Crystal Pier Post

Cold Stroke Classic

2012-01-25T00:55:00.007-05:00

This year the cold stroke classic took place in not so cold weather. The water was plenty chilly in the upper fifties, but the air was mid sixties. Instead of biting cold however, the racers were greated with an unrelenting 30+ knot wind out of the south. While some areas of the course were protected others, such as the final leg to the finish, were fully exposed with large short period wind chop coming broadside into the races. Here are a few photos from the event. Enjoy!

Don't let this photo fool you. This is an example of a protected part of the course. This contestant was enjoying a 30 knot nudge pushing him down wind.

Back towards the finish contestants were dropping like flies as short period chop hit them broadside.

This dog's ears never felt so light weight and Tony Silvagni's hair was stuck like this for two days.

A contestant on his way to the finish brings the paddle across his body to back paddle in an effort to keep the nose of his SUP directed towards his goal.

Even the spectators fell victim to the wind with rouge SUPs lifting from the ground to attack! Good dad right there blocking the board from hitting his son.

MS4K

2012-01-04T01:28:00.004-05:00

Mustaches For Kids ILM Stash Bash photos are up in the gallery!

http://kehayaphoto.com/gallery

Learn more about this awesome fundraising charity at http://www.m4k-ilm.org/M4K-ILM_2011/Home.html

Waves

2011-10-06T17:07:00.003-04:00

The surf generated by Ophelia was amazing. Only problem was that it did not last very long. The morning was pumping, but the afternoon fell short. Oh well. Here's a photo or two to cheer you up if you missed the morning session.

Inside a nice tiny tube.

Jason Andre snap turn.

Sean Herman was air rotation right next to the lip.

Sean Herman in a little backlit barrel.

Surfers Healing 2011

2011-08-28T22:12:00.004-04:00

Surfers Healing was awesome this year! So many kids were stoked out of their minds. Izzy and the guys of surfers healing really give these fa miles a special experience that would never be passable without Surfers Healing. So happy to be a small part of that.

I finally got the gallery from this year uploaded. Check it out: http://kehayaphoto.com/gallery/

Kehayaphoto in the line up.

Little bit easier that shooting pros when you can stand in the shore break.

Four minutes

2011-08-02T15:11:00.005-04:00

So the problem with photographing lightning is... insert reasons here...

For some reason I got really lucky with a storm recently and was able to create this composite image. This photo represents four minutes of a summer storm unleashing it's fury on Figure Eight Island and the surrounding area. It was taken within 16 exposures and utilized 5 exposures to create the image in Photoshop.

Congrats to Jessica and Michael!

2011-06-16T15:50:00.005-04:00

The happy couple enjoying their first dance.

Congrats Greg and Tracy!

2011-05-18T22:38:00.008-04:00

Greg and Tracy got married on Friday, May 13th! I was privileged with photographing their wedding. They are off to the Caribbean for their honeymoon and probably having an amazing time. It was a long day of hard work and a lot of fun! Can't wait for the next one.

Greg and Tracy on the river walk outside Elija's where they had their reception. Love the old, wrecked tug in the background.

Death of a Camera

2011-05-17T19:45:00.004-04:00

So.... They all say you will flood a housing eventually. And I laughed. HAH! ME? never.... right? Nope. It actually has happened to me three times. All human error. Fortunately two of the times it was so little water that there was no damage. The last time though cost me a camera, a lens, and battery. I managed to save the memory card though. The camera took one last image before I hopped in the water. I have since replaced it with a 7d. :)

Just remember, attention to detail, it's a photographer, and well, any other professional's bread and butter.

The last photo of a trusty and reliable canon 50d.

The damage salt water causes is permanent. Lens still has salt and moisture inside, battery is corroded, and the camera body is full of salt deposits and corrosion.

Things in the Garden

2011-05-10T10:13:00.003-04:00

This is a great time of year to explore the yard, and little nooks and crannies around town for some photos. You will definitely have some amazing opportunities as animals and bugs are out and about. Here are a few from the last couple days when I saw something and couldn't help but take a photo.

A protective barrier of baby ducks.

Little guy decided to run away from home and hang out in a bush.

The monarchs are coming. A little milkweed does the trick.

Mothership

2011-05-02T15:08:00.006-04:00

A few nights ago the storm that killed over 300 people spawning tornadoes all across the South passed over Wrightsville Beach. We got some strong winds, but not a drop of rain. It was really strange. I was at the beach when it went offshore. It was like it had saved up all this energy and began unloading it all in the form of lightning. We never had any lightning on land. Just over the ocean. It raged for a few hours out there sweeping up the coastline. One of the best lightning shows I have ever seen. I could hear people off in the distance on their porches in awe of what they were witnessing while I took photos. Nature is so beautiful and so brutal.

The Mother Ship decending on Wrightsville Beach.

New Gallery Wraps!

2011-04-28T13:26:00.006-04:00

Check out the next bunch of gallery wraps I just finished. Hoping to get a few in Port City Java Oleander, Putting one in South End Surf shop, and hopefully the new bakery next to Lighthouse Beer and Wine. I'll be driving them around after lunch so hopefully they will be up by tomorrow.

9 new wraps ranging in size from 8X12 to 24X36. The long one is 11.5X54!

Coastal Carolina Airshow

2011-04-18T11:16:00.008-04:00

Went to the coastal Carolina Airshow the other day and brought the camera just for fun. Here are a few shots of the day.

Heavy Metal Jet Team was the big act this year. Here is a nice tight formation.

The scariest part of sky diving is when the chute opens pulling at your harness in ways you are sure will snap you right out of it.

Breaking formation.

Lucas Oil nice and low.

P51 Mustang buzzing the airstrip. Probably one of the most amazing sounding aircraft ever.

There are four jets in the photo.

P51 mustangs in formation.

F16 was the best in show. Loud, fast, amazing.

New Photos Up In The New Port City Java On Racine!!!

2011-04-13T14:54:00.005-04:00

Port City Java just got a new location on Racine right across the parking lot from Gold's Gym. first off I have to thank Sarah the store manager, and Megan the marketing manager for accepting my work. I think you will see the quality of the other art in this store is very good. I am super happy to have my photography along side the other artists.

