22nd November Batu Bolong

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12th October Airport Left
Great Light
Shit Waves
Batu Bolong
Bali, Indonesia
Oct 12th, 2020
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Baby Barrels, Bingin Beach

If you are only interested to see the pictures you will find them all in the slider above or below. You are welcome to use these images in your social media especially if you could take a second to add link to my Instagram account @_supersharp and maybe like and comment on a few pictures 🙂

I am such a dick sometimes. I didn’t know anything about the wave at Bingin other than it barrels when the conditions are right. Marko told me he doesn’t like it. Why would you go there when there is a world class barreling wave at Padang Padang? He kind of gave me the impression that this was a trifling thing and that I shouldn’t bother. The guy I met in Legian on Tuesday and agreed to meet there said it was easy, you can just sit in the channel. When it came to meeting up he decided it wasn’t working and headed off to Uluwatu. 

It’s a bit of a mission getting there as Bingin is at the bottom of a cliff but its all well developed with proper steps all the way down. I sat in a bar for about half an hour and watched how to get in the water. Thats also a mission, you have to navigate the very shallow reef – but I made a friend on the way out so that was also cool.

I was there on my own and I didn’t know anyone other than the guy I met on the walk across the reef so I took up a position 25 or 30 meters down the wave. I was quite happy for the first 20 minutes or so. It wasn’t quite barreling but I was in the right spot and getting some really nice pictures of the surfers coming straight down the wave. If there was any chance of a barrel they scooped themselves up and went for it. I was right on the shoulder of the wave just before it broke – I was nailing it. Having an absolute blast.

Then the ocean did what the ocean does, it kicked the shit out of me, twice. What seems to happen is that every 5th or 6th set has three absolute monsters at the back of it. I didn’t know that. These monsters are much wider than the regular waves so when the first one came it was a total surprise, I’d been there for 20 minutes already and this hadn’t been happening. The wave has a kind of curve to it, so if you want to be looking down the barrel you need to be where it breaks. So you get drawn in, and you get excited, and you think everything is cool and then, BOOM motherfucker 🙂

Because the wave is so much wider, you aren’t on the shoulder anymore, you are in it, as it breaks, where the power is. Barreling waves, and this is only my second experience so I am no expert, but they go straight up, and over – hence the barrel. If you are in it you go straight up and over and that isn’t pleasant. What’s worse is that it gets really shallow, really fast and the bottom is reef, and reef is hard and sharp. So after the first time this happened, I will be totally honest with you – I was shitting myself. Then some time passes, and you haven’t seen a monster set for a bit so you start to get a bit braver and get a bit closer and then you get smashed to fuck again.

I was in the water for about an hour and this happened twice. The second time I gave up and the sea spat me out – just a few reef scratches. By the time I got out I was completely broken, again.  

What Did I Learn ABOUT Shooting Surfers In Barrels.

I was all happy on the way there thinking this was going to a breeze. Marko had given me the impression that this was too easy and Dani had told me that I could just sit in the channel. What I know now is that if a wave is barreling its because its strong and hitting shallow ground. Even though the wave wasn’t quite working I got some nice shots and a couple that could almost pass for barrel shots.

If this one had been in focus it would have qualified, I think.

Same wave, same guy – he looks like he is crawling out of a small hole. Is this a barrel shot?

This is the guy I met on the reef on the way out and I think its my favourite shot of the day.

This guy must have been the best surfer there, most of the shots were of him.

So what I have learn’t is that shooting surfers in barrels isn’t easy. Maybe if you have a 200mm lens and you are another 30 metres away its easier, maybe.

Being in the water is never easy and not paying attention gets you fucked up.

Bingin works best, from what the guys that were there told me, on a mid to low tide, that’s when the tide is on it’s way in. I have read since, don’t ask me why I didn’t research this before, that it is at its gnarliest at low tide.

It’s is forecast to be pumping next Thursday, Friday and Saturday so I will be there then for sure.

The technical bit.

My mask didn’t work again and I don’t really know what to do about it. I am sure I would have fared better at ducking the waves if I had it on, but I didn’t.

