Weekend of weekends

This weekend was the weekend I have been waiting for. After shooting with the Nikon D5000 for over a year and a half now I finally saved up enough flow to get an upgrade! The D7000 came in on Friday and as soon as I took it out of the box I knew it was what Ive been waiting for all this time. What made things even better I knew there might be some waves to try it out on the next day!

The Beast.

So Saturday morning came and I was ready take it out for the first time to test it on the surf! I picked up my bodyboarding buddies Jared and Frank and we headed out for the morning patrol. When we arrived at the spot we were in for a big surprise. The waves were pumping 3-5ft and while it wasnt so consistent the swell was solid.

surprise surprise. Photo by John Barber

I shot first and as soon as I pushed the shutter down I quickly realized the camera was a beast. I wasn't used to the speed and the quality of the photos. Simply amazing! I shot for about thirty minutes and got some awesome shots but I couldn't resist hitting the waters myself. Luckily my buddy Jared was down to man the camera while I bodyboarded. He ended getting some of the best shots of me so far! Over stoke for real.

The Macker. Photos by Jared Catahay. Taken with the D7000

So Saturday was a blast and my new camera was the ish! I really believed the weekend couldnt get better than that. But to my surprise the next day would be just as epic for me. Sunday I decided to pull an all day surf sesh. My buddy Rico came too and once again I had someone manning the D7000 while I hit up the waves. The swell was slightly smaller and the winds shifted Sunday so I decided to hit up a right that was pretty much peaking out and dumping thick and heavy. Nobody was out but I saw a few open and decided to try it out. I worked hard to get in the pits and to my surprise I was making it out. After getting plenty I noticed Rico was putting the camera in the bag. I knew he had got the shots and of course he wanted to surf too! Feeling kind of guilty I went in and took over the D7000. When I saw the shots he got I was so stoked! Below are the ones I made it out of! All shot by Rico!

taking the drop. PHotos by Rico M.

Photos by Rico. Shot with the D7000.

So overall the weekend was awesome. D7000, fat pits and new profile pics for facebook! Yeahhhh!!

Aluminum Casting: Wave Study video

Aluminum Casting from jbarbs on Vimeo.

10/19/10 dawn patrol video and todays score

Dawn Patrol 10/19/10 from jbarbs on Vimeo.

I finished the video clip from Tuesdays dawn patrol. It was a pretty quick edit and I only filmed about a quarter of the time while I was in the water (took pictures and bodyboarded the rest of the time). Definitely plan on doing more in water filming after seeing how this came out. It's the angle Ive been missing all this time... well that and the helicopter angle!!

10/19/10 one of the tubes.

and today we got another blessing from mother nature! More tubes!! Big thanks to Jared for the heads up! Probably would've surfed shetty waves on the other side without the info. Below are some shots I took from today's session...

Johnny paddling out to the lineup.

Super score!

occasional A-frame.

A little bigger and it would've been perfect.

It was pretty good getting some tube time two days in a row. Big thanks to mother nature for throwing us some waves during these times of flatness. Hoping you can send us some big ones soon!

Reefers.

Aluminum Casting: Wave Study update

My 3D attempt at the woodblock print "The Great Wave", by Hokusai

I got started on my third piece this week. Put the clay down so now I just gotta match that with the foam. Let you know when the casting starts...

On another sculpture note the Ceramic Celebration IV opened tonight at the UOG Isla Center for the Arts located in the Deans Circle. The exhibit will be on display October 21-29.

Dawn Patrol - October 19, 2010

5:30am start? no problem with beauties like this rolling in :)

The morning score... to be continued...

sneak peak

The best thing Ive seen all week.

Went down to First beach this afternoon to collect some gooseberry(family Solanaceae) and saw some nice waves rolling in. Looks like we might get a little sum sum! :D Hope I can get up early...

