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YouTuber keef70 decided to use 3d and visual effects software to spice up his surf videos, and in my opinion he did a great job! Here’s what led to making this ambitious short:
I wanted to learn more about digital filming, formats, and editing and since I surfed, the GoPro seemed like a natural place to start. I figured after filming and editing a few vids I could move up to something like a Canon 7d, 5d, or the Nikon equivalent.
I got the idea for this after looking through all my footage and I’ve always been curious how effects artists match CG with filmed footage…
So I decided to figure out what software I needed and do it. That’s why it took me a year to do, because I was learning the software as I was doing it.
I could see this becoming a new trend in extreme sports videos, because nothing says extreme like explosions in the sky!
–via Geeks Are Sexy
A couple of sufring videos captured using bullet time – the popular special and visual effect that got well known through the Matrix movies.
Rip Curl has again created a technological world-first by capturing full-tilt surfing action using a “30 camera Array” — a line of cameras firing consistently as surfers ride towards and past it. The results are unique “frozen moments of time” – that can be viewed in a combination of angles for a true in the round perspective.
There’s also a behind the scenes clip available.
Via Winextra.
Everyone likes dogs, right? How about surfing? What about surfing dogs? In the most adorable mash-up ever of two seemingly unrelated things people like, a recent competition pitted man’s best friend against some totally righteous waves.
Five competitors piled on a surfboard during Sunday’s Surf Dog Surf-A-Thon in Del Mar, Calif. The event welcomed 4,000 spectators, 80 pooches, and raised more than $100,000 for orphaned animals. Canine surf competitions have recently grown in popularity, and a number are held in Southern California each year.
Check out the slideshow of hang-ten pups on The Week. Link
Image: REUTERS/Lucy Nicholson
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This viral video ad for Red Bull features pro surfers Bruce Irons, Kolohe Andino and Jamie O’Brien riding the waves with flares attached to the backs of their boards. The nighttime shots are really beautiful.
I want some of this action! Tomorrow, Alex and I will attach flares to the back of Miss C’s desk chair and push her down the hallway. Maybe it’ll have a similar visual effect.
-via Super Punch
Oddee has a great article featuring the World’s Youngest record holders for a variety of titles. While they range from shocking (the world’s youngest grandmother) to fascinating (the world’s youngest CEO). Perhaps the cutest though is the world’s youngest surfer:
Jaylan Amor is only two years old, but is already surfing the waves outside of Brisbane, Australia, and has secured multiple endorsements from surf shops. To catch a wave, his dad paddles him out to sea, then the two year old hops and rides the waves back into shore. Mr Amor isn’t worried if Jaylan falls, as the tike just swims back to his board and waits for daddy to help him back up.
Read about the rest at the link.
Believe it or not, the First Lady of mystery and the Big Kahuna had something in common-they were both innovators in the sport of surfing! Agatha Christie, as it turns out, was one of the first Britons to stand up on a surfboard, and she sharpened her wave riding skills in South Africa, Australia, New Zealand and Hawaii as early as 1922. Oh what a sight she must have been braving the waves of Waikiki!
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That’s not modeling clay. The LEGO minifig is surfing on a cloud of ink in water, captured in a moment by photographer Alberto Seveso. His series entitled Ink Riders includes several other examples, which you can view at the link. Link -via Colossal
Two companies called Pukas and Tecnalia built a surfboard with a gyroscope, an accelerometer, a GPS tracking device, a compass, and pressure sensors that can measure the stresses placed upon the board. All of the data that these instruments collect is wirelessly transmitted to a computer for analysis. The technicians have been able to understand the strains and dynamics of surfing greater than ever before.
Link via Born Rich | Photo: Pukas
Pro surfer Mark Visser wore a LED-covered vest and surfboard while riding 30-40 foot waves off Hawaii. The visual effect was stunning, as well as difficult to capture on film [sic]:
Engineered LED lights were built into a bupuancy vest and modified into the surfboard. The lighting technologies were created especially for the project by Solus Corporation using ground breaking NASA submarine lighting to ensure the wave and board were lit in the right places, at the right time and illuminated the wave without hindering the vision of Visser, the jet ski drivers and the helicopter pilots.
Link via Super Punch
Image: abell [Flickr]
In this vinyl collectible "Lord on Vacation" by Abell Octovan and Surya Sunburn, the Sith Lord will surely come back from his vacation all rested and ready to be disturbed in someone’s lack of faith.
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There are surfers and then there’s Mike Parsons. In this video clip, the Australian pro surfer surfed a 64-foot tall wave at Jaws in Hawaii, a world record at the time: Link
Just a little late for Shark Week, but this amazing footage of a great white was taken by Chuck Patterson in Southern California. He was alone with his stand-up surfboard when one slapped him with its tail. This second one circled for twelve minutes before finding something else to do. Patterson says “it was an insane experience which i hope to enjoy again soon.”
Surfers in Australia found a 10-foot great white shark stranded on a beach. They carefully dragged it back into the ocean. Photographer Ruth Fahey reported:
“As it was threshing about, they tried first to dig the sand away beneath it to refloat it but ended up man-handling it back into the water. It was still very sluggish when they got to knee deep water so the surfer waded it out until he was waist deep.”
“The shark slowly swam away… much slower than the surfer exited the vicinity.”