I spent part of the afternoon yesterday and four hours this morning installing some photos around the shop. It was a trial to get the last piece, a 4'X6' Gallery Wrap of Heron Takeoff, on the wall. I actually had it up and was cleaning it when the wire holding the photo slipped and threatened to drop the entire photo! Luckily Ook has an 800 line with an amazing staff who helped me in securely getting this 25-35 lb photo mounted. I should also mention all the employees working hard to open the store also helped out a lot; lending me wire cutters and helping lift the photo into place. Thanks guys and gals!!!

The new store opens tomorrow, Thursday, April 14Th!!!! Stop by, grab a coffee, and let me know what you think of the photos.

Morning: the best time for coffee and to take a moment to enjoy our local wildlife. Have some sugar.

You find unexpected beauty in so many places; like this Passion Flower I found growing wild on an island in the intercoastal.

Sometimes coffee makes me feel like this.

Spring Time Weather

2011-04-06T11:23:00.003-04:00

Changes in seasons bring the best surf. Spring time is no exception. South winds blow temperatures up to the 70s while the North winds after a storm drop them back to the 30s and 40s and create some nice offshore winds. Yesterday was a perfect example. I went out with the flash on for the first time. Funny how the best photos were when I intentionally turned it off. Here are a few quick ones from yesterday.

Early in the session the tide was super low and the waves were breaking so hard and fast nobody was making the drops. Here's Jack Brandon going for it and paying the price as he rides the lip down.

Later the light got great and the flash was an unneeded encumbrance and the barrels got much more lined up.

Jason goofing off with this front side air. The flash actually did a great job freezing him in place.

The flash really made this barrel look nice and the motion blur from the lower shutter speed had a nice effect too.

Carnage. It was a six hour session. Sunburn, windburn, crusty salt covered face, dehydration, early stage hypothermia, and these sweet battle wounds on my feet from the Force Fins I borrowed yesterday.

Sandy Sweaty and finally a good break

2011-03-18T12:42:00.004-04:00

Got super close to a nice heron today. Not the most epic looking bird but I was within six feet for as long as I wanted to be there. Also saw two night herons. They are pretty awesome looking and creepy.
The night heron and his beady little red eye.
This reminds me of a Jurassic Park establishing shot for a huge Dinosaur.

T shirts

2011-03-17T16:51:00.002-04:00

So I made my first t shirt design a reality not too long ago and people really seem to like them. There are only a few left. I would have to think they will sell better in the summer. I'm hoping i can find a way to make a few more of my designs a reality. The problem is that I thought I could just do whatever I wanted. And you can. It's just that they get pretty expensive once you start using more than a logo on the chest area. About 3 to 4 times as expensive!

Here is what the first shirt looks like!!!

Azalea Triathlon

2011-03-15T16:13:00.005-04:00

The Azalea Tri is a sprint format triathlon that takes place each year on the campus of UNCW. Sprints are great because, well, they are shorter. It's a very different kind of race from a full tri. This year the weather was great. Nice and warm unlike last year's bitter, cold wind. The indoor swim at the UNCW pool provided a difficult lighting situation under dim, florescent light, but the conditions outside were a perfect blue sky day. I had some fun taking photos while Kate raced and it gave me some good ideas for the next time I shoot at a triathlon.

The pool start is staggered via time

Kate taking a big breath while keeping a steady pace.

Kate shifting on the straightaway.

Kate taking a turn

Kate running through campus in the last mile of the run.

Bad Day

2011-03-11T08:08:00.004-05:00

Ok.

So yesterday was pretty disappointing. We had waves, we had weather, we had it all and I blew it. I drove down to the beach to go shoot and couldn't get a hold of the two kids I wanted to go out with. No big deal. I decided to swim out anyways and try out the force fins my buddy Jason let me borrow. Instead of just getting right too it I chatted with Jeff at The South End Surf shop for a bit. I should have been getting my gear together because Jason was going to go surf. Instead I chatted, then went out to try the fins and lost a contact in a barrel. No big deal. Popped another one in as Jason was running out to grab some waves. Well, there I was in the parking lot. Not ready at all. My water housing was not ready, my flash was not ready, and I was wet, wasting time with a contact. I got it in and rifled through my bag trying to get everything out for assembly. Where is my flash sync cord? I don't know? I saw it in my bag. Take everything out of the bag and get salt water on it. Don't find the cord. The wind is offshore now and barrels are firing. It's cloudy, dark, been raining, I can't find my flash cord.... screw it. I'll surf. I grab my board and run out and start surfing. So I'm sitting in the lineup feeling stupid about my flash cord and frothing for waves. It's really good and I'm having a blast trying not to think about missing the photos because it's cloudy and dark. Then it happened. The sun started to poke out as it went down. The skyline got orange... then the clouds... then the most intense and massive rainbow I have ever seen began to form. Everyone was freaking out. Barrels were spitting. The sky was exploding and the water turned an amazing turqoise. I was just sitting there taking it all in for the longest time not realizing my error. Finally the thought occured to me that this was a once in a lifetime event and my camera was only a few hundred yards away. WHAT AM I DOING? I raced into shore as best I could... threw my board down on the beach with my 1mm hooded top and gloves. Running I pulled of my choking neck gasket and huffed all the way to my car. I grabbed the camera and ran back to the beach. The rainbow was over half way gone and I'm just sitting there desperately snapping shots. For a brief moment the sun bounces light off the cloud layer and reignites a far duller form of the rainbow as if to taunt me. I sulk back to the car and toss in my salt water covered camera. It dripped off my wetsuit and hair hitting it as I ran. What a waste. I threw the camera back in the car, grabbed my board and surfed until I couldn't see because it was so dark. FAIL.

A shadow of its former self.

Landing

2011-03-09T10:59:00.004-05:00

Funny how some animals are so jumpy. Then you see a heron on a stormwater pond near your apartment and it lets you walk right up to within ten feet. Argh. Well, I just love the way these birds use their wings. If it was always easy everyone would do it and it wouldn't be fun.

Otters feeling the springtime love

2011-02-22T15:19:00.003-05:00

Ah spring time. Things are heating up around NC and I'm not just talking about the weather. Pretty soon flowers will burst forth right along with the return of the bugs. It's great to be outside this time of year, and I have recently been able to get out and photograph some wildlife. I'm trying out a few new strategies for getting close and in one case so far some concealment has gone a long way.
Finding these otters mating was actually pure luck. A little patience and some stealthy crawling got me close enough to get this shot. It helps when the wildlife in question is making such a racket that your movements go unheard. I would have been a lot happier if the sun had come up for this one though.