Dancing with the beast...

its like a video game down here :D

So yesterday I had my first face to face shark encounter while spearfishing at Marine Lab. It all started when I decided to tie my catch to a rock in the channel. Since the fish I shot was still alive I figured Id keep it away from me as I continued fishing. I'm a pretty skinny guy so I might not be considered a threat to the beasts that lurk out there. Anyways, when I came back to the spot where I tied my catch I noticed the fish was no longer on the wire. I carefully examined it and didn't see how it could have escaped. The wire was still intact. I already knew what had taken it and as soon as I lifted my head I noticed the black tip less then ten feet away from me swimming to my left. I jumped but didn't panic. I stayed put and kept my eye on the creature. It stayed there for a bit and as I had my eyes locked on him I noticed to my right another blacktip speeding towards the first. Another jump but stayed cool. I waited for a brief moment thinking they would swim away but they didn't so I slowly backed off. I swam sideways towards the shallows where the waves were breaking while keeping my eyes and spear locked on the sharks. As I made my distance I turned around and swam in. I was done for the day.

This was the first time Ive been face to face with a shark in their environment. It was scary but at the same time it gave me a rush. I kind of enjoyed this experience and even though I loss my catch I was still pretty stoked that I was able to swim with these creatures. When I got home I kept thinking "if only I had my camera". This eventually led to some crazy ideas... I slept on it.

Looks like something out of my sculpture class.

So this morning I got a wake up call from Rob who had heard about my encounter last night. It turned out he wanted to shoot in the water while I fished. I was so down. Maybe I would be able to get another chance at meeting the sharks and maybe Rob could get a shot. We had it set and were supposed to meet up after class and go for a lunchtime shoot. However I didn't get the call so I ended up not going.

All day I had been thinking about the sharks. When I got out of my two o clock class early I decided to make a second attempt on my own and try and see the sharks again. This time I would bring out my camera.

So I actually went through with it. Drove down to lab brought the spear gun out and had the camera strapped to my side. I swam out to the same location near the channel and the wire was still attached to the rock. I started fishing the area. I decided if I catch a big one Ill take it in and call it day. Never mind the shark stuff. Well I didn't catch one. I think I still needed more training spearfishing (cant hold my breath for shit). Since I was unlucky at getting a big one I decided Ill just see if I could call the sharks. I caught an easy kill fish and put it on the wire on the rock. I left the spot and waited. About 10-15minutes had passed before I headed back towards the spot. Bam! Before I got to the spot there was a black tip. I jumped again when I saw it. I wanted to shoot a picture but I didn't want to let go of the spear gun. Using my left hand I attempted to put the camera in video mode. I tried to move quick but this time the black tip didn't stay around. I lost sight of it. I went back to the channel where I could see better (the water was kind of murky :P) and cleared my goggles. I didn't get the shot so I went back. Again before I got to the spot there was a black tip about twenty feet away. I had the camera shooting video but the shark disappeared before I could get a clear view. After that I felt I was done trying to get the shot. It was too murky and light was diminishing. I swam to shore and decided Ive had enough.

When I checked out the footage I saw that I didn't get shit. I guess when I saw the shark I panicked and didn't have the camera pointing the right direction (of course my spear tip was pointing right). It felt kind of weird after. Like I was out of place. I wasn't as stoked as the first encounter yesterday and I kind of felt like I was doing something wrong. After all of this I decided I will no longer try to feed the sharks at lab. I don't want them getting used to me coming out there and leaving fish on the wire for them. If I do decide to look for sharks again it wont be at Lab. I love the place too much to feel uncomfortable there.

The Marine Laboratory.

After the session I decided to cool down and do what I love doing out there. Bodyboarding! Even though the waves were junk I still went out and caught two. I'm way better at catching waves then at catching fish! The sundown was pretty sweet too with red and orange skies blasting the sea. I took some pictures but got scared out of the water by something even more frightening!!

I think Im better at this game.

charge!

small but stoked!

Lightning!! Haha! Yeah a thunderstorm rolled in while I was out there! I honestly swam in as if I was being chased by a shark!! Pretty funny! The boys out there didnt care much of the lightning but since I had a camera on me I wasnt gonna take a chance. Of course again I thought to myself "It would be so sick if I got a shot of the lightning in the water". Now if I did that then Id really be trying to kill myself! LOL!

Lacking the footy

At this point I feel like I lack the bodyboarding footage to really represent whats going down round here. Not only of the scene but also of myself. Hopefully this season will be different!

Until the next swell here is a recap of what is floating around somewhere. First the footage Ive managed to sneak in...

