rough thoughts a few things

it's been almost a month since i wrote anything on here (thanks to anyone checked out the little weeds thing and voted).

i just went to el salvador for a week to meet with a guy about working on a surf film for the next two years. it forced me to make some serious decisions.

recently, i've been thinking a lot about what i really want to do, and about all kinds of things. during this trip, i decided that the surf film, or surf photography in general (as a full-on job/lifestyle) isn't for me.

it will be a film with a great message, but i just can't fully dedicate my time and creativity towards that right now. (if anyone reading this is an aspiring filmmaker (or photographer who could easily make the transition to making films), send me a message and a sample of your work and i'll put you in contact with the producer. having plenty of free time and not much to tie you down would be be helpful in making it a possibility...

for me, it's time for a step away from the storytelling of surf culture. i just need to get back to the point where i'm simply enjoying surfing. i'm not going to talk about why it's fun...you all know.
somehow over the past year I lost that a bit. i need less talking about and thinking about surfing, and more of the actual activity. --less reading magazines, watching films, reading websites, etc. and more fun during the times that i am in the water -- i know enough about all of the excellent places around the world to surf, about board design, and about everything else that is talked about in those mediums, that i have no desire to learn anything else about it.

i'm inspired to live a more meaningful life out of the water, and then just surf because i like it. not everything has to revolve around the activity. i'm on the right track to get to that point.

i want to use the things i learned about the world and about myself over the last few years to do something great. i'm hoping that the kind of worldview i've acquired, mixed with my education and creativity, will be useful.

i'm not saying that i'm never going to shoot surf related photos... but i am likely going to do it a lot less. i'll be super selective in projects that i get involved in and sessions that i want to shoot. (picaresque was probably a perfect project for me to be a part of, and it helped me get to this point in figuring things out.)

only one of the el salvador photos here is even remotely surf related, actually. during this trip, it was a lot more fun for me to just walk around the city and shoot some street/lifestyle photos, and to take a couple portraits.

i spent a day with a local guy named oscar, from whom i learned a bit about how things work in their country. it's a pretty intense place for them. he told me that it is rather safe for tourists in el salvador right now (you still have to be smart), but it's not safe for the locals at all.

there is constant conflict between rival gangs, people not in gangs, and the police. none of them get along with eachother, and the authorities don't do much to help stop the violence. the threat of being "finished" is real to those who live in tough neighborhoods. the machete scars on oscar's neck, wrists, arms, and legs were clear evidence of that.

he has always worked instead of going to school (any school at all...i'm not talking about college), in order to provide for his mom and sisters. i assume that many others are like him in that way.
learning about these things directly from someone involved in them can be a reality check. even though the lives we lead are very different, we all have the same basic emotions, rights, senses, etc.

it's important to remember that. i think that's why i felt that i could relate to him so closely. even though my life experiences are very different from his, i've seen and been through enough to imagine what it would be like to live differently than i do, and through that imagination, i can feel what he feels, and i can understand, at least on a basic level, the issues of so many people around the world.

the material differences aren't important. many people put emphasis on that, saying things like "look at how small, dirty, simple their houses are... their clothes are so old... we're so lucky in the united states to have the luxuries that we have...".

luxuries and vanity are not what matter. the importance, instead, should be on basic necessities, including food, water, safety, education, shelter (any adequate shelter, not how great one's house is), medicine, at least some form of recreation, and community. how nice one's house, clothing, car (if they even own one) etc. is does not make them or their culture any better or worse.

i still don't know what i want to do, but in one way or another i want to help people who don't have those necessities to get them, and i want to help other people understand why those necessities are important for everyone. It may or may not be part of my job, but i hope it will be part of my life.

ok... anyway, here are some photos from el salvador.

little weeds

i recently entered an australian photo contest through stab magazine. the winners compete at the end for the grand prize of a trip to bali with dustin humphrey to shoot photos, and a year long contract with stab magazine.

it's a long shot, but it's worth a try.