Birds Birds Birds

2011-02-11T11:16:00.004-05:00

You know the thing about trying to photograph birds is that it's not really that easy. Here are four photos I like after about 4 hours of work and having not gotten "The Shot" yet.
Fluffy compact and warm.

OK yeah this photo was more luck than time spent but it still took 30 minutes to edit properly. "What you lookin at?"

Fly away. Sometimes you are just too spooky for birds to sit still and have their photo taken.

Dancer. Seems a little elaborate for an audience of oysters.

Patagonia

2011-02-02T17:56:00.005-05:00

It's very important to have a proper wetsuit in the winter time. It's doubly important for a photographer swimming in the water because you spend a lot of time ducking under wave after wave after wave. I decided to take a chance and invest a substatial sum into a patagonia R3. I wore it today with 1mm hooded vest, 1mm glacier gloves, and 4mm booties. It was very nice. The water temp is 47 and the air was almost 70 and sunny which makes a big difference
A foamy barrel
My new pati!!! Kept me nice and warm.

Burger in frames

2011-01-31T11:24:00.003-05:00

So I did a little experiment a while back. I had and still have a decent amount of frame wood and decided I wanted to take a photo from start to finish: An idea for a photo all the way to the final product in a frame and do it all myself. Well, to an extent. It's not like i grew the tree that made the wood and carved it.

I decided on two pieces of wood that were too short to make a frame of any decent size. They were perfect for a little project like this. I used their dimensions to create the maximum size window I could. This involved measuring out the length of each side while accounting for loss of wood in the mitre process. The problem is that each time you mitre the frame wood you have to cut off an additional piece in order to match the angle and the decoration on the wood. Also you have to take into account the small amount of wood lost to the width of the saw blade. The other problem I encountered was not having a proper mitre saw. I was using a back saw and a plastic mitre box. The box was damaged every time I used it by the saw itself taking chunks out of the guides. This eventually produced angles that were not true to 45 degrees. After this project I invested in a powered mitre saw that works about 1000 times better. Properly maintained it will never produce anything but a 45 degree cut. The mitre plastic mitre box it great for a kid or one project, but is almost useless beyond that.

After the frames were made (cut,clamped,glued) I then bought glass at the hardware store along with a glass cutting tool. Glass cutting is not easy. You really need a nice flat surface to work on and extra glass for when a piece does not break right. Even the pieces i ended up with did not fit perfect because of the original flaw with the mitre cuts. the frames are not true rectangles because of this initial mistake. If you don't get true 45 degree cuts, your whole process is going to be very difficult. Try putting a rectangular piece of glass in a non rectangular frame.

With glass finally sized I acquired burger for an early morning photo shoot. he was a great subject to work with. That part of the process done I worked my way through editing the photos and selecting the ones that would best fit the frames. Then using the dimensions of the frames I cropped the images to fit the size and printed them cutting them with a 1/4 inch white border to mount them.

The next problem was the matte. Cutting the shape to fit the frame was not too bad as I used the frame itself for a template and an exacto to cut the line. the hard part of matte cutting is the window for the photo. Using a special tool you are meant to cut out the box and finish the corners with an exacto. It's very hard to get this right. Just getting a straight line is hard let alone not cutting too far. then finishing the corners and matching the angle of the bevel is next to impossible. Mine ended up rounded and a bit wavy. I wasted about 12$ of matte board before I was happy enough to continue.

The next step is much easier. I applied acid free photo corners to the 1/4 border of the photos, positioned the photo on the matte, and stuck it on. With this all in place you can just use glaziers points to secure the matte and photo onto the frame. larger frames would require a backing board but it was not needed in this case. To finish it off apply some backing paper to the frame and hardware for mounting on the wall.

The things I learned:

Mitre cuts are super important. You must have reliable equipment to make them correctly.

Frame wood for photo frames with carvings and such must be cut to align the carvings which means you need more length than just the dimensions of the frame.

Glass cutting is hard but not impossible.

Matte paper sucks. It is very hard to cut and there is a reason people get paid to do this correctly. Professional tools are probably needed to get this right. the beveled matte cutters are not enough.

Without proper tools it is probably best left to professionals to build a frame and matte. The rest is fairly easy but readily available and cheap frames, matte, glass, and other needs make it fun to do it yourself at best, but certainly not affordable.

I still have frame wood and will be working on this process again but for now I'm sticking to the Gallery Wraps since they are a bit easier to build.

Burger got his stick. This frame gave me trouble on the glass and matte but still looks alright. I used a golf leaf pen that I sign my work with to paint the mitre joins to conceal exposed wood.
Happy Burger! I really loved this wood and was a bit sad I only had this little bit of it. If you click the image you will notice the mitres are very bad. The matte is not great either. I used my gold leaf pen on the matte to create a gold border for the photo on this one and it really made it look nice.

Sea Glass

2011-01-20T16:24:00.004-05:00

Sea Glass is just glass that is for one reason or another lost or discarded. It finds its way into the ocean, gets churned up a bit, and is washed back up on the beach. Beaches all over the world have these little treasures. Some get put under immense pressure and over time even warp, without breaking, to make some wonderful shapes. The glass is always foggy due to rolling around in the sand and water. Typically you can spot it right at the high tide line with other debris and shells. It comes in many sizes, shapes and colors. It wakes great jewelry or a decoration. For me it reminds me of treasure from a shipwreck when I see a piece sparkling on the beach.

A jar full of water and sea glass being hit by early morning light. All gathered from Wrightsville Beach.

A sea glass necklace I made from blue sea glass I found in Puerto Rico.

Snow Day

2011-01-16T23:07:00.006-05:00

The recent snow fall in town was a pretty rare event. There was even a day with good surf and snow still on the beach. Unfortunately none of the websites I sent photos too seemed to think it was a big deal. Oh well. Here are a few shots of some places around the beach. Enjoy!

Someone needs to bundle up.

The newest surf shop in town all covered in white.

Robert's Grocery. doing an imitation of a small town grocery store up North.

Mott's Seafood. Fish are definitely staying cold and fresh today!

We've got the beer on ice and the whine chilled. Lighthouse is the best place to enjoy your favorite beer.

