so close to home, but so different

i took a trip to the bahamas over new years. it wasn't a surf trip or a work trip, but i was lucky enough to do a little of both of those while i was there.

as far as the surf goes, it was very good. way better setups than florida. They get the same swell for the most part (except for the swell that they block from getting to south florida). but, instead of poorly formed sandbars with a trough between the inside and outside, there are plenty of reef setups. The water color is superficial, but a nice benefit as well.

the work part of the trip was for es.cent.ial wetsuits. http://www.es-cent-ial.com/. out of all of the suits i've owned, their's are the most warm and flexible by far. here are some of the photos from the trip, showing a sample of the waves, the mellow vibe of the islands, and the wetsuit photos.

panoramic

here are the results of a roll of film from a fun little experiment i did a while back. i'm sure i'll play around with this technique more at some point in the not too distant future.

wedding

about a month ago, i went to south carolina to shoot photos of my cousin's wedding. it was the first full wedding i have done, and actually, it was the first wedding I had even been to in something like 16 years...

i wasn't positive what to expect. I took a couple wedding photo books with me that I read last year, for some inspiration/knowledge reinforcement the evening before the ceremony. there's nothing quite like cramming to have things fresh in your mind.

the whole day went really well (photographically and otherwise), and i had a great time with all of my family.

here are a few of the photos that i captured throughout the day.

malibu/san clemente

here are the last group of photos from california. it was good to be back in malibu to see friends, and to catch one of the fun off season background south swells that i like so much there. the pottery photos are of my friend daniel george's work. you can see more at his blog, http://www.danielgeorgepottery.blogspot.com/.

san clemente was also a great trip. i posted some about this trip right after i got back, so some of the photos will be the same. there will be some new ones, too, though.

when i was out west, i don't feel like i surfed very much or that the waves were that great in general (although all of my photos would suggest otherwise). but, it's all relative i suppose. these photos make me miss it for sure. florida's waves just can't quite compare on most days. every once in a while it does though, and i'm very ready for one of those days.

anyway, here are the photos of some california magic, on an average to below average week of winter swell.

ventura

here are some photos from ventura. i really like that town.