Hey everyone, it's my first post here. I've been lurking this forum for quite a while now and I finally am able to create an account. This forum is unreal as far as the skill goes and I want to say I enjoy all of the photos here, especially in the sports corner.
Here's a few, just to share with you guys. Feel free to critique and whatnot and I won't take it too seriously as I just started taking photos this past year. So, here we go.

1. An older guy who can just rip on that funboard.

I'm only able to view the first two images. Anyone else seeing them all?

Sorry about that. My fault. I think they are visible now.

I Shane, that's some beautiful scenery you're able to shoot.

1 & 2) as I'm sure you've seen many times here, get tighter

2) the focus seems to be that big rock in the middle. I'd try a crop where the surfer is at the left 1/3 point and the small rock on the right is on the right edge if that makes sense. Looks like a nice turn with some good spray (probably not correct surfer terms) and I'd make that the focus.

Love the colors in 3&4. Looks like you were trying to use the dead tree to frame 3 but it seems to distract. Maybe get lower to show more of the tree and move it to the left.

5) get tighter. Yvonne looks underexposed. Part of that is her black wetsuit but her face is dark.

6) I can see why they get 1/2 mil!

Some good shots. Keep posting.

Looks coooold.but beautifull spot,i would love too see bigger waves...

good shots, keep it up. water looks so cold though

#2 is my favorite of the group. You might consider cropping the left side a little to get those rocks out from the edge of the photo, but it works very nicely for a panoramic composition.

whatch out you don't get rocks thrown at you by any of the locals there.... Can't really understand why people would care so much, but at JR they do...

Hey everyone, I appreciate the comments and critique. Something I'm noticing more and more is which shots don't really work. I understand the comments on framing and am trying to improve to get "that" shot, the good one.
The water is pretty chilly but not so bad as you'd think. Don't get me wrong though, my feet were so cold after last night's session I didn't feel my toes until I got home. About an hour and a bit drive.
Hey Robson, the locals can be pretty bad. I've had a few incidents and I don't agree at all with localism. It's a tough time for all the old timers but absolutely unavoidable with the quality of wetsuits and just passion to get in the water. If this spot were a hike in there wouldn't be that big an issue with new people. The problem is it's accessibility. I just love taking pictures to show people, especially the surfers themselves.
Thanks for the compliments everyone.
Oh, and that view you saw, $899,000.

Second one is sick.

Hey Shane

I love them - 2, 5 & 6 especially. Your friend Yvonne has a great longboard style.
Great first post.

Pierre.

Thanks for the compliments Pierre. She is pretty fun to watch and I appreciate the longboarders because I know how bad I am. I'm definitely a shortboarder. Here are a few more from a recent trip to Cali.

1. This was at the pier in Santa Cruz. This kid was getting these little cover ups on every wave.

That Steamer Lane aerial is a cracker.

Nice shots. I disagree with the comment "shoot tighter" - I think surf shooting is a place to break that rule as much as possible IMHO.

I'd be curious to see the color version of #2. The shadows underneath and to the right of the surfboard have totally collapsed into black, with no apparent detail. I ask because it may be an artifact of your conversion or it may be that the original raw shot was just underexposed.

Hey Jonathan. I fooled around with this color version with the shadow/highlight option. Just a 30 second "upgrade." The original is pretty dark. The shot was taken about half an hour before sunset.
The original...

An artifact (in the context of photography/imaging) is something created in the picture *after* the capture due to any user manipulations.

Examples would be blowing the highlights/shadows, halos from over-sharpening, etc.

PS - Love the retouched color version!