Some people think Southerners don't have a clue about snow because everything shuts down. Not this breakfast house. They are still churning out hot coffee and pancakes for all the people who don't have to go in to work on this day.

Crystal Pier in a later interview mocked this snow storm and refused to make comparisons to anything the tropics has dealt it over the years.

The kids had snowball fights on the beach and reporters were there to catch it all. One brave guy was out knee boarding the tiny waves. Water temp: 43.3

Tony Butler was probably one of only a handful of people working. Still stoked.

The image of a baja themed restaurant seems slightly out of place covered in snow. Though the water of northern baja is quite frigid.

Pizza on ice.

The WB supply company shut tight and dreaming of summer.

New Gallery Wraps in South End Surfshop

2011-01-07T16:10:00.003-05:00

The new prints are located in the board room of South End Surfshop

Masonboro Mud

Ocean Isle

Lunar Eclipse Dec 21, 2010

2010-12-21T15:55:00.003-05:00

The full eclipse of the moon last night was amazing. As an added bonus there were at least 3 amazing shooting stars! One with a huge smoke trail. Hopefully someone out there got an image of the moon with the shooting stars. The bright shooting stars even occurred right around 2:41am when many websites and news orgs had recommended people on the East Coast take a look at the eclipse. If the eclipse and shooting stars were not enough Venus made a very dramatic rise over the ocean early in the morning. Check out a few images below.

Venus rises over the Atlantic Ocean.

This is a fish eye view of the full eclipse. The sky grew very dark except for light pollution from nearby Wilmington.

Here is a view of both sides of the moon while the eclipse was taking place. Makes you wonder what it would look like from the surface of the Moon, or what the Moon would have looked like if it were fully eclipsed by the Earth and you were viewing it from the International Space Station.

Here is a shot of the Moon totally eclipsed by the Earth.

Gallery wrap print in its new home.

2010-12-15T20:00:00.005-05:00

Check out this print in its new home. So excited to have sold my first print out of South End Surf shop!

A gallery wrap 24X36 inches of my photo "Crystal Swell" amongst a few other pieces of art.

Tony Silvagni Surf School Slideshow

2010-12-15T13:13:00.005-05:00

It was a great year at the Tony Silvagni Surf School here are photo highlights from the year!

PR 2010

2010-12-13T21:58:00.001-05:00

PR 2010

Nov 16th

Ah departure day. We woke up well rested and with days of home cooked meals in our bellies at Kate's folk's house in CLT. It was still dark and cold out, but it always is with early morning departures in the winter time. Something about a tropical destination when it's cold out just feels right. A quick run to the airport had us there with plenty of time. Everything took an immediate turn for the worse when Delta was kind enough to inform me that their baggage policy was actually insane. 200$ each way for the surfboard. Keep in mind my ticket cost less each way. Yeah, that's how dumb they are. I had to unpack everything from the board bag, rip out a stuff sack from my backpack, rearrange everything on the airport floor and repack it, then check my backpack. Kate's dad was able to come back and take the pole spears, surfboard, boogie, and bag for us. That out of the way we boarded our flight without a problem 2 hours later. At this point we were already hungry but surely we would have time to get food in Atlanta. Nope. It was straight from one plane and literally onto the other. They were nice to offer us food on the next flight for 5$ however they ran out by the time they arrived at our seats. Four hours. two cookies, and a half can of pringles later we arrived in Puerto Rico and immediately paid the absurd 10$ for a sandwich. Truthfully all of that was kind of fun for me though it may sound like hardship. Something about traveling has always excited me no matter what the obstacles were.

We got all our gear and secured our rental car. (Kia Rio). It was small but perfect for our needs and even ran well once the brakes stopped locking up after the first few miles each day. The two of us zipped straight out of San Juan to head for the east coast. Upon arrival at our desired campground near the city of Luquillo it was thirty minutes past closing. We trudged in the beach area and found two park rangers. One was about 250 and the other smaller, but with enough poundage in makeup and hair grease to match the other's unattractiveness. Both were enjoying a cigarette break next to their four wheelers and it didn't seem like anything was going on. This lead me to the assumption that it would be no difficulty for them to cut us a break and let us stay there as we intended. Closed. It was like a solid steel door. Any effort beyond sitting and smoking and talking was going to be too much for them. They did however recommend a place for us to stay! Las Palmas Inn just down the road. Defeated we ate at some overpriced Peruvian restaurant and headed to the Inn. When we finally found the sign for the place off the main highway it had a nice little slogan: “La Ruta Del Amor” Wow, I thought, this place is going to be great, that's a kinda strange slogan though and only 25$ for eight hours. That seemed like a strange amount of time to both of us as we traveled down the dark back roads to the Inn. Upon arrival the place was well groomed but dark. Strangely each room seemed to have a garage below it like a condo and all of them looked as if someone had thrown rocks through the doors. Some lady outside immediately started yelling “Touristas! Touristas!” when we pulled up. It was more apparent than ever as the lady came in sight that we were definitely at some shady brothel/secret hookup hotel. Wow park ranger lady, thanks. We reasoned that it would be in our best interest to head out of the area, quickly.

We continued down the road to Fajardo and drove through its windy streets following a blue and white sign with a bed on it and an arrow pointing one way or the other much as a zombie would follow a survivor. Arriving at a place called the Fajardo Inn we were mesmerized by the clean stucco building and well lit area. The place was legit and probably out of our price range. Kate walked in and asked what their lowest rate was. Out of some miracle of kindness, and probably because they had so many empty rooms at that time of year Kate was able to negotiate it down to 70$ for the night. A price I was more than willing to accept. We had a comfortable, safe, place to sleep with hot water, TV, A/C, and even a coffee maker. As a steamy pile of poo is to a perfect diamond the Las Palmas Inn is to the Fajardo Inn.

