Photography By Jim Volkert

I met Jim through a friend of mine. He falls into the small world category. I met him, we started chatting and it came out we live about 300 yards away from each other. Apparently for quite a while and we never ran into each other before that day. Jim is a great guy and extremely talented. He is a photographer as well as musician. He and his band play local gigs each week at La Papagallo and other spots locally. His photography is beautiful and I have to admit it looks good on the site, however full size is even better. He shoots all his work with a 4"x 5" film camera so the resolution and quality is amazing. I am hoping that Jim will do a show someday locally to show off his work at full size. Until then this will have to do. Enjoy.

A Bit More Soul

Jon Peck of Patagonia with a clean little shoulder and five piggy's headed south bound.

Jack Lohse with the soul fire burning.

Here are a few more from David to inspire you.  It's a bit smaller today so grab some extra foam and/or some length and enjoy your fathers day weekend. 

Nice Video of Del Moro

I found this video on Chris' site. He is such a prolific poster that it got buried after a few days. I found myself going back and tracking it down to take another look so I thought I'd share and give it a spot here so I could find it more easily.  The surfing is great and I love the music. Good job  Chris and Justin Krumb for a fine little video.

What I'm Watching - Musica Surfica

I got the film Musica Surfica the other day and I've already watched it 3 times. I have to admit that this film inspires me. It is shot and edited really well and the surfing and music is amazing. 

The main star of the film is Derek Hynd, who I now think is one of my top 5 favorite surfers of all time. I never knew that much about Derek. After seeing this film I realize how brilliant he is. He is so creative in his surfing he just inspires you to want to go surf. I say that any movie that can do that to me is a keeper.  There are times when we all get into a surf funk.  Having a film that gets the saltwater moving in your veins again is priceless. There is nothing more valuable to our surf souls then getting the stoke back. 

The film is an interesting mix between classical music and finless surfing. I have to admit that I never really saw myself wanting to go finless. I'm intrigued by it all and like to watch it, but I never got the bug to take off my fins and have a go at it. This movie changed that. I found myself wondering if I could ditch the fins on my fish could I pull some 360's like Derek?

When you think of finless you definitely think of Alaia's. They are featured to a degree in this film and have an influence, but it is the modern finless boards that really stole the show for me. Derek, on his experimental boards, is doing things I have never seen on the Alaia's or other finned boards for that matter. It really is amazing to watch. 

All and all it is a great film. It was shot well, has a great sound track and was most definitely inspiring. I got my copy as a download at the thesurfnetwork.com. Enjoy.

From The Archives

Every now and then David sifts through his archives and pulls out some images that he is found of. He was telling me that the 2008 winter session at Black's was one of his favorites. Here are a series from that swell. The first one is a classic. He shot that image and didn't even know the dolphin was in it until he got home. Enjoy.

Mick Pulling In

You gotta love email. One minute you're bored and the next you get photos from across the globe of your buddy getting tubed. This is one of those emails that comes out of the blue and gets you stoked in the middle of the night, making you lay awake mind surfing until the wee hours of the morning. The lucky guy in this shot is Australian filmmaker Mick Waters. I have no idea where it's of but it looks like wherever it is, it's good and uncrowded.  Enjoy.

Tak Fin

Here is a really cool fin from the same folks that made the Encinitas Environmental Day Poster. The artist's name is Seitaku "Tak" Aoyama and he and Jaime Di Dio Aoyama are a husband and wife design team here in Encinitas. Through this style, Tak depicts various elements of nature. This fin was inspired by various aspects of life in Leucadia. Their studio is called Studio Aiuto. Check out their website here. Tak and Jamie are an amazing team and produce some incredible work. I have yet to tour their studio but hope to get an invite soon. Enjoy.

Bath Tub Art

They have things for kids these days that they never had when I grew up. I had a little plastic boat that I played with in the bath. Now, they have all sorts of stuff.  My favorite new toy for kids though are the bath crayons. Now it's not just a bath it's an art project!  

The funny thing about new product design is that the person who invented this was most likely traumatized as a kid for drawing on the tub and getting punished for it. That experience inspired them to create a non-punishable version. What used to get us spanked now is legal and fun for both kids and parents! How cool is that? 

The cool thing is that my daughter loves them as well.  We draw together and have fun with it. Every now and then we start a doodle that I like and half way through she usually wipes it clean when I'm not looking. Here is one we worked on together that survived. 

More 7 Year Old Surf Art

Kids art never seems to get old.  Here is more surf art from 7 year old Austin from Japan.  His mom sent these in a while ago and I just remembered I had them.  Enjoy.

Spot Appreciation Day

A few years back I had a Christmas party and I made these logos for everyone to have stickers of their favorite spot. If you surf in Leucadia you know what these mean and where they are. If you don't... I'm not telling! The party was fun as everyone picked out their favorite spot and wore it proudly.

Your spot is an interesting thing. You hold it close to you and very rarely share its secrets with others that don't surf there. It's an interesting relationship we have with it. When it is going off we are deeply in love and when it is blown out and flat we get upset like it has done something to wrong us. All and all we go out day after day and share the magic of what we have found to be an important part of our lives, surfing. 

So, if  you have a spot that you call your own, show it some love and say a few thank you's while you are enjoying its surf, good or bad.  Unlike most things in life it is always there for you when you need it most. Showing it some gratitude goes a long way.

Lucas Foster - Longboard Grom

Lucas paying respect to his dad.

While digging through some photo archives Erik Baldwin  gave me a while back, I set these aside as I liked them and the person they are of.  The longboard loving grom in the shots is Lucas Foster, son of Grandview local Aaron Foster. I've featured Lucas for his wax art before but never his surfing. I've known Lucas for all his life and it is a great pleasure to see him in the water with so much stoke. He and his brother Logan are doing great out there and it is so much fun to watch! Lucas is also one of those young guys who takes his logging seriously. Looking to Tudor for influence, he likes his longboards old school and single. You will see a lot of Lucas at Beacons and Cardiff  this summer.