The pictures were all shot at f8, 1000th of a second and an ISO of 320. It seems to be ok except some of the images at the end of the run aren’t quite in focus, annoyingly. This could because the subjects were too close; what I saw in the YouTube video is right and the camera isn’t continuously focussing on certain apertures or I was moving too fast – that seems less likely.F

I only took about a 120 shots, that’s a new low, which makes it much easier to select and edit. of those around 90 were in focus and free from droplets on the port, so I seem to be getting that right. Maybe I have been doing this wrong, maybe I only need to be in the water for an hour, hmmmm.

I’d really like to get my mask working again. If anyone has any tips on how to prevent a mask fogging I’d be really interested to hear from you, the overnight toothpaste isn’t cutting it.

What should you do if you found this interesting or useful?

You should subscribe and you will get these images and ramblings in your inbox. You could also check out my Instagram and comment and like some of my pictures.

And say hello if you see me in the water 🙂

 

Martin henley

Martin henley

Occasional Photographer

On a mission to become more active and mindful with my photography; to leave the house more often with the intention of taking photographs; to find attractive, interesting and engaging ways to share the images, videos and solutions I discover with others.

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22nd November Batu Bolong

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Surf Photography Batu Bolong 22nd Nov 2020-1

Lots of laughter – Batu Bolong, 20th Oct 2020

Laughter, Batu Bolong, oct 20th 2020
Blame The Parents
Balangan
Bali, Indonesia
Oct 09th, 2020
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Lots Of Laughter, Batu Bolong

If you are only interested to see the pictures you will find them all in the slider above or below. You are welcome to use these images in your social media especially if you could take a second to add link to my Instagram account @_supersharp and maybe like and comment on a few pictures 🙂

If you don’t know Bali you won’t know that Canggu is where the beautiful young people hang out and that Batu Bolong is where they surf. There are other breaks close by, Berawa is less than a kilometre away, Old Mans is only a couple of hundred metres away and what I would argue are much more interesting breaks are also within a kilometre at Echo Beach.

The reason the beautiful people surf at Batu Bolong is because they all live in Canggu and Batu Bolong is a long wave perfectly suited to longboards. Longboards are the perfect opportunity for beautiful people to look beautiful. Of course it isn’t all beautiful people, there are a fair few kooks there, and absolute beginners riding the white water in front of the temple.

I used to live nearby and so my first forays in the water were at Batu Bolong but I have come to the realisation that I don’t like it. It’s not just because I am not one of the beautiful people, there are a couple of real issues. There is a lot of swimming, Batu Bolong proper is a good 300 metres from the beach. The other issue is that Batu Bolong has taken more of my stuff than any other beach. I was there the week before and lost a fin, and a fin saver trying to get in, and then my mask got smashed up in my attempts to get it back. To be fair it was probably a little big and Marko had told me to get in at the channel in front of The Lawn but it was breaking pretty big there as well, so what can you do? The other issue is that the wave is supposed to be a left but in reality it breaks both ways and sods law is that if I sit on the left they will all go right and if I sit on the right – you know the thing 🙂 People also complain that its too busy, nut that doesn’t bother me – the more surfers there are the more likely I am to get something nice. it also gets a bit dirty in the rainy season which can lead to ear infections and unpleasant encounters with floating stuff.

So that’s the negatives out of the way. What I like about Batu Bolong is the vibe. Batu Bolong is the break where I have heard the most laughter of any wave in Bali. If its an occasion – Christmas or Valentines you can rely on the Batu Bolong crowd to be marking the event. You hear a lot of funny stuff at Batu Bolong “man chill out this is Batu Bolong, its a long board wave – everyone is dropping in.” You also hear a lot of laughter, which is really cool. If you talk to Indonesians who don’t surf they call it playing surfing, they don’t say are you going for a surf or going surfing they will say are you going playing surfing. Foreigners who surf tend to take it much more seriously linking it to their mental health and drawing life and entrepreneurial lessons from the time they spend in the water and seriously competing for the waves.

The Batu Bolong crowd are pretty chilled and on this day there was a lot of laughter, which was really nice. I’ve been thinking a lot about what constitutes a good surf photo and how I select the images that I post. If it’s longboarders the best photos are when they are hanging off the nose or executing a sharp turn. For short boarders you want to catch them throwing up a lot of water on the lip of the wave, in a barrel or in the air. There wasn’t much of that going on on this particular day.

