Surfers throughout California have been pretty excited, because a huge swell came through this week, peaking on Tuesday and Wednesday.

Yesterday, on a beautifully sunny and warm afternoon, Ben met up with some old friends from down south at Sandspit—a location near the Harbor. There were tons of surfers out, and I wound up going out to join him to see the surf and try and take some pictures. The Santa Barbara area was actually one of the areas getting the most hype, and so lots of people traveled here from all over just to surf. Among the people who came from out of town to get in on the action was Kelly Slater! He apparently surfed Campus Point on Tuesday, and Sandspit on Wednesday.

Unfortunately, my action surfing shots could use a bit of work—although I am also a bit hindered by my lack of a super telephoto lens. My lens was woefully inadequate when compared to some of the lenses that were being used out there—some looked like giant telescopes! Still, I will present to you some of the shots that my sad lens and I captured during what will probably be the biggest surf of the season.

Most of my shots are of random people, as I was just trying to see if I could get good action shots. I was trying to look for Ben, but in a sea of guys with wet hair and black wetsuits, it’s often hard to tell who is who. I did manage to capture 2 of his waves, but a lot of the shots were blurry and stuff. I also captured a few of Slater’s rides, though not his most impressive of the session. What is below are those shots that have a combination of being the most visually interesting and least blurry. Enjoy.

Quite a few dogs came down to check out the action.

Shot taken by Ben.

A guy getting barreled (taken by Ben).

A shot to give perspective on just how many people you'd have to surf around if you caught a wave (taken by Ben).

A guy getting some air (taken by Ben).

Watching the waves break before paddling back in.

8-time world champion Kelly Slater out on the water.

Slater on his way to catch more waves.

Slater stopping to chat with a young fan and give an autograph.

Ben out on the water.

A beautiful orange sunset behind all the boats in the Harbor ends a great day.

Posted at 5:55 PM |