Wainani

I made another alaia last week. She's 7'0" & I called her 'Wainani', which is Hawai'ian for 'beautiful water.'






Somehow I don't reckon she'll be the last alaia I make.

Little Black Wheels Excerpt

And here's a peek at the film Mick's currently working on. It's called 'Little Black Wheels' & I reckon it's going to be epic:

Believe

My good mate Mick Waters makes beautiful films. If you haven't done so already, check out his film 'Believe'. Here's the trailer:

Passing The Torch

It's a bit of a dilemma being a surfing parent. You don't want to ram surfing down your children's throats, like some sports-crazed soccer-dad, but at the same time you don't want them to miss out on the gift of waveriding that has so blessed your own way of being for so long. It takes a lot of patience & a lot of restraint. Our little man Noa just turned five years old last month. Five years of sand eating, sandcastle building, paddles in the lagoon, swimming lessons at the local pool centre, ankle-deep wavelet jumping. Finally, we have graduated to surfmat riding & he is stoked on it. I am the proudest, most grateful father in the universe. I'm really, really excited that my beloved son is just now beginning to taste the joys of a surfing life.

Trent Whitehead

My mate Trent Whitehead is showing his wonderful work in Melbourne:






more at www.green-woodgallery.com/

Three Monks

Angkor Wat, Siem Reap, Cambodia

Inspiration

Sigur Ros - Við spilum endalaust - A Take Away Show from La Blogotheque on Vimeo.

Dawn

North Shore, Upolu, Samoa i Sisifo.

Handboardism

In between helping my mate Tim make his first alaia & reworking the concave on my own, I made a little handboard yesterday from an offcut of paulownia. It's inspired by a Danny Hess design that I found online.

Here's my handboard building assistant Noa. He was pretty enthusiastic about the whole project:



And handboard, ready to ride:



Had a session with it on dusk. Good fun.

Dot Painting Detail

R.I.P. Alan Ellis. I still miss you little mate. You would be eighteen this year. A man. A good, good man.

Templates

A Beauty Inexhaustible

"The texture of the world, its filigree and scrollwork, means that there is the possibility for beauty here, a beauty inexhaustible in its complexity, which opens to my knock, which answers in me a call I do not remember calling, and which trains me to the wild and extravagant nature of the spirit I seek." Annie Dillard, from 'Pilgrim at Tinker Creek'

Sixteen Feet

Tom Wegener with sixteen feet of handshaped timber.

Twelve Feet

A couple of months ago I received this custom twelve footer from the hands of master craftsman Paul Joske of Valla Surfboards. It rides like a dream. I'm a very happy camper.

Ham Sandwich

My mate Dominic Breen getting all Lance Carson at a little spot nearby.

Such Joy

'If a man finds such joy in a given act, why would he do anything else?' John Keats



Asher Pacey, Mid North Coast, New South Wales

Lullaby for the Apocalypse

Charge Group - Lullaby for the Apocalypse (official music video) from trainwreck 20/20 on Vimeo.

My friend Matt Blackman, formerly of Purplene & Ukiyoe, plays in a band called Charge Group. They make incredible music. I used one of their songs in Seaworthy. I reckon this clip is absolutely epic.

Driftwood

I like collecting driftwood.

Tasmanian Dusk

I remember this day. We were visiting my wife's family just south of Hobart in a little town called Snug. I went for a drive one afternoon for a couple of hours on my own just for a little exploration's sake. It was a lovely country drive along a winding road that hugged the curves of a lake & the undulations of small green hills. I was after just one good landscape photo & I'd keep looking for a good place to set up & shoot but the light wasn't great, & the afternoon was quickly fading into evening. Eventually I stopped at a likely little place, set the camera up on the tripod, attached the lens, filter frame & a graduated tobacco filter. A tiny break in the clouds let a little light into the world, & suddenly a little colour came into the day for a last fleeting instant. I held my breath & fired off a single frame. It was a hushed, windless, solitary moment & I was glad to be there. An instant later, the light vanished & it was almost dark & beginning to rain gently by the time I put away my gear. I knew I had the shot & I drove home happy. I love landscape photography.

Empty Coast

Beau

Beau Young, fin tweaking in anticipation of an early morning test run. Beau's one of the most surf-fit, stoked-out, competent-on-any-equipment human beings I've ever met.

Buddha

Battambang, Cambodia.

Tidepool

Another mini-landscape. It's good to get down on your belly & give the world a closer look.

Handshape

MP

I'm looking forward to checking out this film when it comes to my local theatre later this month. Every Australian surfer should find this story compelling. Filmmaker Jolyon Hoff asked me to spread the word. Visit searchingformichaelpeterson.com.au for screenings.

Pianist

My friend M. Carney laying down another beautiful piece in the studio.

Tint

Tom's Creation Plantation

Tom's Creation Plantation Trailer from Cyrus Sutton on Vimeo.

I reckon Cyrus has done a great job putting this together. It's a beautiful, whimsical, joyful piece; which suits alaia riding perfectly. It's incredible witnessing how far people have come in riding alaias. It was only a few years ago that I was shooting Tom's first rough experiments. Now people are ripping on these things, doing all sorts of crazy stuff. I'm so happy to see Tom's dreams being realised. He really, really deserves it.

Trim

Ryan Heywood, lip tickling in front of the beach house, The Ruins, Wamberal, Autumn, 2005. Man, I miss those old beach house days. Boards & mates all over the lawn. Open minds & stoke & sunlight, & an arvo longbottle to wash it all down. Mmmm, good times.

Slippage

A little bit of street slippage on my homemade 54" skatey. It helps make flat days fun, & I need the practice anyways.

John William Tate

Mike McCarthy: John William Tate from Nathan Oldfield on Vimeo.

Here's a little low-fi clip I put together for my friend Mike McCarthy, recorded live in one take on our mate Pete's farm on the mid-north coast.

Teabagging