Nov 17th

We awoke to the sound of tropical birds outside. It was about 75 degrees out. We decided to investigate the ferry docks to see if we could acquire passage to Isla Culebra just off the coast. The ferry area was dead, probably in between ferries at the time, and a nice little place called Cafe Deliciouso was open for business with a nice sea breeze coming through the open windows. We walked in and got two jamon, huevos y queso sandwiches and fresh cafe. The bread they used was fresh baked that day and at 3.25$ it was finally the kind of price we were looking for. Extremely satisfied we utilized acquired information to find the “short lady” who directed us to sign our names in a guest book then knocked on a locked door to the ferry office where an official helped us book a round trip ticket for the next day. We were extremely happy because we had read that getting a ferry ticket for a car round trip would need to be done about two weeks in advance. With that set up we focused on finding provisions for the next four days camping on Isla Culebra and finding another camp ground for the night in the Fajardo area. A trip to the local Amigo food store had us fully loaded with hot dogs, camping chairs, honey and peanut butter sandwiches, water, cereal and immortal box milk, soups, green beans, and lots of other goodies like choc soy milk. Next we moved on to a campsite/beach to figure out where we would sleep that night. Another source who will only be known as “La Pimpa” a local cab driver at the ferry dock told us that at this particular campground/beach we could set up our tent late in the day and break down early and avoid paying the ridiculous 10$ per tent two night minimum fee. It seemed a little unfair since we were only staying one night. The beach seemed fine and we found free parking (lots of parking in PR costs 5$ per day) thanks to the gate guard at the pay parking. After a quick scout and a rain shower we grabbed a small bite to eat at a local restaurant on the edge of the road there. There were actually lifeguards on this beach for some reason with nice lifeguard stands. All the sand was covered in debris and seaweed from the recent hurricane Thomas which had also fogged up the waters. We decided to wait till closing to set up camp and took to an adventure until then. At the end of the beach was a rocky shoreline that was mostly impassable but a trail lead off into the jungle there so we just stared walking. Twenty minutes and one butterfly attack later we were at a beach around the corner, back on the trail and another ten minutes through atomic big claw swamp and we were at yet another beach. In total we saw two people. Finally after a hike down another beach we came back to some sort of civilization and turned back. Half way back and down the beach a ways I just happened to look up and glimpse a human form leap back into the palm trees and brush. Strangely it seemed as if the person had been all of one uniform color which of course I reasoned meant naked. We walked up and just before our arrival at the spot I had seen the person jump into two young men walk out chatting loudly wearing banana hammocks. They quickly submerged themselves into the water up to their waists and pretended like nothing was at all the matter. Which it wasn't really. Just odd. And also, yeah, some excited bananas. Gross. So we continued on back home with one stop to tear open a coconut and drink it. We rinsed off in the outside showers just after the beach closed down and the lifeguards left. After a short patrol from the park ranger we grabbed our gear and began setting up camp. I thought I had found the perfect place away from bugs but a mound of dirt under a tree turned out to be fire ants when I stepped in it. I killed as many as I could but still got about ten bites on my foot. Kate and I scrambled to move the tent and tarp while I complained a lot as the bites worsened. We cooked some hotdogs over coals and I laid down on my thermarest as it deflated below me onto the hard ground just after dark feet on fire. After a bit of calm night and bug sounds we hear and see the park ranger creep by on his golf cart staring at our tent. He did not disturb us however. After a bit longer it was time for the bars to get out and naturally you want to take a walk on the beach and yell and cheer in the water at night. Afterwords it's nice to enjoy each others company, loudly, in the lifeguard tower. nearest to Kate and I's tent. Though when some other couple walks by you quiet down for a few minutes. Around midnight we finally got some quiet and sleep.
Nov 18th

About 5am the old folks of the area take their morning walks and chat vigorously about whatever. This is good though because we had to pack up and get to the ferry. We decided that we needed another dose of Cafe Deliciouso and grabbed another breakfast before the 9am departure. As the ferry arrived chaos ensued. Cars flew around and jockeyed for position. As trucks pulled off they each bottomed out and scraped off the metal ramp. Visions of returning the rental car with a missing bumper danced through my head. When I worked my way in I backed the car parallel to the ramp and then slowly swung it on without a hiccup feeling very good about myself. The 2 hour ride to Culebra was a bit rolly but otherwise uneventful. As we pulled into port the island blocked the wind and we could see straight to the bottom of blue Caribbean waters. The rental car made it off the ferry easily and we made our way to Playa Flamenco. Henry, the campground manager, shouted “Welcome to Culebra!!” and threw both hands in the air as we walked into the office. He gave us advice on the best camp sites, told us how to walk a trail to the best snorkeling and tons of other information about the area. We were quickly aware that this campground was the best in all of Puerto Rico. Showers, clean bathrooms that flushed, areas to make fires and cook, campsites five steps from the beach, and fairly secure and away from other people. We set up camp, and found the WWII style tanks in a ruined state on the sand right near our tent. The rest of the day was spent hiking the beach as far as we could go. We got to cooking a little to late and had to battle a few mosquitoes for dinner but the sea breeze gave us a bug free place to sit and eat on a fallen palm tree. With only a few more fire ant bites, mosquitoes, and begging feral cats to make things interesting we got to bed early as always seems to happen when camping.

Nov 19th.

We woke up with first light and a fire and hot water for coffee. Some cereal and coffee on an empty tropical beach were the perfect start to the day. After cleaning the dishes in the taps of the giant water barrels provided we grabbed our snorkeling gear and headed to the path Henry told us about. It was at the end of the dirt parking lot and under a gap in a chain linked fence. Immediately the mosquitoes attacked and sent us jogging up the rocky dirt trail. The jungle was on each side smacking us as we went along. Some trees offered ½ inch thorns under their fern like leaves. We finally broke into a windy area and walked up to the peak of the trail at the top of a small hill. As we descended a deer bolted down the trail bounding ahead of us leading the way. We came to the end of the trail to a beach called Carlos Rosario and hid our sandals in some brush as we geared up to snorkel. There was nobody around as far as we could see. The only sign of man was the path we came in on and some mooring buoys just off the beach. We slid into the clear blue water and worked our way out. Unfortunately Kate's mask started fogging up right away. We swam for a while until she got too frustrated to continue. I was seeing all these amazing fish and coral heads, yellow tail snapper, blue parrot fish, puffers, tiny aquarium fish, colorful corals, and she was seeing nothing. We got back to the beach and I worked her problem out then we got back in heading the other direction that we had not been to yet. This time it was coral head right up to a sand flats. On the other side of the sand was a grassland. We dove down no more than 15 feet to the bottom, most of the time 8 or 10 feet and looked under the ledges finding all sorts of fish. One held a huge 10-20lb snapper of some sort just chilling with a smaller 6lb snapper for a friend. After that a spotted eagle ray coasted by and on the return to the beach we headed over the grasslands and spotted our first sea turtle. We approached but he flapped away a little wary of our excitement. By then it had been about two hours and we were ready for some lunch so we headed back down the trail to camp. After a quick honey and peanut butter sandwich we walked down the beach to find occasional head high surf hitting the beach. It was a giant closeout but we put on our swim fins and rode a few waves for a while. By then it was time for dinner so we went back to camp and prepared a meal over the fire again and enjoyed it on our favorite palm tree.