John Barber - Clip from jbarbs on Vimeo.

Two Days at Boat from Sus Siatan on Vimeo.

Last sunday from jbarbs on Vimeo.

and heres the footage I have shot over the past year...

September 23 2009 from jbarbs on Vimeo.

HD surf bodyboarding from jbarbs on Vimeo.

Day at the Bay from jbarbs on Vimeo.

Facebook de active

Sweeeeeeet! more time for my blog...

Lewis Rifkowitz Exhibit at DFS

artwork by Lewis Rifkowitz.

While in Tumon this evening I stopped by the DFS Galleria to check out my sculpture professors art exhibit that was on display. It was really nice seeing some of his finished pieces for the first time and of course getting a glimpse into his style was pretty cool. Lots of colors curves and awesomeness going on. The pieces really speak for themselves! Heres some shots I took of just a few of my faves on display!

"Geisha Jars 1 & 2" by Lewis Rifkowitz

"Raft of the Medusa" by Lewis Rifkowitz.

artwork by Lewis Rifkowitz.

If you have the time it's definitely worth checking out. I'm not really sure when the show ends so view it while you can!

Last Sunday Edit

So I found the rest of the clips from last Sunday and put a little compilation together. The waves were small short and challenging but they still presented good practice. Featured here are me, Johnny, Rico, Greg and then BC. For some small waves BC was shredding. Check it out!

Filmed by me and Johnny Fortin
Edited by me
Music: Nas & Bob Marley - Say Somethin'

Last sunday from jbarbs on Vimeo.

Small Kine fo Da Mind

Found some time to get some in water hours today. It was supa small kine waves and long waits but there was still plenty of fun to be had. Goro got some sick shots while we were out. Pretty cool seeing another persons angle on the wave! while there wasnt much to work with the session was still good for the mind!

ducking hard for the small kine tube. Photo by Goro

AJ in the tube. Photo by Goro

me arsin. Photo by Goro

Before I hit it up I shot some too.

tooobs

Carter setting up for the tube.

Joe riding the undercurrent! Sick!

Goro stoked.

composed

h
So ya waves were pretty shetty but hey its better then no waves. hoping the next swell pulls through soon. If not its all good. It has to happen sometime. Right?

Aluminum Casting: Wave Study in Sculpture

Today I thought I should post a little bit on this. So for our current project in sculpture class we are going to be making aluminum castings (coool). I decided it would be sweet to do my project on waves in hopes that one of my pieces could be the next Guahan Napu competition trophy design. So basically Im trying to work out as many different wave pieces as I can each with different styles and interpretations. So far I have three pieces figured out. One abstract, one semi realistic, and one thats half and half. Im going to do one more piece which will be very reaslistic but I need to do more planning cause I want it to be awesome.

The first part of making the castings is shaping your model with foam. The foam will be replaced with the aluminum and melt away when we cast it. So the top one is the realistic and heres what I got so far with the other two.



right now Im super anxious to see how it comes out once the aluminum is casted! Crossing my fingers all goes well!

Its Official! Custom X

Right now Im riding the Tec 41 that I ordered from ebodyboarding! Came in the day after the peak of the last swell! A swell is expected this coming week so I hope I can get something by then! Pray4surf!!

Heres some photos from the last swell we had two weeks ago! This was the first day taking out the brand new Custom X Tec 41" and it was off the chain. No leash drop knee sessions were fun. Cant wait to try it out bigger!

no hands

The devils liquid is alcohol

This blog is here for me to express my feelings, thoughts, ideas, art, etc. etc.. etc...

Ive been thinking about starting this blog for a while now but it wasn't until this day that I finally made progress. Main reason why I did it today? a change of mind!

I actually had a experience last night and somehow this is what got me started on this blog. I guess I figured with this Ill have a way to remember....

Welcome

Photo by Kyle N.

Greetings! Take a dive into the world of mine! My world: a dive.

I am a fulltime student working part time and living life to the fullest in a world with little time.

true passion = bodyboarding -------> The main drive for this blog!!

I love being in the water. -----------> u will see with mi eyes

I love taking photos. ----------------> look up ^

Photography is my second passion---> ^

So yeah welcome to my blog!! Should be fun!!