The Caribbean Pipeline - Rincón, PR -> Part II

Surfing soothes me, it's always been a kind of Zen experience for me. The ocean is so magnificent, peaceful, and awesome. The rest of the world disappears for me when I'm on a wave. - Paul Walker

Following up on our last post "The Caribbean Pipeline - Rincón, PR -> Part I," we are excited to share the final motion edit profiling surfer Ramse Morales, his life both on land and in the water near the town of Rincón, Puerto Rico.

The landscape and surf couldn't have been richer in terms of a backdrop to shoot amid. This was the first motion project that I really spent a great deal of time shooting "hand held." I also brought on a couple of new pieces of equipment. While in the ocean shooting stills and capturing motion, I relied on the Ewa Marine water housing, recommended and rented from Chris Sheehan of Shelter Studios. This couldn't have worked better for getting close to the action both under and above water. What really brings the piece to life is the P.O.V. shots taken from the tip of the surf board. I was able to capture all of this using the Go Pro Hero Camera which was mounted on the tip of the board and recorded Ramse as he paddled out, popped up and surfed a nice variety of waves.

Enjoy this motion profile of a new found friend in a new found place...

The Caribbean Pipeline - Rincón, PR -> Part II

The Caribbean Pipeline - Rincón, PR -> Part I

The Western coastal town of Rincón, Puerto Rico is considered one of the top surfing spots in the world. As a winter time destination, swells have been known to reach 25' high rivaling the famed North Shore in Oahu. Although similar to the Pacific surfing hot spot, the Atlantic version was relatively unheard of until the 1968 World Surfing Championship was held at Domes beach where the above images were shot. The quality of the surf became apparent outside of the local population and gave rise to several great destinations along the Western coast including Rincón. With its laid back vibe, consistently good waves, and a surf culture permeating all walks of life, it's the perfect destination on the Atlantic Ocean.

Travel to Puerto Rico earlier this year took me to Rincón where I spent some time profiling Ramse Morales, a local surf legend who is highly regarded as one of the best. Everyone I asked pointed me in his direction as the local to connect with for all things surfing. Ramse quickly became a great friend and was more than gracious with his time in front of the camera, whether on the board or in his beach dwelling apartment (home of a wide selection of his many custom boards). At one point I even took a lesson myself with the local legend. Check out his site, see if you can find the five shot series of yours truly riding waves for the first time ever!

Enjoy a little slice of Rincón through the point of view of a true local. If you find yourself heading to Puerto Rico, a trip to the west coast as well as a lesson from Ramse would no doubt be highly recommended. The Surf's great nearly 24x7, 365 days a year...

Remember to check out the accompanying motion piece in our next post to get an even more in depth view of surf life on the Caribbean Pipeline. It was a really interesting shoot including some underwater filming which I look forward to sharing.

The Caribbean Pipeline - Rincón, PR -> Part I

Memorex for imation...

Just over a month back we completed a 3 day project for imation shooting a mix of lifestyle and product based imagery for the brand Memorex. From "portable music players to iPod® accessories and Blu-ray players to flash drives, CDs and DVDs, Memorex products fit your life."

The first two days took place on location in a private home north of Minneapolis, and the last day was staged in a home in the Deephaven area. Both locations were sourced by Anne Healy. The architecture of the first location really set it apart from the other houses in the area and would have blended seamlessly into a cityscape in Holland. The interior was no less spectacular than the exterior and provided a perfect backdrop of lines, shapes and textures for the shoot.

The featured products included an array of portable electronics and gaming accessories that were utilized by the talent in a home environment. We had a wide variety of scenes to create and capture ranging from a mother and her children spending time together, to sisters grooving to music, to a family preparing a meal in the kitchen. Over the course of three days we were able to cover these scenarios in addition to several others.

As always a big thank you to everyone on our crew. Our intrepid producer Bobbi Peacock and her assistant Luke Olson did a fantastic job making sure everything ran smoothly. Ann Marshik and her stylist assistant Heather Hall provided us with a great selection of wardrobe and props to create the proper mood for our scenes. Hair and make-up was handled by Ashlee Ellert who always keeps our subjects looking their best. All of the assets were managed by Karl Herber our digital tech, and last but not least, our photo assistants Josh, Bryce, and John kept us fluid and ready to move when the time came to set up the next scenario.

The last shot pictured shows the crew after three days of hustling. As always, smiles from start to finish. A big thanks to everyone at imation / Memorex for bringing us on for a great production and fine collection of images. Keep an eye on the Memorex site as well as in stores for the full roll out of this new library of imagery.

Memorex for imation...