tyler's bali-bob-dazzler

i've been talking to tyler hatzikian for a while about creating a pulled in longboard gun that would be a bit scaled down from what he charges hammerland on. this conversation has evolved ever since the el nino winter of 2009 and finally, we found the right inspiration to get this vehicle made.

after my non-stop run of work travel i've happily booked a month long trip to bali with my wife who will be there teaching a yoga training. this is my first trip to bali and i knew i would need some pretty tuned equipment for the quality and level of surf i'm going to find myself in.

i hooked up with tyler earlier this summer and discussed the possibility of crafting a longboard-gun for the trip. zeke, the good friend he is, put aside his 80 hour-a-week work load, smiled, and said, "yah, we'll figure out a way to get you on that board." in zeke we trust... the mustache rides again.

i just stopped by the factory for a day- my head somewhere between South Africa, Rio, El Porto and Bali -- tyler pulled a gorgeous, 9'2" 60's inspired gun off the laminate rack. i can't tell you how exciting it is to see such a well crafted piece of equipment, custom made for a surf trip. most of my surf trips entail renting camera lenses, packing bags of gear, listing expensive equipment with customs -- this is the first trip to begin with picking up a hot-rod.

zeke has coined the new ride, the Bali-Bob-Dazzler - an off beat reference to a tee-shirt he bought years ago on a tube-riding jaunt through the region. i will check in periodically with up-dates, so that my good friend burning the mid-night oil to finish boards for friends, can mind-surf along with me. thanks zeke - let the adventure begin.

note: the bali-bob is the middle board with pale-green color. waiting finish sand and a fin - about 20hrs pre-flight to kuta.

film IS NOT dead

fewer people are shooting it - even fewer are processing it. but DAMNIT there is no replacement for the organic feel and beauty of something shot on film. i can't and don't want to tell you why i feel this way. i just like looking at images and letting the feeling explain itself.

canon AE-1 used by my parents and still working great.

Fuji 400 superia and Kodak 400 T-max

process from Neg to Disk by Rose Photo - Venice, Ca.

you can see more shots here.

high above rio in rocinha

while shooting for our environmental documentary in Rio, i was lucky enough to meet a couple local surfers who grew up in the favelas (slums) on the hills above Rio. Their area in particular is called Rocinha and is the largest slum in the city. their story is unbelievable and the subject of a documentary worth checking out called, Surfing Favela. having come from broken homes and poverty, the ocean has given them a place of refuge, inspiration and meaning. the bigger story is that they have established a surfing school and spend their time teaching youth surfing and a respect for the environment they love to play in.

the beaches of Rio are loved by all- young, old, wealthy and financially challenged. it is inspiring to see all these people come together through organizations like surfrider to take care of the beaches as a collective of like-minded people. A special tip-of-the-cap to a local surfer, named Bocao, who has put together the Rocinha Surf School - a project focused on giving kids a positive outlet for their energy, focused on surfing, community and environmental awareness.

the guys took us up into Rocinha, an experience which is hard to put in words. I just got back my 35mm film and can only share a few images. a special thanks to surfrider brazil for making this day possible.

from Namibia to Rio

well, 2 days of travel later i've made it to Rio - frankly, after 12 flights and about 20,000 miles of traveling this last six weeks, i went to bed feeling a bit ready to get home... but alas, i woke up to a warm, hawaii-like off-shore breeze, and fun looking shore-pound at copacabana and ipenema - so i went for a jog to loosen the joints and body-wamped for 2 hours into some views to shake the south african jet-lag. feelin' much better. amazing what a little ocean time will do for ya.

high a-top the namibian dunes

the trek continues... special thanks to dan moder for snapping some shots of me working in between his set-ups. it's been an amazing journey through Lesotho, Namibia and South Africa. We even got to surf an epic 200 yd. left hand, hollow, sand point !

now i'm off to Rio to shoot a sequence for my environmental docu. more to come.

Trekking through S. Africa - camera in hand

I've been lucky enough to jump on a commercial shoot traveling through 3 countries in S. Africa. This is my first trip to SA and I've been blown away by the kind spirit of the local people and the amazing power this land posses. The hawaiians speak of "mana" and the energy a land exudes, Africa definitely embodies the spirit of it's long breathe of cultural history.

We spent our first days traveling up a long windy road called the "Sani Pass" into a region known as Lesotho - i've never really seen anything like it. We are now by a stretch of beach that feels like it hasn't changed in 100 yrs. I'm looking forward to the adventures to come.

manly good fun

after making singlefin: yellow, i thought australia was my favorite trip and i thought i'd go back to visit every year after. well, cut-to four years making one cal day, four more years trying to put some money in the bank and yowzers, an every year visit became ten years before i could get back. but now i mean it, i'm going back every year! anywhere that takes it's surfing, beer drinking and espresso as seriously as i do, is high on my list and australia did not let me down.

i also feel so blessed to be introduced to the guys at the sugarmill surf shop. it's been a long time since i've hit the road with no plan and no agenda- these guys adopted my scally-wag vagabond-traveling arse in like i was their own. it was a full adoption and i can't thank them enough. if you are ever in the Sydney area and need to bone up on your surf style, stop by the sugarmill. they'll even fire up the espresso maker for ya. who knows, you might even see them paddling around in their new row boat... or maybe row-boat tow whipping joel fitz into some slabs. boo-ya.

but seriously, check out this surf zone if ya can. great people, fun waves and a really beautiful area. further props out to my buddy shanon and the heritage surf shop for all their support. everyone made me feel so at home.

i leave you with the danny-boy-chonger-fitzy-baff list of surf titles turned porn film mash-ups: top 5

5. chrystal vee

4. inner most limits of carnal fun

3. pelvic momentum

2. endless hummer

1. thicker than walter