Nov20th

Good morning mosquitoes. The little guys love to latch onto our tent on the leeward side and await our morning ritual of fire making and breakfast. Our new no kitty camp discipline of folding up our folding chairs each time we leave camp and a strict no feed policy has earned us a reputation amongst the Ferals that our camp is no free ride. They have since moved on to more fertile begging grounds. That only leaves memorizing the location of each fire ant nest between common destinations such as toilets, showers, beach, table, cooking area, etc. Again we headed back to snorkel the waters of Carlos Rosario. Sea turtles, spotted eagle rays, and many more juicy looking alternatives greeted us again for another two hour session. After lunch we jumped in the rental car to explore some places on the map. Our first trip was down the road and to a place called Zoni Beach. The guide book we brought along suggested waves could be found there. Not in this case. It was windy and empty but a fun hike over the rocks around the beach area made it worth while. After that we headed to a place called solitude point. Once parked we had to hike down a dirt road the rental car could not handle. At the beach it was more cobble stones and sand. Not a person in sight, we worked our way into the water. It was a totally different scene than previous snorkeling. The bright colors of the reef were gone, the corals, and the friendly fish. Here was a series of rock ledges and brown or gray corals that made for a more ominous feeling with about 15 feet of viability. Off in the distance lurked creatures of unknown size and temperament but only in our minds. A few coral growing schemes loomed out of the water as we searched around for life. It seems someone is trying to regrow the reef there. Back closer to shore I began looking under the edges of the large flat rocks on the bottom and began seeing some small tropical shrimps and the feelers of a lobster too. After a longer swim out I noticed even more ledges and finally found where all the fish had been hiding. The evidence of sinker weights and hooks and mono on the bottom signaled this area as a fishing ground. With no spear to speak of I worked my way around enjoying imagining catching all the yummy things I saw. That lobster was on my mind but a stubborn sea urchin was not about to move for me to reach in and give him a try. Back at camp Kate went for a run and I decided to try the snorkeling are at Playa Flemenco. It was choppy there every day and the snorkeling was close to shore so I thought it would be fine and easy but not very clear. I was surprised to get some decent visibility but a cloudiness made it creepy and the sun was getting low. I hugged the reef wall as I progressed not twenty yards from shore and it began dropping down to where I could barely see the bottom. Finally it vanished and a strange sensation of being trapped from land by the shallow reef came over me. I continued down driving an increasingly larger number of fish ahead of me as I encountered them. From time to time I dove down to find the bottom again to maintain some feeling of perspective. After a short bit a finger of sand bent off into the reef making a sort of enclosed canyon. I followed above it to where it dead ended and swam down to find a large hole. Back at the beginning I took a nice breath and swam up the canyon and out the other side. The swim through was easy but a nice surprise after the creepy solo swim so far. After a couple more times through I continued down the reef parallel to the beach. It got deeper and darker causing me to increase my pace. I could glance up occasionally and see the channel in the reef just ahead. I pretty much powered out of there feeling naked without a trusty spear in hand and nobody around watching my back. Finally back on the sand my heart was racing and I walked up the beach thinking about doing it again.

Nov 21st

The day before I went all day without a fire ant bite. Today was the same story and there has not been a kitty sighting near our camp. This good luck just reminded me of the 5$ bill Kate and I found on the beach. We used it to get pina coladas at one of the beach vendors who are set up at the parking lot. Another trip to Carlos Rosario with the Go Pro camera attached to a piece of bamboo yielded some great shots of the reef and a Caribbean blue spotted flounder. We even tried another spot around the corner but it was just not the same. Not as much life and deeper waters without the grasslands. After a nice chat with Henry at the main office area he randomly let us stay in the camp for free for our last night. I guess he just liked us. After lunch I took Kate out at the Playa Flamenco snorkeling area. We managed the swim through and both got cut up on the reef. She was a bit too nervous after that and we swam back the short way to the beach. It was pretty hard to do, but we packed up as much of our gear as we could. That night it rained on and off. Our tent was set up on a small 6X6 tarp, no rain fly, and under an 8X12 tarp. It was just a bit too high up for the wind and rain on one side so I had to get out at night and stake it down.

Nov 22nd

5am. We woke up and got busy packing everything inside the tent as best we could. Next it was time to open up the tent and break camp. We tried to plan it out well and it went pretty smoothly except the tarps both ended up bunched and full of sand and debris. A good wind was blowing and cool temperatures kept the mosquitoes away. Or we just never saw them. It was a single awkward trip with all our gear that was left but we waddled down the sandy path through the camp in the dark with minimal hassle. Then it started to rain. And then it began to pour. I stopped for a brief second on a covered bench as Kate trudged onward to the rental. A few seconds later and I caught up to her with the rain just a drizzle. We piled and stuffed ourselves in the car and headed to the ferry. It was still dark when we arrived and the usual melee was at hand. It's fun when cars park on both sides of a one and a half lane street and a tanker truck is trying to get off the ferry. As light broke I managed to get on the ferry without too much trouble. We stood off to the side as other passengers loaded their vehicles. One lady in a FJ cruiser, not a common sight on Culebra, flicked her cigarette almost hitting a ferry worker, grabbed the wheel with both hands, gritted her teeth, shouted something inaudible, and reversed straight at the ferry. Upon impact and with generous speed her vehicle bounced up the ramp. In some sort of miracle she did not bottom out but practically brought all four tires off the ground at once. The dog inside probably experienced zero G for a few seconds. Riding back to the main island was uneventful and Cafe Deliciouso was waiting for us on the other side. We quickly decided on staying back in the Fajardo Inn if we could get the same rate as last time. Naturally they agreed. After unloading our gear we decided to check out the nearby El Yunque National Forest. Upon arriving in the parking lot we were greeted by a flat tire. I was equally impressed by the three lug nuts our four lug nut wheel had on it as I changed it out for the doughnut. The people at the Inn recommended a gas station nearby to get it worked on. We arrived and the two guys there patched it up in about twenty minutes and gave us a lug nut all for 6 bucks. Next we headed to El Yunque and immediately got lost. The roads are very poorly labeled and after a tourist trap area we went down the wrong road about ten miles before turning around and finally going the right way. Up the mountain the road became nicer identifying it as a tourist hotspot. We arrived at La Coca falls to find a number of people standing at the roadside attraction. The falls were sort of unimpressive seeing as how a road got us there. Further up and we decided to hike a short trail to another water fall called La Mina falls. Apparently people swim there all the time at the base of the falls. The trek down was wet and sometimes slippery. Kate started running a bit so obviously I had to as well. We had to stop a lot for tons of people to pass by. It was kind of a trap there. After about ten minutes of walk jog stop jog walk we arrived to find some rather loud people with companions on shore taking photos. It was a bit lame. Maybe if no one was there it could be fun but with a crowd of pasty people climbing all about and onlookers taking photos it seemed like it wasn't worth getting wet over. We ran back up the trail dodging the wet spots and slowing down for steps or too steep areas. By the end my legs were burning and my lungs were screaming for more air. It was pretty fun jogging through a rain forest even with all the people we had to dodge and wait for. Back at the hotel we decided to check out the pool area. It was some thing called Coco's Place. Down one hill we came over another small hill and looked down. It was a giant pool with water slide, lap pool, wet bar, tropical birds, play ground, tennis courts, mini soccer field, and put put golf. There was nobody around except one guy swimming alone. Not even wait staff worked there at the time of year. We explored a bit then rode the slide for a while enjoying it all to ourselves.

