Juskuz Photography

Today Sam and I headed out the McLain State Park to see what was happening with the shore ice and to take some time to try and create a cool portrait. I don’t know that we succeeded, but it was a good time even though it was much colder and windier than we expected. The most challenging part of the whole ordeal was getting my softbox to stay put. The breakwall was coated in a thick layer of ice and on top of that was a thin layer of fresh snow… think ball bearings on linoleum.

Anyway, I found a chunk of ice to brace the stand against, but I ended up needing Mari to help keep the softbox pointed in the right direction. I don’t really like the way the light cuts across the snow and I think that raising the softbox would help soften the line and would create more of a pool of light and less of a slash. I wish Lightware would make a grid available for the FourSquare softbox. I think it would be super helpful.

Below you can see some images of our setup and and ambient shot. I wish we could have played around longer. I would have like to try a greater variety of perspectives… but it was cold and we didn’t want to be out all day.

Here is a shot showing the ambient light before adding light and gels.

Here’s a shot of Mari helping control the light.

Here’s an ambient shot of Sam and his board.

And finally, here is one of my favorite images from the session. I sorta wish the breakwall were a little wider, it was less windy, or I had a really strong/sturdy boom. I would have liked to shoot straight down the breakwall, but we didn’t want to get too close to the edge with the lights with the wind and the open water. I’ve got some ideas… but they are going to have to wait. Keep in mind that we were shooting mid-day in the winter. I had 4 sb26′s in the FourSquare @ full power.

Anyway, I’ve got a ton of projects in the tubes at this moment and will hopefully be able to share some stuff soon as things get approved… if they get approved.

Later!

Yesterday was just another day here in the Keweenaw spent driving around chasing waves and trying not to put the car in the ditch. Earlier in the week there were reports of a huge system heading our way. I might have even overheard the phrase “Storm of the Century” used. I definitely wouldn’t go that far, however it was damn windy and that meant waves.

The system settled in a little to the east and south of the Keweenaw and that made for some unique wind conditions. It appeared to run right down both sides of the peninsula and that made it difficult for us to decide where to go. Myself, Sam Gardner, Mike Dziobak and Pete Rynes started out at Louis Point, but it was messy and inconsistent. Next we moved over to Big Traverse and here Lake Superior was rockin! Sam and Mike decided to give it a go, but didn’t stay out all too long as it was pushing the “too big” limit. After Big Traverse we decided that maybe we should check out Great Sand Bay… no good. Finally, we headed up to Bete Grise… again no luck. At this point we decided to call it and started the drive back to town. On the way back though, we decided to make one last stop at Big Traverse to see if things had calmed down a bit… They had, but it ended up getting to dark and we called it for good at this point.

I suppose just because it’s BIG doesn’t mean it good. Hopefully there will be more wind in the near future coming from a direction that is more favorable.

Here are some images from the day. I will post a more complete gallery in the next day or two.

Later.

UPDATE: Here is a more complete slideshow courtesy of Flickr.

Mikey letting us know Louis Point is no good

This is what happens when you overexpose an image and then try to bring it back in Lightroom… pretty interesting

Mikey ooohhing at the waves crashing over the breakwall

Sam jumping into the channel on his way out

What am I getting into?

Waves crashing over the breakwall

Mike making a lap

Paddling back up the channel

Taking a break and warming up in the van

Sam getting ready to go out at Great Sand Bay

Sitting… waiting…

The long walk back at Great Sand Bay

Pete

Calling it quits at Big Traverse

Well, the waves were pretty decent again…

I saw the forecast for today and it looked pretty promising. The wind was going to be blowing all day and the waves were forecast to start picking up in the evening. The only question was whether or not things would get good before it got dark. Yesterday after seeing the forecast I called Timmy to find out if he wanted to join me. The last time we went out I had the wetsuit and I thought that it was only fair for him to get to use the wetsuit this time. My plan was to use the drysuit I’m borrowing (thanks Sammy) and head out in the kayak. However, things did not go as planned.

When we got out to Mclain State Park we found the lake in good shape. Timmy finished putting on the suit and headed out, while I grabbed the camera to snap a few shots. I should have known better than to grab my camera. Once I started taking photos I couldn’t stop. I never did make it back to the car to unload my kayak and the images are ok, but shooting in such low light means using a higher ISO than I would prefer. With my D300 I find that much above ISO 800 and the images start getting noisier than I would like. What are you going to do… most of these images were shot at ISO 1250, F2.8, 1/200. As things got darker I just bumped the ISO and the later images got up to ISO 3200… and were still really dark, hence the conversion to black and white and some pushing around of the sliders in Lightroom.

It was a good night. I’m hoping things pick up again in the next couple of days as I would like to get out again. In the meantime enjoy the pics.

Later

Let me preface this post with…I had/have no idea what I was doing.