This guy was shredding it a bit and this is my favourite shot of the day.

 

And this guy was also creating some splashes.

This guy was riding the nose a lot but he was going right and by the time I gave up on the left and moved across I was out of energy and he didn’t manage it on the couple of waves that he caught whist I was there. 

20th Oct 20 Batu Bolong - Laughing_-18

I was in the water for about an hour and this happened twice. The second time I gave up and the sea spat me out – just a few reef scratches. By the time I got out I was completely broken, again.

So it was pretty slim picking in terms of selecting what are traditionally good surf photos. So I moved on to the second criteria – joy. I typically leave the water with hundreds of photos and spend as much time selecting the photos to post as I do in the water. What I really enjoy is when the surfers look straight at the camera and smile. It’s reassuring that I know that I am there and it makes for a good photo. Although this guy isn’t looking the laugh sums up the mood that morning.

20th Oct 20 Batu Bolong - Laughing_-7

And these two were having a blast.

20th Oct 20 Batu Bolong - Laughing_-5

I am also really pleased when I see people who aren’t stereo typically surfers, older people and heavier people. Full respect to this dude 🙂

The Technical Bit.

There wasn’t really too much technically going on. My mask was fogging which was an issue.

The images were all taken at f9, 1,000th of a second and ISO at 320. I am really pleased with the colours and exposures.

The only other issue was with my positioning. Marko was insisting that I stay on the left but then he, like everyone else was going right. Batu Bolong is a long wave and its always difficult to be in the right place on a long wave. the current is also pretty strong, pushing you back to the shore if you are in front of the break. One thing that did work was exerting in the channel, I have know about that forever but is the first time it actually had the effect of making the swim out less difficult.

What should you do if you found this interesting or useful?

You should subscribe and you will get these images and ramblings in your inbox. You could also check out my Instagram and comment and like some of my pictures.

And say hello if you see me in the water 🙂

 

 

 

 

 

 

Martin henley

Martin henley

Occasional Photographer

On a mission to become more active and mindful with my photography; to leave the house more often with the intention of taking photographs; to find attractive, interesting and engaging ways to share the images, videos and solutions I discover with others.

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22nd November Batu Bolong

Baby Barrels, Bingin Beach If you are only interested to see the pictures you will find them all in the slider above or below. You are welcome to use these images in your social media especially if you could take a second to add link to my...

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Lots of laughter – Batu Bolong, 20th Oct 2020

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Batu Bolong Morning Surf

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Morning Surf Wide, Batu Bolong

Morning Surf, Batu Bolong, November 2019_-16
Batu Bolong Morning Surf, December 01st 2019
Morning Surf Wide
Batu Bolong
Canggu, Bali
Dec 11th, 2019

If you are only interested to see the pictures you will find them below, you are welcome to use these images in your social media especially if you could take a second to link to my Instagram account @_supersharp.

So having complained that shooting long boarders at Batu Bolong was no longer very exciting the swell picked up and I had a pretty exciting time. It was a mission getting out, or staying in the same place and I basically spent 2 hours swimming like a *****.

I don’t know how many waves I must have ducked but it was basically every wave for two hours. I have a little bit of a routine where I head out by the temple, head straight out to where some people I know typically are before heading on to Batu Bolong and sitting for a bit where the wave is a bit more consistent and most of the surfers are.

Except sitting wasn’t an option on Wednesday due to the size of the waves. I am going to know that once I start toward the shore I am finished as the waves literally spit me out. It is becoming a case of seriously deciding how many times I have the energy to battle against the tide before I give up. Given the size of the waves, Magic Seaweed was forecasting 5-7 foot, that process was accelerated.

I had gone with the intention of getting some shots of Marko stepping up his board and hanging over the end. I found him when I had given up all hope of getting back out and he gave me a two and I got a few more shots, probably not anything as exciting as he was hoping for.

This is the first time I have got out of the water completely broken. The issue was that I was super focused on ducking the waves and dint realise until afterwards that I had been shooting wide the whole time, which is a little disappointing as I was nowhere near close enough to the surfers and so the images have been cropped significantly. I think I am going to settle the focal length at 50mm in future and not dick around with it in the water.

