Raves & Rants . . from Penzance

With the advent of the ever-expanding world of iPads, Kindles and netbooks allowing ever easier access to the internet and its largely free content, the once burgeoning world of magazines printed on paper (stuff you don't have to even click, for younger readers) has become squeezed, and squeezed again, as advertisers head where the public are flocking. The effect of this has seen many magazines close in recent years, the doomsayers heralding the signs as the complete end of all printed material.  But maybe it's just the business model of the Net that's part of its success, the knowledge that all content is free being the one of the biggest draws. If that's true then maybe new national surf title SurfPlus stands a better chance of sticking around, since they are simply giving it away.  While free papers are an unremarkable publishing method, witness the local Classified Ads 'newspaper' dropped through your letterbox, this is a first, as far as I know, in the Su...

In the topsy turvy world of freelance photography, anything might happen, and frequently does so, often in a bad way. But recently a couple of good things happened. First, I found myself shooting a World Record attempt, (OK, it was the slightly obscure 'Most Pirates in One Place' attempt, but a World Record is a World Record, right?) in the blazing sun with 8,733 other scurvy dogs on Penzance Promenade. Having successfully smashed the previous and paltry record of around 6,000, the second good thing happened, I was asked to shoot a surf trip.  I immediately jumped on board a Spanish Pirate Galleon with Self Destruct Nation   and sailed south to the Spanish coast in search of some hidden surf treasures. (OK so it was the Santander ferry, but sailing's sailing, right?). The Basque coast and the rivermouth jewel of Mundaka are much noted for their quality surf, but we managed to find a great setup, without the crowds, straight off the ferry ...