Now that we have that out of the way…

Wow, yesterday was a ton of fun. My friend Sam was out of town and had left his board and suit in case the conditions were such that I could get out and give it a go. So, I had been watching the weather for the last couple of days and yesterday was the day.

I started the day off by getting up early and heading out to McLain State Park a little after 7:30am. It was still dark, but I wanted to get out there and get ready so I could be in the water as soon as it was light enough as I had to be to work at 10:00. Finally around 8:00 it was light enough for me to feel comfortable getting out in the water. Standing out in the wind I was feeling a bit of a chill, but that would soon go away once I got in the water.

You would think that getting up early to go jump into water that’s in the low to mid 40′s with air temps a touch below 40 degrees isn’t the smartest thing in the world. Also, it might be hard to believe that you could be comfortable in said conditions. Well, I just want you all to know that it is smart, and you stay plenty warm.

The first couple of times I paddled out through the waves just to see what that was like. First, it is a great way to warm up. Secondly, it’s a lot of work and I found it more enjoyable to run out to the end of the breakwall and then jump in.

So a little after 9:00 I decided I needed to get out and get on my way to work. When I got to the parking lot Pete Rynes had shown up and Mike Dziobak wasn’t too far behind. I wished them well, went home, showered, dropped Mari off at school, and made it to work before 10 after 10… not bad.

Work was fun, but the waves weren’t going away. Timmy Kostner called and wondered if I was headed out again and decided to come along. I left work at 5:00 and headed home to grab a drysuit for Timmy and to put on the wetsuit… it’s a pain in the ass. We then headed back out to McLain.

When we got there Pete was just leaving and Mike was still at it. We got ready and then I made a couple of runs before Timmy gave it a go. I think not having a hood kind of deterred him from going again. He ended up leaving and I stayed out for a while longer.

In all I think I spent a little over 3 hours in the water yesterday. I didn’t get up once, but by the end I could get on all fours… but not completely stand up. It’s a lot harder than people make it look. Monday is looking like another good day. Hopefully I’ll make it out again.

Here are some pics from Timmy’s camera

Later.

Some wave action…

Mikey making it look easy...

Timmy giving it a go...

Surfboards make great body boards…

This was a pretty typical scene…

Timmy and Tucker… all smiles!

surfing big wave from samcristoper on Vimeo.

Well, here are some images that I was really excited to get out and make. Over the last couple of days there has been a pretty substantial system that moved through the area. Forecasts were all over the place… everything from 30-70 knot winds and 18-27 foot waves. Anyway, my friend Sam decided it would be worth it to drive back from downstate just in case there ended up being any good surf. So, on Monday night after work, Mari and I drove up to Great Sand Bay to meet Sam, Beefy, Robbie, and one other friend.

When we got there I almost couldn’t believe how big the waves on the lake were. Some of them were easily pushing 18-20 ft and it became even more apparent once some of the guys got out there and and provided a point of reference.

Anyway, I want to apologize for the quality of the images ahead of time. Many of these were shot at iso 3200, f2.8, and around 1/60 to 1/160 of a sec. These settings don’t make for the best image quality. I’m just glad I came away with anything and that my camera still works considering the rain/sand/wind.

Also, some of these images have been cropped from a larger image. I was stuck on shore with a 200mm lens and could not get nearly as close as I would have liked. If anyone out there has a 400mm f2.8 they would like to gift me… I would definitely take you up on that.

Here are the pics from Monday night.

(click image for larger version)

After the session on Monday evening, Sam and I decided to return early the next morning to see what we could see. So, Sam picked me up at 6:30… well… it was probably more like 6:45 as I forgot to turn on my alarm and was awakened by the sound of my phone vibrating next to me. Eventually we made it back up to GSB and found that the waves had mellowed out quite a bit. They were still pretty big, but nothing like the night before. Sam got a couple of decent rides, but we had to cut it kind of short in order for me to get to work on time… sorta.

Here are some pics from the Tuesday morning session. I am now seriously considering getting a suit and board. This looks like a ton of fun. I just don’t know if I can justify it at this time. It’s really kinda of a bummer not getting to participate a little. Maybe I can borrow some stuff and giver a go.

Later.

So, the other day I ran into a friend of mine in a bar and he told me he was planning to head out surfing the next day. I said, “That’s crazy! You should give me a call so I can take some photos.” Anyway, he did decide to go surfing and I did go take some photos. Now, let’s think about this for a minute. It is December, and Sam wants to go surfing. The air temperature is less than 20 degrees, the water temperature is less than 40 degrees and the winds blowing at 20-30 knots.

Apparently, with the right equipment it’s not so bad. According to Sam the ice that forms on the outside of the suit in conditions like these actually helps to keep the body warm. It keeps water from getting in and adds to the windproofness of the suit.

Part of me wants to give it a go, but the other part of me thinks that it probably isn’t the best idea. I think I would like to try it out in milder conditions and then if the suit really is that good, give it a go in the winter.

Anyway, here are a couple of images I made the other day.

Later.