Nov 23rd

Another comfy night in the Fajardo Inn and we were ready to go. Today we prepared PB& Honey ahead of time and headed to El Yunque with jackets, food, and light packs of gear and water for the day. After a bit of searching we found the trail we were looking for Bano de Oro. I guess it means golden bath but I think it was more like golden toilet. We walked up an empty trail to connect to the main trail. Along the way we had to cross a bridge which was overrun with water from the previous day's rain. It was only about five minutes before we hooked up with the main trail after that. It was a mix of concrete path and gravel with covered benches in the jungle every .2k or so. After a wile the concrete ended and we were left with mud, rocks, and dirt. It was fairly easy going with not much incline. After a longer while of moving through the jungle we came to an intersection in the trails and the covered bench stops ended. So far we had seen no animals except snails on trees and not a single person. Higher up and the jungle changed to some different type and clouds moved in on the trail. The misty route was awesome and sometimes gave way to clear skies and views out over the mountains. After a brief stop we were finally passed by three people. A few minutes later we passed them again and made the summit. The top was not exactly what I was expecting. Think large antennas and concrete buildings for maintaining radio, TV, cell towers, etc. At the very peak was a small fort like structure that looked old but was covered in graffiti from local boy scout troops and delinquents alike. We worked our way down a bit along a forest road to a sign that pointed out a small trail to a rock outcropping nearby. After a long search for the trail in the wrong direction we finally decided the sign had to be near the path. Also near the sign was a large concrete microwave station. We looked around behind it to find some cinder block stairs going down and overgrown. Down the step was the path and the jungle became some kind of weird dwarf bent trees. At the end of the short yard trail was a steep climb up a few rocks that required actual climbing. At the top was an empty rocky and mossy area with a vertical cliff face on three sides. As we sat high up surrounded by mist and clouds cool wind whipped by trying to steal my hat. As we sat and enjoyed our sandwiches the clouds broke and the sun began to warm us. The hole in the sky drifted off quickly and began to reveal the true height of the rocks and a view all the way down to the blue Caribbean waters. A perfect end to an easy day hike we carefully climbed back down the rocks and gave it a jog walk back down the trail to the car through the jungle. At the car I finally saw a cool animal. A purple and blue humming bird was working its way down the flowers of a nearby bush but was way too fast to photograph. We left the park with perfect timing about an hour before closing. Down in town we stopped in a tourist trap to look at some local art which was fairly nice but too expensive. Back in the hotel we splurged on a huge plate of chicken nachos which were pretty amazing and there was even a nice local hot sauce to go with the unique flavor of the chicken.

Nov 24th

A lazy morning arrived and we checked out heading down the street to a local bakery for breakfast. We immediately wished we had been eating there every morning. Back in the car we began a long drive to the opposite corner of Puerto Rico. The windy roads often left little room for two cars and no center line meant people were always pushing the boundaries. We traveled over cliffs, through flats, next to beaches and took a break for lunch in the city of Ponce. The place in the guide book for food didn't exist any more and we ate at some overpriced tourist trap before heading out of town. It was about 3pm when we rolled into La Parguera a town known for excellent diving, mangroves, and a bio luminescent bay. The first place we tried to stay was in shambles undergoing some kind of renovations. The next place wanted 100$ for the night. Finally we got to a sort of run down guest house that was trying to get an absurd amount at 80$. This was no Fajardo Inn. Kate finally argued them down a bit but it was still way too overpriced to stay there more than a night. The accommodations were not that great and nobody was in the place so you would have thought they would have taken whatever they could get. We checked out the map and noticed that there were no beaches in town so we decided to drive about ten miles to a beach nearby. It was a weird drive through the country and then a small town. Goats were in the road and it made turns without any signs to say we were going the right way. After a bit we were at a calm beach with the sun going down. We just kind of milled about and went back to the guest house. We walked around town trying to decide what to do thinking the bio bay would be lame since we get bio luminescent algae at home. After a bit of looking around and finding the cheapest food we could, some gross fried bread stuff, we walked by a tour operator. She started selling us right away on the bio bay and it was only 6$ a person for a boat ride and she said we could swim in it. I figured it was something to do instead of having the place be a total waste of time and money. We went to the guest house and changed clothes, then made out way over to the dock at the appointed time. The moon had not come up yet and the dim dock lights lit up the shallows where small fish played. A few other people were waiting too and Kate and I were both wondering where they came from since the town seemed so empty. After a bit longer about thirty people came out of the woodwork to join our little tour. Almost all of them were Puerto Ricans and they seemed to be a large family. The tour operators finally showed up and one young girl immediately began crying. She was so scared of the boat and her family started laughing at her. It was pretty funny and the boat itself was fine but the family kept joking about how the boat was too full and would probably flip. It was listing to one side with a few of them being rounder than tall. We puttered through the darkness with running lights on heading past moored boats and mangroves. After a while we entered a small area between mangroves. It was weird but we could see houses close by and a few street lights. As I looked at the bow wake it seemed to glow a bit but I could not tell if it was light from the street lights or algae. Finally we arrived and dropped anchor. A man from the boat company zipped up his spring suite and hopped in. His splash was amazing! Not just a few green twinkles but a giant green glob of water surged out. He swam all around the boat and each stroke of his arms and legs lit up the water like a glow stick had been poured out of his hands. Kate and I were getting restless thinking only about how we were promised we could jump in ourselves. I think they were checking for jellyfish and after a bit the captain gave us the go ahead and we hopped in the water along with a few other people. For awhile Kate was just swimming around and showing off for the kids splashing up the water as much as she could. When I swam by underwater a guy on the boat said it looked like a glowing sea turtle was underwater. So worth the 6$ I was having a great time and then Kate got annihilated. A jellyfish got her in the face, down her arm, and then across her knee. Not good. And with the almost total darkness there was no way to have seen it or to even see where it went. I managed to get out unscathed and I guess everyone else did too but that was not the best way to end the swim or the day.