Link via Super Punch | Photo: Ruth Fahey
The dog days of summer are upon us. Do you wish you could take your canine companion along when you go surfing? If you follow a few simple instructions you can. Strap a life vest on Fido, put him on a board, add waves and he’ll be hanging 10 (or 20) in no time at all. Start with the right board:
Make sure you have a dog surfboard. Your dog’s paws can be harmed if he is not using the right board, wax or track top. Foam boards might be a little easier on your dog’s paws than a hard surface, and it’s easier for him to walk on because there is more traction for his paws. On the other hand, the dog will scratch into the foam, and the foam might dig into the dog’s paws, possibly giving it a rash.
Link – Via Uncertain Times
Whenever you feel the need to surf, but you’re too far away from the ocean, simply call a friend, get a hold on a giant blue tarp, grab your skateboard and start surfing.
A relatively new form of recreation that originated in Hawaii is now spreading to the lakes of mid-America. At ocean beaches, the stand-up position offers the participant a better view of incoming swells, and on lakes and rivers it allows a modified surfboard to be propelled across relatively calm water.
Equipment-wise, the paddle is similar to those used for a canoe but much longer, about the length of a person’s height plus a fully extended arm. The specially designed boards are wide, very stable and equipped with a rear fin. The trick is finding the sweet spot in the middle where one can stand comfortably, with weight evenly distributed on both feet. [SUP board] prices range from $800 to $1,500 with styles varying by materials and weight. Paddles cost from $100 to $400.
The SUP joins a long line of inflated shoes, modified bicycles, and other devices designed to allow a person to “walk on water.” Local regulations may require a personal flotation device to be worn or carried on the board.
Link. Image: Bill Ebbesen.
Filmmaker Yassine Ouhilal took four top professional surfers to the northern Norwegian and Russian coast to film them surfing in the extreme winter conditions of the Arctic Ocean:
While planning the trip, charts showed that waves would be better in the winter, but it was deemed suicide to try surfing during the coldest and darkest part of the year. Even the spring temperatures hovered between 20 and 45 degrees Fahrenheit; not exactly the most ideal surfing weather. As they traveled around they often found beautiful, calm beaches that taunted them with signs of large waves that came just days before.
At the link, you can view more photos of their expedition.
Link via The Presurfer | Photo: Yassine Ouhilal
After seeing Australians teach kangaroos how to surf, Peruvian surfer Domingo Pianezzi decided to teach an animal native to his homeland how to surf:
But the 44-year-old fancied a bigger challenge and has managed to coax his pet alpaca Pisco, to join him hanging ten in the Pacific.
Pisco — wearing a life jacket — managed to catch three waves with his owner and cruise for a few seconds before falling into the water.
Pianezzi said he came up with the idea while riding waves in Australia.
Link via Glenn Reynolds
Whether scuba diving where no man has scuba dived before, or surfing the chilly waves, you’ll really stand out in one of these wetsuits offered at Roddenberry for an out-of-this-world price. I think we all know which color is shark bait.
Developed exclusively for the RDT by JMJ Wetsuits, these one-piece full suits feature iconic uniform colors & rank insignias from Star Trek: The Original Series. These wetsuits are not novel gimmicks, they are the real deal, made using the highest quality materials and expert craftsmanship. Each individual wetsuit is custom made and tailored to your exact measurements for a perfect fit and unmatched performance. This is the ultimate in warmth and exposure protection when exploring strange new worlds!
Sliding down a mountain on a snowboard is a completely different experience when the mountain is an active volcano! The new sport is drawing snowboarders and surfers to the foothills of Nicaragua’s Cerro Negro mountain.
Surfers, dressed in protective jump suits, knee-pads and helmets, can reach speeds of up to 80 km/h (50mph) on their specially-constructed plywood boards.
Phillip Southan, owner and manager of Bigfoot Hostel and Green Pathways Tours, said the unique trip is a world first.
‘We started offering this trip on 2005 and its has become so popular,’ the 26-year-old from Barbados said. ‘This is a unique tour as nowhere else in the world can you board down an active volcano.
‘This is the fourth year and to date we have taken over 10,000 people on this tour,’ said Mr Southan. ‘It is a 45 minute hike of easy to moderate difficulty.
Cerro Negro last erupted in 1999, and the crater is still smoking. Link -via Unique Daily
After Clark stepped away from the incredible thrill of going big at Waimea, he realized that he longed to be back in his element. Clark has returned ot various North Shore shorebreaks to capture the beauty and power of these monstrous waves from the inside out. What he has achieved through the lens of his camera are images never seen by those who reside on land.
From the Upcoming 
ueue, submitted by waxwendy.
Old: When life gives you lemons, make a lemonade. New: When Venice floods, go wakeboarding.
That’s exactly what Duncan Zuur did at St. Mark’s Square:
Duncan Zuur’s team pulled a compact, 20 horsepower motor winch from its hiding place and placed it under the square’s arches. One team member, clad in rubber boots, pulled the winchs cable about 120 metres across the square and pressed one end firmly into the hand of Duncan Zuur, who had taken the opportunity to get into his wakeboarding gear. Four elegant turns later, the event was over prompting by a standing ovation from an astounding crowd of tourists.
And luckily for Duncan, the police didn’t even notice.
Hit play or go to Link [YouTube] – via Newslite
