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Blackie's Surf Contest
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Blackie's Surf Contest

by Patrick O'Healy

Gallery: POP PhotosPosted December 12, 20151,135 views2 comments
October 24, 2015  William "Blackie" Blackstock founded Blackie's By The Sea in 1953. Back then, Newport Beach was only a summer vacation spot. Local surfers named the beach "Blackie's Beach", as it was the only structure they could see from the water. Blackie's was open from June through August, then closed for the rest of the year when everyone went back home. It is adjacent to Newport Beach Pier.  These photos are from the eighth annual Halloween Surfer's Costume Contest at Blackies.  Perhaps it was because of the costume element, but there were as many female surfers as male.  Many of the better surfers were females.  I have a series of these photos on my web-site.  While editing I enjoyed the joy the participants and spectators demonstrated.

We photographed these monkeys shortly after sunrise.   And yes, they surfed with the masks on. 

Nikon D800  Nikkor 24-120  24mm  ISO100  .4 sec at f/11  In retrospect, it would have been smarter to increase the ISO and the shutter speed.  Since I was bouncing between shooting the sunrise and participants arriving, my ADD kept me more in the moment than the technical.  RAW  White Balance Auto  Processed in LightroomCC2015, PhotoshopCC2015, NIK and TK. 

Thank you for your feedback. 

Comments

2 comments
Comment posted by Cay-Uwe Kulzer on December 13, 2015 at 2:23 AM
Patrik,

I like the colors that are found in this image, starting with the nice background, but also the costumes fit nicely. I may consider to clone away the one surfer at the left with his white board. That is a very minor nit, but somehow I feel it does not fit very well in the image enlightened
Registered on January 27, 2004, 494 Posts, 4021 Comments
Comment posted by Reno DiTullio on December 25, 2015 at 1:19 PM
Patrick, I love everything about this, color, costumes, light and the story.  Well done.
Registered on November 14, 2003, 130 Posts, 1644 Comments