The end of the summer is fast approaching, but I managed to make one last pilgrimage to Pacific Beach, CA this passed weekend to catch the last of the sun's warmth. During my stay, I ventured down to one of my favorite haunts, Pacific Beach, and found myself walking around Belmont Park. This is where I was introduced to something that I have wanted to try for years...flow boarding. I've been a surfer most of my life, and I had heard good things, but aside from the occasional "cruise ship" brochure, I have never actually seen a "flowboarding" set-up. I admitt that I was impressed, and of course I had to try it! I won't bore you all with the photos captured OF me actually attempting to "board" - let's just say that it's much more difficult that it looks, and a flow boarding champion, I am not - but after getting tossed through the big wave a few too many times I decided to pull out the camera and capture some images. It was a "Lensbaby only" weekend for me in San Diego, so my camera was equipped with the Composer Pro and Sweet 35 optic. I managed to position myself to capture a few good shots of the "pros" coming to practice as afternoon turned to evening.
An aperture of 8 allowed me to capture a decent sized sweet spot, while still maintaining the signature Lensbaby blur at the edges of the wave. This particular boarder made me wish that I had a little more time to spend learning how to actually do more than stand up for 60 seconds before getting tossed through the barrel of the wave.
A nice splash to all of the onlookers waiting in line for their turn on the wave, which is the only FlowBarrel in the United States. Everyone from tourists to gold medalists have tried thier luck at riding this endless wave, which is the closest man-made simulation of Hawaii's famous Bonzai Pipeline reef break. The sheer power of 100,000 gallons of water per minute being pumped beneath you to create this 10 foot wave is quite incredible to watch...and to ride.
Some riders have honed their skills to the point that they are able to do some pretty amazing aerial tricks, that are a bit of a cross between skateboarding, snowboarding and surfing.
...and with a cross back over the front of the wave and a splash of diamonds, my session was finished. Don't think I'm not already planning my next adventure to Belmont Park and the Pacific Beach "Wave House" for another flow boarding adventure...but it may have to wait until next year; snowboarding season is almost here, after all!