The second issue is that for some reason I was shooting at 2500th of a second which is way to fast and I think why the clear skies are a bit noisy although the cloudy skies look cool, like in this one:

Batu Bolong Big Surf 11th December 19-6

I particularly like this shot with the morning sun reflecting of the surf.

Batu Bolong Big Surf 11th December 19-2

And this one of Marko is OK.

Batu Bolong Big Surf 11th December 19-15

I hope you enjoy the photos, please let me know if you have any feedback or tips for me and my surf photography 🙂

Martin Henley

Martin Henley

Occasional Photographer

Struggling to be take better photographs more often and to find beautiful ways to present and share.

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More Sports Photography From The Blog

Sunset Flash Photography. Canggu, Bali.

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Morning Surf, Batu Bolong, November 2019_-16
Batu Bolong Morning Surf, December 01st 2019
Morning Surf,
Batu Bolong
Canggu, Bali
Dec 01st, 2019

If you are only interested to see the pictures you will find them below, you are welcome to use these images in your social media especially if you could take a second to link to my Instagram account @_supersharp.

Getting to the beach was a bit of a mission this morning as it had been raining and the tide was super low but the good news for you my friends is that I made. I headed out a little later at around 8.30 to give the tide a chance to do something better and if I am honest I was more motivated by the breakfast reward after than getting in the water.

Its not all that pleasant at low tide for several reasons, clearly the waves aren’t quite as exciting, and there is seaweed and you kind of have to half crawl half swim to get out past the reef. Anyway, enough bitching – once I was out I was really happy. There were lots, some would say to many, friendly people on the wave with only one altercation that I experienced close up, so that was nice.

It feels like my focusing issues may be behind me as I have conceded defeat with the Dome Port and gone back to the flat port that was serving me so well previously. The Dome Port is actually for underwater photography and I am not doing much under the water anyway, because the sea here in Canggu is the clearest, I am not sure if that is because it is dirty of because of the black volcanic sand, either way you don’t see much. Also because you need the sun to be high in the sky to see anything underwater and I am mainly there in the morning or the evening, so that isn’t happening. I haven’t given up altogether, just realising that its pretty demotivating being in the water for two hours and ALL of the photos being out of focus. I intend to get on my bike and get to clearer water where it makes sense to have a dome, and I will put into practice all of the YouTube advice I have watched on that then.

I got some nice photos this time and three people asked for my Insta, which is nice, although only one person has actually messaged me 😕 

I am coming to the realisation that I may have exhausted the excitement of being at Batu Bolong. The first time I got in the water, about a month ago, it seemed daunting to get out to the wave, but now it seems like I need to find something more exciting again. Thats the plan for the next time I go out, to get on a shortboard wave, get smashed up a bit and hopefully get some more action shots.

I hope you Please let me know if you have any feedback or tips for me and my surf photography 🙂

Martin Henley

Martin Henley

Occasional Photographer

Struggling to be take better photographs more often and to find beautiful ways to present and share.

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More Sports Photography From The Blog

Sunset Flash Photography. Canggu, Bali.

If you are only interested to see the pictures you will find them below.If anyone were actually reading this photography blog they would be forgiven for being bored with the lack of activity, the lack of content and the constant stream of...

Cruel Sea, Surf, Batu Bolong

Morning Surf, Batu Bolong, November 2019_-16
Cruel Sea, Surf, Batu Bolong, November 2019_-16
Cruel Sea, Surf
Batu Bolong
Canggu, Bali
Nov 09th, 2019

If you are only interested to see the pictures you will find them below, you are welcome to use these images in your social media especially if you could take a second to link to my Instagram account @_supersharp.

Two posts in a day, I’ll bet you think that’s pretty special don’t you boy? Well actually I do. I am impressing myself with my motivation and commitment. This is what I have been wanting to do for so long.

And the video may have worked, if it has you will find it below.

So after splashing around in the shallows for a bit and waiting out the big swell I got the nerve, partly thanks to Nick, to get out a bit further to where the actual surfers were. And, I suppose I was rewarded with these  images so it was all worth it.

