Big swell today with gusting, blustery strong winds tearing into it, and rain. This double overhead set went through Blacklands today totally unmolested by any surfers.
In the old days of transparency film and in the light of the mantra “tight and bright” from editors, we didnt used to shoot (and waste film) on overcast days, let alone in the rain. If it was an essential shot then we used to break open the black & white print film, Kodak T-Max 400 was my favourite, a nice little respite from constantly spot metering the exposure as it gave you a bit of latitude. There was a black & white transparency film made by Agfa but it was 200asa, and I would quite happily push Provia to 160, so it wasnt that much of an edge. (However I have seen to sumptuous shots taken on Scala, very dreamy feel). Anyway, apart from portraiture, black & white isnt used much in surfing photography, so here’s a few to test your taste: Stuey, Skindog, Josh “Occy” Ward and Marcus, surfing this same spot during the last storm. As always – click on the pic to make it Mick.
Canon 5D mk lll w/ EF 24-70mm f2.8 L ll & 600mm f4 L IS
esterspears 
Gman Hudson
February 5, 2014
Perfection on the North Coast!!