high for my blood especially given the paring down of functionality. I will say this though it was super fast, quiet (from what I could tell) and extremely sexy. The Apple TV upgrades were interesting. I won’t be running out to buy one right away, but who knows what the future holds… at the moment my wife is downloading HD Lost episodes to watch on her PC so maybe their will be interest to get one eventually. The integration of Flickr into Apple TV piqued my interest. I’m curious how it works and if it runs into the same photo license issue I raised the red flag about with Dave Winer’s FlickrFan (FlickrFan: A Heads-Up For License Conscious Flickr Photographers). The 8 Core workstation could hardly be found. I think they had maybe 6 or 8 machines available to mess with and they were tucked away in a low traffic area. New iPod touch functionality… hardly worth mentioning. Apple’s turn over with new iPods and now software additions hardly grabs my attention. I have a feeling iPods with their frequent upgrades have dulled the enthusiasm of most Apple fans.
MacWorld Expo was still fun and I did eventually cross paths with one friend, communication problems and all. If you haven’t been yet I’d still go. Moscone West had some interesting vendors many photographer related. Moscone South not only had the major Apple display, but also included Adobe, Canon, Nikon and Epson. If you’d like to get your hands on some newer camera gear to see whats new or ask questions about the gear MacWorld is always a great place to do so. I got a few test shots in (putting in my own CF card) with the Canon 1Ds Mark III and the 16-35mm Mark II. Before I forget the other big vendor that was in Moscone South was B&H and they had some special pricing lined up for select products. That might be worth checking out, but don’t blame me if you end up spending lots of money with them.
MacWorld Photos:
MacWorld Expo MacBook Air Front View
MacWorld Expo MacBook Air Profile and Port Compartment (Closed)
MacWorld Expo MacBook Air Profile and Port Compartment (Open)
Saturday was the 2008 Mavericks Surf Contest and I had the opportunity to photograph it from the shoulder of the surf break. The event was incredible as always. Surf conditions were big to say the least and the performances of Greg Long (the winner of the contest), Jamie Sterling, Grant Washburn, Grant Twiggy Baker, Even Slater and Tyler Smith were incredible. More photos are to come, but here are a few to enjoy in the meantime. Update: More Mavericks photos have been added to my Photoshelter Mavericks gallery for more immediate viewing.
Greg Long and Jamie Sterling drop in on a huge wave at the 2008 Mavericks Surf Contest
Boards and Buoys, 2008 Mavericks Surf Contest
Notice anything odd about one of the boards?
Tyler Smith drops in on a monster wave at 2008 Mavericks Surf Contest
Jamie Sterling (red) and Greg Long (orange) battle it out in the final heat of the 2008 Mavericks Surf Contest
Thursday it was leaked that the Mavericks Big Wave Surf Contest is being called to take place on Saturday January 12, 2008. If you’re in the area and are thinking of witnessing the spectacle for yourself read up on access restrictions and alternate locations to view the surf contest such as at AT&T Park on the big screen. Odds are unless you have a mammoth lens and can tolerate sitting in mud on a precarious cliff side perch viewing the event is best seen at AT&T Park.
Check mavericksurf.com for the latest information.
It’s been a great year for photography and as the year closes out I thought it would be fun to select my favorite photos from the year. I had a tough time narrowing things down so here they are…
Honorable Mentions:
Honorable Mention #6:
Los Angeles Sunrise
This was one of the most dynamic cityscape I took this year, but as much as I liked it compared to some other photos taken this year it didn’t make the top 10.
Strangely this photo caught my eye the second time looking through the results of my photo shoot. In retrospect for the year its nearly one of my top 10 favorites.
This was the last thing I wanted to photograph this year, but this photo struck a nerve with a lot of people not just myself. It’s been picked up by the Sierra Club and couple of other local publication. Lets hope 2008 is a better year for the environment.
With the right combination of weather and lighting I was able to capture this view of San Francisco just after sunset. I still can’t believe this didn’t make the top 10, but it’s still one of my favorites from the year.
Honorable Mention #1
Refinery I
As soon as I started to drive past this refinery I knew the exact shot I wanted to capture. I didn’t quite get it the first time out, but the second time passing through the area I got it thanks to the perfect weather and lighting conditions.
Thanks for checking in on my Top 10 Favorites for 2007. The photos are only half the equation of what has made this a great year for photography. The other and most important half has been everyone’s support whether you read my blog, like you do, or have to put up with me on a daily basis like my friends and wife have… this year wouldn’t have been nearly as great with out you. Thanks and have a great 2008!
Today the Mavericks Surf contest official waiting period begins. At any point between today, December 7th 2007, and March 31st 2008 the contest can be called. Once the contest is called invited surfers and surfing fans have 24 hours to travel from where ever they are worldwide to the event.
This past Tuesday waves reached nearly 70 feet at Mavericks. With great surf so early in the season lets hope the contest happens this year. Last years event never happened as the right combination of conditions failed to come together to produce the needed giant surf. As always I’ll be monitoring storm and swell forecasts in the hope that I can catch the action.
I couldn’t help, but post these to photos from this past weekends Icer Air event. I thought these two photos were particularly cool. (I’ll forever resist using the term “sick”). Koji Kraft was really ripping it up on the vert ramp and at the end of Neil Hendrix’s run he flashed a great face.
More at my Icer Air 2007 Photo Archive
Koji Kraft getting big air on the vert ramp at Icer Air
Neil Hendrix all smiles at Icer Air on the Vert Ramp
Jim Goldstein is an independent photographer specializing in landscape, travel, environments, nature and event photography for advertising and editorial use.
A member of the American Society of Media Photographers (ASMP), Jim produces the highest quality photography for both commercial clients and fine art photography collectors. Jim's photography has been featured in the Washington Post, Sierra Club, Future Snowboarding magazine, Surfmag.com, SFGate.com, and a variety of other publications
