Linda Mar

Soft Top Taco Bell

~ tomadaonline ~ 2 Comments

We have surf right in front of our world famous Taco Bell.  It might be the only Taco Bell on the planet built on the beach. It has stunning views, and at high tide, during a large swell, the surf might flow under the building.  But let’s discuss soft top boards, not soft shell tacos.

I saw this guy heading out to surf with a soft top board, like those pictured above, but his was white with blue stripes.  Soft tops are the board of choice for most surf schools, since they soften the inevitable fall.  I assumed, therefore, that the guy was a beginner.

During the next half hour I put my new camera through its paces.  This is the camera that got drenched during my close encounter with large waves at the pier this past Thursday.  It seems to be functioning quite well.

There were close ups of gulls posing beside the terminus of San Pedro Valley Creek and surf scoters gliding effortlessly over the low tide swell. The guy on the white and blue board, who was hardly a beginner, gave me a handfull of fun waves.

RICK, A SUP SHORT

~ tomadaonline ~ 3 Comments

I’m still under the weather, and it was raining, but I had to hit the waves with my camera.  Mind you my better gear is not rain friendly so I used my little Lumix pocket cam which takes full HD video though its zoom lens is tough to hold steady hand held. 

Today there were three paddle boarders in the surf.  I met one of them, Rick, after his session.  To be fair, he caught a few nice waves while I walked from my car to the rocks where I recorded one good wipeout and the last ride he rode for the day.

 

Near Solstice Light

~ tomadaonline ~ 1 Comment

File Dec 17, 7 56 09 PMWinter solstice is right around the corner and the late afternoon light is kind of errie.

My cold/flu/virus/tired-to-the-bone “whatever it is” seems to be waning.  So I walked the 3/4 of a mile to the spot where I’d seen one stand up paddle boarder from my window.  He was still there.

The tide was just starting to ebb so some of the wave’s punch was pulled back.  BUT, there were surfers from one end of the beach to the other.  The light kept slipping in and out of the clouds.  One moment it was on the water, then on the hills, then gone.  I sat on a piece of plywood someone had left on the rocks.  I didn’t take the time to anchor it so I teetered and tottered a bit, which makes shooting video with a long lens a challenge.  There was one guy on a fat orange board who caught one wave while I was watching.  Mostly I was happy to smell the salt air and hear the hollow roar of waves crashing.

I got one shot of the scene as the light lit up the Rockaway Headlands.  That was the last of the light, so I headed home.

Wild Ocean

~ tomadaonline ~ 5 Comments

The ocean is big today.  It was bigger yesterday.  The water is a good 10 degrees colder than it was in September.  Fall is here.  Winter is coming.  I’ve been fighting a bug which has kept me from the water.  But I still need a fix to overcome my hopeless addiction to the ocean’s charm.  Whether it’s a walk on the beach or making a short video of the current conditions, it’s all about the ocean, its size, its smell, its moods.

 

SUP Video with just an iPhone

~ tomadaonline ~ 4 Comments

It was a long day and the surf was outstanding, but I wasn’t near the surf until sunset.  I still had chores to complete and no time to get my “real” camera so I walked in close to the shore and shot some SUP footage using my iPhone 6S+.  The only paddleboarder in the water caught a couple of waves while I watched.  Add a little music, a little creative editing license and voila.  A short video.  A very short video.

 

Cooling Water

~ tomadaonline ~ Leave a comment

My back’s been out since trying to move cinder blocks for the outdoor shower drainage.  I’d heard they were only 5 pounds, but they seemed more like 500.  When the back is out there’s still plenty to keep me in the game.  We walked the length of Linda Mar at low tide.  It was one evening away from the harvest moon that peeks out tonight.  Slipping and sloshing through the clear cool water, still wearing shorts, but with a light down vest to keep the body warm.  The water is cooler in late September, but there’s still a lot of talk about el nino’s warm, wet winter.

There were dozens of surfers, one stand up paddleboarder, and a large number of kids playing in the surf and wading at the water’s edge.  Jingling bells announced two ice cream carts strolling up and down the beach.

Donna and I walked hand in hand and from time to time I shot video with my spanking new iPhone 6s plus.  I am pleased with the new toy and tried out the iMovie app for the following recap.