i created a profile and added some photos to their site. I'm sure the contest isn't only based upon votes and comments, and I don't want people to vote if they really don't like my stuff...but if you go to the following link and like what you see, please click on "stab". you don't have to register to do that. to leave a comment, though, you have to register as a spectator.

i'll add some more photos before the end of the contest as well.

http://www.stabmag.com/littleweeds/the-littleweeds/keith-novosel

thanks in advance.

hull-elujah

i just got home from a week and a half in california. i was there to pick up a new board, stop into some surf shops on behalf of es.cent.ial wetsuits, have a meeting about a job, visit friends, shoot some photos, and of course surf.

the trip went well overall, except for the surfing part. right before i flew out there, i considered postponing the trip due to lack of swell in the forecast, but i went anyway...

i stayed with dave from almond surfboards for the first part of my trip. i picked up a new board that they had shaped for me... a 9'10". (the green and blue one in the photos). i didn't get a good opportunity in newport to properly ride it though. the waves went from good sized and super choppy to small and mushy pretty quickly.

it was great meeting dave and his friends. if you're in newport for any reason, stop into his shop and check out all of their boards, clothing designs, and starting next week, wetsuits. i'm sure he'd be stoked to chat about board design, etc. here are a few photos from around the almond shop...

he also took me up to shelter surf shop one day to show them the wetsuits. they made an order for summer suits (everything but fullsuits). shelter is another great surf shop, actually. it's different from almond, but both are non-standard shops, which is a really good thing... it's refreshing to see people realizing that not everyone wants only what the largest brands are offering.

after leaving newport, i went up to malibu to visit friends. it was awesome to catch up with several close friends, and it was great to be back in malibu. i love the area, i love the wave, i don't love the crowd at 1st point.

i've missed malibu since i left it two and a half years ago. i got over that a little bit on this trip. i'll still miss my friends, the mountains/nature, and what i know the surfing experience can be like if you get it on the right day...but i have no desire to surf there again for quite some time.

i just didn't get a chance to catch it on a medium day...like a consistent waist high weekday, for example. it just went from almost flat during the week to a hyped up shoulder high + swell for the weekend, with seemingly no transition time.

i'm generally content to surf the inside and get mostly scraps, but i was barely able to even do that on this trip. i spent a lot more time watching the madness from the wall than i did actually surfing. injuries, crying, negative words, craziness.

i've heard a lot about hulls recently. during the swell at malibu, a few guys riding them were really fun to watch (see the photos). smooth style and intense speed. i picked one up to bring back to a friend in FL. the one i was bringing back was already a used board, so why not use it one more time, right?

on the last night of my trip, i went out on the hull in north la county. one last chance to get a decent session out of the trip. from the cliff, the waves looked solid...head high or so, long lines. mostly super fast lines/closeouts, but a few looked make-able. it was worth a try anyway, at least it wasn't crowded.

at the beginning of the session i passed up what one overly aggressive guy must have thought i should have gone on. he said something...i can't remember what. it wasn't pleasant, though. was there nowhere with good vibes left over there?? at that point, after the week and a half of surf i needed and didn't get, i was essentially done... done with surfing for a while.

i can only go so long trying to have a fun session, without really getting one (not just this week and a half...that was just the final straw...) i've managed to get fun single rides here and there...but it's been a long time since a whole session or day came together properly.

i was thinking it must be time to just stop trying...stop checking swell models, stop looking at the ocean every day, stop watching surf films... just let a good session happen when it was going to...whether it's a month from now, 3 months from now, 6 months?

then i got a wave, and the good session started to happen right then.

the way that board rode fits my style well, i think. apparently a lot of people dig rails when first try to surf those boards. they're used to quick movements on thrusters. i prefer single fins and drawn out movements, so it felt really natural to ride this board. the first bottom turn propelled me forward like i haven't felt before. it was loose...but stable at the same time, if that makes sense. i was able to make waves i may not have made on any other board... i was loving it. i got about 5 good, long waves that session, but those few waves saved my desire to surf.

now i'm back in FL...still day dreaming about surf, still checking swell models, still watching surf films... still hoping/needing another good session sometime soon...really soon.