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2012 Billabong XXL Big Wave Nominees

Mon, 02 Apr 2012 22:17:52 +0100

Who would have thought that we would be watching not ONE but TWO nominees surfing Irish waves for the Billabong XXL Big Wave Awards 2012. Best of luck to both of you! (Although I have to admit I'm in Ollie's camp - gotta stick with the green 'n' gold - Yeeeeeoww!)

Vote for the lads here: http://www.surfingmagazine.com/news/billabong-2012-xxl-nominees-announced/

The Brandon Bay Surf Classic 2012: Day One - Video Diary

Sun, 01 Apr 2012 00:51:10 +0100

The swell was small but the weather was good. We can usually make do with one out of two of these. Great day out here on day ONE!

Big props to Mr. Eddie Lacey for pulling it all together along with a great team of dedicated support also. Hope we can do it all again!

Big thanks to all competitors also!

On Its Day

Mon, 27 Feb 2012 19:01:57 +0000

Below is the full version of a little piece called "On its Day" that I wrote for Wavelength Surf Magazine recently. The idea, I think, was to take a photo a build a story around it. Hope you all enjoy it.

ON ITS DAY

It’s not the same. That is, surfing when you have a beautiful wife and children; it’s not the same as surfing when you had no beautiful wifse and children. At least for me anyway.

On the day this photo was taken I had spent the morning with my little 2-year-old daughter. One of my newborn twin boys was in hospital 60 miles away and the other was in hospital 180 miles away in a very serious condition. Not going into detail, life was tough and completely upside-down on Wednesday 16^th February 2011.

I welcomed my wife home late morning with a kiss and a casual “I thought I might go for a surf this afternoon darling” type of greetings. The eyes don’t lie though. She could see the urgency in my eyes. That “If I don’t get down the beach in the next 30 seconds the waves might stop FOREVER and I will NEVER get to surf again” kind of a look.

Different People

Sat, 07 Jan 2012 09:24:31 +0000

The Kerry Crew in the late 90s and early Naughties! Slightly embarrassing, slightly funny -

This video is old and compressed but a bit of a laugh for sure.

Back in 2004 I put together this short DVD of Surf footage that was collecting on the shelves in my bedroom. It was submitted as a college project but was more for my pleasure than that of my tutors. I was only learning how to use editing software and I suppose I must have used every filter and transition available - and shur why not? Doesn't it look great ha ha!

It is all converted HI-8 footage so the quality is pretty poor.

Respect to all the musicians and bands for the Ceoil too!

The footage is from 1998-2004 and has all different surfers at locations all along the west coast of Ireland.

As it is once again gathering dust on my shelves I thought I might post it here for your delight or disgust.

It's all a bit of a laugh anyways....

2012 A new Year for a new Surf Film

Tue, 03 Jan 2012 12:36:53 +0000

(But here are some old ones first...)

I have been pointing a camera at waves for as long as I have been near them. Photos and Video fascinate me and I completely enjoy mixing this with my fascination of the ocean and in particular, surfing.

I filmed for years with those old HI-8 tapes. Hanging out down the beach and driving around looking for surf gave lots of scope for interesting footage of the lads farting around and messing. While we were never malicious I suppose we were often up to no good rogue-ism (if that is a word).

That was on of my first digital venture way back in 2005.

I decided I wanted to experiment in the water and got a raft of a water housing in 2009. Here is my first attempt in the water from Easkey.

It is addictive. I don't seem to get the time to shoot or edit the things I would like to these days but I have a so much footage on hard drive now that it is getting a bit silly.

In late 2009 and 2010 I put this short video together of stuff that had been sitting in my office for a long time.

ONIT SURF BLOG NO. 1 - 2011 in a Nutshell (ish)

Thu, 29 Dec 2011 23:26:01 +0000

"...there was purity and there was the dream, and the adventure, and there was the counterculture aspect. It was like shove society, shove the nine to five, shove the rules... we're just going to follow our hearts, treat each other well, eat well and enjoy the ocean. It was not for money and it wasn't for fame... that's what we're gunna do... purely because that's what our hearts want to do. That was amazing."
— Jim Banks (quote from the Switch-foot book)

I can’t follow that up with something smarter. Let me just say that 2011 was a great year for surf and for so much else. While the world turns upside down around us we still have an ‘out’. We give surfing so much because it gives us back so much. If you surf then you know. And if you don’t surf, you should. Here are some of my favourite shots from 2011. Enjoy!

I’ll try and keep this spot updated during 2012 sharing my surfs and photo sessions. If you want to get in touch please email me at info@onitmedia.ie. I would love to hear from you!