Raves & Rants . . from Penzance

I had been out on a windy, rainy, grey and overcast day to do an interior shoot. Naturally the interior had to have a 'sunny, summery feel'.  Presumably that was the reason it was commissioned in mid December then. Plus it was incredibly urgent, needed immediate post-processing and sending to the client immediately after that, if not sooner. A-Frames  So much, so normal. But I knew there was a decent swell running which, if the correct bit of shelter from a difficult wind could be tracked down, would undoubtedly turn up some decent looking waves. With only a brief window of opportunity due to the shortness of the days at this time of year, looking was all I had time to do. Empty, but no time to surf it The First Law of Surfing being what it is, I presently came across several sheltered spots which were firing. Solo pilot Having driven around looking at all the places I couldn't surf, I ended up in St Ives with just enough daylight left to make the in...

 A decent swell hit the south west of Cornwall this week, and some lucky blighters managed to snag a few. Three foot peelers were randomly interspersed with 6 foot screamers resulting in hoots for the riders, and groans from those caught inside. Generally smiles all round though, surfers grins keeping the beach lit up long after the autumn sun had made its (far too early) disappearance. Return to Ocean-Image.com

A few pictures from the Greenaway Pro , currently being held at Porthmeor beach in St Ives this week. With the longboard event being run yesterday, the Under 18 semi-finals today and the Open rounds tomorrow, the finals on Saturday look set to be a showcase of British surfing talent. Toby Donachie In the first semi today, Quiksilver rider Toby Donachie stood out, with Sennen's Seb Smart missing out on a finals place due to a lack of waves. Holding a surf contest in August, the flattest month in Britain, at a beach that needs a decent swell to get going is a daring move. Organiser Matt Smith is certainly not short of the courage needed to even organise such a prestigious event, and clean, surfable, contestable waves pumped in during today's contest. Adam Bayfield Luke Dillon Some top notch Boogie Boarders will be showing up tomorrow, in the form of the Zion team, who will be signing boards and T shirts and, if the waves are as good as the forecast suggests, p...

Had a really decent wave at Porthmeor earlier in the week, with not too many people out. Still trialling the Surftech, I think it might be a pretty good board, as I managed to get covered up on my last wave. I wouldn't normally claim it, but the pleasure was doubled when a mate, who'd been watching from the car park, said ' Nice last wave, you were fully in there! '. Cheers, Lawrence, pint waiting for you! A memorable week with a Great Happening on Wednesday, including a mention in the Times online, courtesy of journalist and author Alex Wade, in his daily surf blog . Check out his latest book - Surf Nation - for intelligent insights and some of the best writing about the current state of surfing in Britain. Then, today, I had a couple of pictures in the Mirror, of Scrunch the bull, and his owner, mentioned in an earlier post, in the front room of his dilapidated, 15th century pub (aging it three hundred years in a few days). Under the groan inducing headline 'Unbel...