Damo Conway. Having Fun.
Still not completely happy with the workflow.
I definitely prefer the sliders in PS to messing with a curve, maybe I just need more experience.
From A Day in 2007.
Man I kept some awful shots back then.
Beach Walk
Ferg and Damo
Danny Boy back in the mix after a long time dry docked.
Sponsor Love, Damien Conway.
John McCall
Alex winding up
Damo, half way through a barrel I mostly missed because I got bored and caught a bodywave.
McCall hack.
Stef, should’ve gone left.
John again
Would have been so sweet.
See, end section of above wave.
Head in the clouds. Dan Skajarowski.
Stef Baz.
The boy wonder returns from the land of boardies and brah’s.
Didn’t take him long to get back into the swing of things.
All Day Session
They only really happen during summer, you can’t really call one longish session while it’s bright in winter an all day session.
It has to be ten hours plus of light to be an all day session.
The best part of those days, for me, is the drive home at night. When it’s just warm enough (or your still on an adrenaline kick) and you open the window to the pitch black country side.
Maybe meeting a few tractors with massive spotlights, making the most of the dry weather to do whatever it is they do on dry days (cut hay?). Maybe kill your own lights and drive by moonlight if you’re silly enough.
The air rushing by the window and blowing anything loose around the car.
Head still exploding with all you’ve seen today.
For once completely satisfied with surfing and already planning the next session.
Content.
But then the adrenaline wears off, you realise all you’ve eaten today was an apple in the morning, and maybe some wedges or a roll if you thought of it. Hopefully you got some unsalted water as well.
You start to drift off.
We’ve all done it.
It’s stupid, but you convince yourself you’ll be better off just getting home and then sleeping. No point stopping o nthe side of the road.
You’ll be grand.
Ok, find some good music. Something you can sing along to normally does the trick.
But one night Herbie ( my sentient mp3 player) decided to surprise me and picked a track I hadn’t heard before.
So this is a thank you to Herbie and Moby.
You saved my life.
Started watching series 4 of The Wire, still awesome.
Here’s a few from the past while, was trying to think of a story to link them but can’t.
We’ll start with a drop in. I’m loving everything that’s going on in this, most of the guys paddling up and over watching what the next one is going to do, except for Ruben getting that one last look in. And then Stef just going for it, already with an amazing barrel going on behind him, knowing that he’s going to shacked just down the line. That little glassy patch right in front of me. I love the way Stef is half in the wave still as well.
I know it’s pretty far away, but it’s kinda like something you might see as you’re paddling back out after your own wave, just Damo getting shacked (or just about to) but quite a sizey wave. Light was atrocious hence the B&W. this was actually a horrible session. It was my second time in the water that day and I’m pretty unfit at the moment and I was freezing. I’m not moving around as much as people riding waves so I tend to get colder faster. Or else I’m just a wuss which is more likely.
This is from the same session as above, before I got in the water. I just like the fact that the wave is so big that the two guys can fit in it above one another. It’s a weird scenario when you think about it, the fact that both these guys are in the water and Ruben is basically able to be looking down on another person. It seems so natural to all surfers but water that bends like this and goes to different levels is really an amazing thing, really goes against what we think about water everywhere else.
Damo again walking out across Crab on Christmas morning, just the two of us and it was smoking. Very similar to another shot I have of crab but that has two surfers on waves. I like the pulled back of Damo just going into the water on his own, if I was closer I think it would have taken away from the solitary nature of the shot. Crab has these great clints (or possibly grikes?) that lead the eye down to the water edge, then you might notice the surfer and then the wave beside him.
Just a big ass empty. I love being an Irish surfer/photographer because of the smaller crowds but it mostly means I end up with way way more photos of empties than action shots. For a bit of perspective there’s a surfer in the water on the right behind the spray. Pretty sizey.
Finally here’s Damo just dropping into a nice one, it was so quite just the two of us out this day. You can almost hear the hiss of the spray from the light offshore landing around you as the wave goes by.
Enjoy the weekend whether you get wet or not.
Just a selection of Damo’s airs
This first one was one of the first I got, I was so stoked until I realised that his front foor wasn’t on, perfect position and light. Nice and sharp, no droplets on the port just that leg.
But he gets better 
Here’s one that’s a bit too far away and a bit too splashy.
Then the final big one I got recently.
I’m pretty sure he actually landed this one, which is sick because it’s huge.
I’ve gone for smaller images because the full size images aren’t showing properly on all screens, so just click on the shot to see the full version.
I’ll try get a new layout setup at the weekend.