Cottonwood Creek Environmental Film Festival

Friends and EED volunteers Anne and Kurk just as excited to be there.

This evening was the Cottonwood Creek Environmental Film Festival.  It featured shorts from various filmmakers on environmental education. Surfrider was there and showed some really great films to educate people on issues such as plastic bag bans and the impact of cigarette butts on the beach. It also had a really great short of the movement to clean up the Tijuana River Mouth Basin. It was really an eye opener at how much trash is in that region. There was even a cool short of our own Rodney McCoubrey.

My favorite part of the night though was the showing of Sprout. It's no secret that Sprout is my most watched film. I've seen it at least 20 times but had never watched it on the big screen until tonight.  It was really amazing to be there with that energy and watch a move that I love. It was like meeting up with an old friend and spending time catching up again.

At the end they gave out some really cool prizes. Lots of signed Jack Johnson CD's and DVD's and some cool tees and posters.

All and all it was a great time. Good people with good films, how could you go wrong? I'll see everyone at Cottonwood Creek tomorrow.

Cardiff Soul

I got an email from David yesterday who had the opportunity to shoot Cardiff with some serious talent out. Here is his message and a few of the shots.  More to come later... Enjoy.

Some great surfing going on at Cardiff Reef yesterday morning. The  

first two shots are of an unknown surfer who caught my eye with his  

epic board even before he hit the water. The next thing i know the guy  

is hangin' 10 right in front of me. The last two shot are of Chris Del Moro  

who is blessed with that ability that only a few people have... the  

guy surfs with so much style that you would have to be the worlds  

worst photographer to not be able to get a good shot of him. I kid you  

not, he has style even when he's going straight.   David

Eli on VIMBY

VIMBY - Eli Mirandon

Here is great little video on Eli that Chris Miller turned me on to. A lot of great surfing. All fish which is of course my favorite. I really appreciate how he is pushing things and builds/rides his own boards. Not only that but he is going way outside the box and isn't afraid to try anything new. Keep it up Eli!  Enjoy.

Paul's New Kies 7'2" Geezer Whale

My friend Paul sent me this email.  I had to laugh at his photo with the broom. He fell in love with this board and has been catching A LOT of waves. Good for you Paul!

Ed, This is my new geezer board.Years ago I figured if I could not ride a high performance board I would hang up my wet suit. I have since determined that not being in the water is not an option. Old age, compounded by 25yrs. of baseball have taken a toll to the point where I could not affectively get to my feet on the boards of my preference.Hence the geezer-whale. It's 7'2" and allows me the extra 2 seconds needed to hobble to my feet. I suppose every surfer that lives long enough will endure a certain amount of frustration that phisical limitations bring,however I'm stoked with this move.This board rides well, however the turns require alot more muscle....................pauly t. a.s.l. por vida 

Encinitas Environmental Day Sat. June 7th 10-4 at Cottonwood Creek Park

Cool poster design by Jaime Di Dio Aoyama! 

Don't forget to go to the Encinitas Environmental Day this Saturday June 7th 10am to 4pm at Cottonwood Creek Park. 

The event will feature a 20 mile urban bike ride (starting at E St. Cafe at 9am and ending at Cottonwood Creek Park, lots of local green vendors, artists (including Rodrigo McCoubrey), educators and a kids' art activity using various plastics and trash to make picture frames.  

These events are fun. The first year I went they had a really cool demonstration of a leg powered bicycle generator to make smoothies and a sun over. I also scored some cool stuff from local environmentally friendly companies.

This event is dedicated to the memory of Bob Nanniga who started the fair. A great legacy to leave behind.

Special thanks to all the volunteers who helped out.  John Gjata, Rodney McCoubrey, "Miss Anne" Fagergren, and Jaime Di Dio Aoyama are few of the 30 that spent there spare time getting this organized. 

For more info check out the event website: www.eeday.org

Black Line Fin by Local Artist Steve Burrows

I love how the fins keep coming in. Here is a cool Fin sent in by local artist and surfer Steve Burrows. He and his wife Rose live over by Stone Steps and surf there a lot. I really like his line art style. He does a lot of VW art as well which hits a soft spot.  Growing up I had a 69 bug that was my wheels to the beach. Oh the memories of driving home after a winter session with no heater! Good times.  Checkout his site here. Enjoy.

Locals Score In Namotu

There is a group of Grandview surfers that takes a trip to Namotu each year.  You will know them by the perma smiles they have from about May to December.  This trip they came back with photos.  Grandview local and good friend, Bob Houldin, was nice enough to share. I've never been but have had the pleasure of hearing all the stories. Someday I'll book my own trip and live it myself. Until then, I'll have to live through these. Enjoy.

Bob Holden enjoying a left in paradise. Bob moved to Leucadia in the 70's and has been a staple in the water ever since. You will know you're surfing with Bob when you hear a hoot from the outside and it continues to the sand. He gets the happiest local award for sure. Bob is always in a good mood and a pleasure to be in the water with. 

Surfers Journal's newest employee, Ross Garrett, was on the trip.

Ross with a little finless duck dive.

Nice spit. Story goes it was triple over head most days.

Ross setting up for the bottom turn.

A classic shot of the stoke you just can't help but feel for your friends when they get a great ride.

Another Grandview local Pete McRoskey enjoying himself. I surf with Pete all the time. He and Bob have been in Leucadia forever and have the place wired.  They are also some of the nicest guys in the line up. 

What the rest of us missed.