This was my first go with the Scuba mask as I had struggle a lot with the amount of water that was going up my nose and had developed a bit of a cough. There were a couple of issues: getting a mask and a hat on is a mission, I thought I had put the hat in my pocket when I finally gave up on it but now it is gone, the sea had it. The second issue was the mask fogging. I am now covering it in Toothpaste whenever I am not in the water and that seems to have done the trick. Actually, it is a much better solution than the goggles which didn’t ever feel like they were going to stay on. So that’s good.

I am not sure if I learnt much other then that. I felt like my positioning on the waves is getting better. I think you really want to be about 15 to twenty metres closer to the shore and down wave to give the surfers an opportunity to get up and see you, I think it helps if they see you.

It made a huge difference being around actual surfers rather then the crowds of beginners with their boards flying everywhere. If anything I felt safer.

I suppose the big lesson is to be a bit braver.

Please let me know if you have any feedback or tips for me and my surf photography 🙂

Martin Henley

Martin Henley

Occasional Photographer

Struggling to be take better photographs more often and to find beautiful ways to present and share.

Recent posts

Get This In Your Inbox

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More Sports Photography From The Blog

Sunset Flash Photography. Canggu, Bali.

If you are only interested to see the pictures you will find them below.If anyone were actually reading this photography blog they would be forgiven for being bored with the lack of activity, the lack of content and the constant stream of...

Cruel Sea Surf, Batu Bolong

Morning Surf, Batu Bolong, November 2019_-16
Cruel Sea, Surf, Batu Bolong, November 2019_-16
Cruel Sea, Surf
Batu Bolong
Canggu, Bali
Nov 09th, 2019

If you are only interested to see the pictures you will find them below, you are welcome to use these images in your social media especially if you could take a second to link to my Instagram account @_supersharp.

In the past few weeks something weird has happened. I have become the sort of person that checks the Magic Seaweed App to see what is happening with the tides and the waves and then sets their alarms for 5am to be at the beach for first light.

I have always wanted to be this sort of person, and now I am. What has happened is that I have invested in an underwater housing for my camera and I have been getting in the waves taking photos. And now I am posting some of them here – look at me go.

Today was my 5th or 6th time in the water and I am enjoying it enormously. There is a fantastic community of surfers here in Canggu who seem to be there most mornings and are mostly really friendly and really happy to have their photo taken. Not surprisingly they are also keen to see them and that has motivated me to actually sit down and edit and publish.

But, you may ask, what about the other four or five excursions? There are some cool photos in those too and I will be posting those in the coming days. What I actually intended to do was film the editing process in an attempt to make this more interesting and actually get it done whilst also sharing what I have learnt. I did that today but unfortunately Scrrenflow didn’t have permission to record my screen – so all I have is 50 minutes of me cooing at my screen which you can’t see. Actually I am including the video below, I am saying things that are interesting to me and I think it might be a good reference point

The major learning today wasn’t actually much to do with photography but rather more to do with the currents. I got brave today and headed out for the bigger wave which I think is called Batu Bolong. Up until today I have been pretty happy splashing around in the shallows with the beginner surfers. What I learnt about that wave is that there is a current that stops you getting there from the east, whips you across pretty quickly and then prevents you getting back. The wave was really nice today and the surfers were good, but getting anywhere near them was a mission. For the first time today I was thinking about the zoom length as yesterday I was way too close and way to tight to some of the action, that was less of an issue today.  I think I spent about 40 minutes trying to get closer whilst the surfers skipped past me, only I wasn’t moving much.

The result is that I probably spent the best part of two hours swimming today, without getting far, which I am hoping will make me stronger for the next excursion. I am so excited about this that it could be as early as tomorrow.

Please let me know if you have any feedback or tips for me and my surf photography 🙂

Martin Henley

Martin Henley

Occasional Photographer

Struggling to be take better photographs more often and to find beautiful ways to present and share.

Recent posts

Get This In Your Inbox

* indicates required


More Sports Photography From The Blog

Sunset Flash Photography. Canggu, Bali.

If you are only interested to see the pictures you will find them below.If anyone were actually reading this photography blog they would be forgiven for being bored with the lack of activity, the lack of content and the constant stream of...