Windsurfing at Huntington Beach

The Exposure section of the July issue of Outside magazine features a double truck photo I took earlier this year at Huntington Beach. On my way home from a meeting with an ad agency in Irvine I decided to swing by the beach to look for photos. It had been raining unusually hard that day all across Southern California and I figured the late afternoon sun that had started peaking through the storm clouds would make for some great images. When I got there the sun only lasted 2 minutes before an approaching set of clouds darkened the sky, ruining the beautiful light that had drawn me there. To my surprise though, as I walked along the beach near the pier, I saw a couple kites dancing around the gloomy skyline to the north. I figured they were only power kites being flown from the beach, but as I approached I saw that there were actually a couple of daring kite surfers taking advantage of the choppy water and high winds that had probably deterred the majority of their brethren. I figured they weren’t going to be out there for long and started jogging up the beach to get a closer shot. My timing was perfect, as they lasted only another minute before packing it in.

I blogged a couple of other photos from this experience just after it happened, but since this one just made it into print I figured I’d share it as well. The Exposure page is an ongoing feature in the magazine that focuses on unique outdoor photography and shares the photographers’ camera settings and a brief interview about the photographers’ experience. This one, besides being a nice stormy weather shot, I think had particular interest to them because of the recent relevance of offshore drilling. I hadn’t put much thought about it when taking the shot, but it’s amazing to see how close to the shore California once allowed wells to be drilled. Apparently, until 2008 there was a ban on new offshore stemming from a 1969 oil spill that leaked 4 million gallons of crude off the Santa Barbara coast. The ban was allowed to lapse after “drill now” pressures in response to skyrocketing gas prices. However, members of California’s congress are now pushing to reinstate it in light of recent events.

Exposure usually only features one photographer, from what I’ve seen, but this month there are four, all related to water. If you turn the page you’ll see a fantastic aerial photo of the Colorado River in Canyonland’s National Park by fellow Aurora Photos contributor and National Geographic regular Peter McBride. Not bad company to be in!

After a meeting with an agency in Irvine today I decided to drive up the coast from Newport Beach to Long Beach just to explore. When I got to Huntington Beach there was a gorgeous light coming from behind an approaching storm cloud that forced me out of my car just south of the Huntington Beach Pier. Just north of the pier I spotted some kites and figured they were just power-kiters out on the beach, but then I saw one pop up in the air and realized there were actually people out kite surfing, despite, or more likely because of the large choppy waves being produced by the stormy weather. I hustled over their way and despite their moving quickly away from me I was able to catch up enough to get off a couple shots just before they packed it in as the black storm cloud got too close for comfort. I’d hoped to get one of them popping out of the water or a close-up of them battling the waves, but was still happy with what I got. I then spent a few minutes with John Moynihan, 24, as he packed up his gear and walked his kite back to the car. A self-described ‘gypsy sailor,’ Moynihan lives on a sailboat that currently resides in nearby Newport Beach. After this I parted ways with him. And just in time, as the rain started to come down and I was a quarter mile away from my car. I packed up my gear and headed back. We’ve had an unusual week here with daily storms and even a few tornados touching down. There was even one in Seal Beach today, which I drove through after shooting this, but I didn’t see anything. I’ve got a couple more stormy weather photos I’ll put up tomorrow or the next day.