Nov 25th

We packed up around 6am still waking up everyday on a campers schedule. Hopped in the car and headed a few miles down the road to Cabo Rojo. Arriving at the south east corner of Puerto Rico we encountered a bumpy dirt road. The little Kia was no very happy with the pot holes and swerving and Kate started to feel a bit nauseated. It wasn't long till I noticed a similar feeling of my own but we finally reached the end of the road ready to get out and explore the area. On top of the cliffs there was a lighthouse. It was a really nice place and once again not a soul in sight. We walked around and explored seeing a large iguana climb away over a cliff edge. There was supposed to be a nice beach there too if we explored enough. It wasn't really difficult to find. Down on the beach with snorkeling gear in hand the water was way too cloudy due to wave action. We decided to just hike around instead. Even though the beach was supposed to be secluded there was a family there with all the necessities for a long day at the beach. We hiked on by and then up the other rocky end of the beach into some low scrub brush. Down around the rocks was a cool arch that had been carved by waves and we walked around and inside it for a while. It wasn't the most exciting thing ever but it was a nice place to be. I was pretty ready to get to Rincon though and finally see some surf. Back at the car both of us were dreading the drive down the dirt road. We both agreed it would be worth it to try and go a little faster, the whole skip over the potholes by going fast idea. I figured the Kia could handle it now that it had a full compliment of lug nuts and all. I gave her a little gas and off we went rumbling along but with none of the up and down lurching from before. It was actually pretty fun. The dirt road weaved through low brush and sometimes had water on each side. We had to slow for a car around one turn but were free to use whatever part of the road we wanted after that. It took about five minutes to traverse what had taken fifteen before and both of us felt fine. The car didn't even have a squeak of complaint when we reached the black top. Arriving in Rincon we checked into the Rincon Inn. It was the cheapest place in town for 54$ per night. Not a great deal but better than anywhere else. We settled in our room and decided to have a look around. Using our guide book we drove through the small town and down to a spot called domes. It was named after the green dome of a nuclear plant that never actually worked. It was a reef break with a little jetty built to protect the Nuke plant. The waves were peaking and warbling in about chest high. It was not exactly what I was looking for. We decided to try and find another place in town to stay if we could negotiate a better rate. We drove all around the hills trying to find another place in the guide book. When we finally got there nobody was home. We walked all round the place and it was empty. Without the DVD of young guns II in the living room on pause you would never have known anyone was living there. We left a note saying we would be back at 2pm. We drove around a bit more and got some lunch at a hill top bakery and then headed back to the hostel. There were a couple American guys there and they told us the place was shut down. We talked a bit and they even told me the waves would pick up in a few days. As for a room the place was just a surf school for tourists now but there was a place down the hill we could check. It was some place called Casa Verde and upon arrival the door was closed and a sign said they would be back at 4pm. Great. We decided to do some swimming in the ocean for a while and come back. Back at domes we strapped on our fins and swam out amongst the two or three people surfing. The wave was actually pretty fun to body surf but I mostly remember swimming out because ducking under the first waves you were only a few inches from the spongy reef below and the clear water would go dark as the foam surged overhead for a moment. We decided to snorkel a little there and walked down the beach to hop in nearer to the peak. I just made it out and turned to see Kate exiting the water. It was a bit creepy there but I just swam around trying to see something to eat. There was a cool little canyon about four feet deep cut into the reef but not much to speak of as far as life goes. I got out to find Kate with a red piece of sea glass and other treasures in hand. Our stockpile of sea glass was already pretty big from Culebra but it was obvious that there would be some good finds around Rincon too. We headed into a local dive shop to see if they had a pole spear. Some random lady who was running the place and was acting a bit weird was there and I started to look at a photo album realizing they were photos of her. We talked for about thirty minutes about her time on the island as a kid. Her dad used to free dive and spear fish around the area years ago and there were photos of giant 300lb groupers and massive lobsters he had caught. Apparently she was the only one of her siblings who was interested in spearfishing so after a while she got to go along. She informed us that large grouper could be take right near shore back in the day but not anymore. The fish were all gone hiding in the deeper water for the most part. After a while in the shop she told me a place to get a pole spear in town. We headed out and back to Casa Verde to see about a room. They were way overpriced and some random girls were there stocking up on beer and wine for a night of heavy drinking. Not exactly what we were looking for anyways. We headed back to the Rincon Inn passing the now closed store that had a pole spear. The next day being Thanksgiving I knew we were out of luck as far as shopping was concerned.

Nov26th

Thanksgiving morning. It was really no different a day than any other but I was definitely thinking about turkey and stuffing at home more than once. We had to downgrade to a dorm room from a private room at the hostel. It turned out to be awesome because they gave us an empty room and we now had access to a kitchen for cooking meals. We decided to head to a local rental place called Capitol Water Sports extreme rental. It was place run by a Puerto Rican guy named Alex. His mom was working the register when we came in. She was a very talkative lady. There was not a thing in the store she didn't have something to say about. She was super nice though and her son was coming back from a dive trip so we decided to wait. We even found some amazing artwork there. A guy named Grady had some work there that was made from wood, PVC, or bamboo. It was all carvings or statues but the reproduction was amazing. All of it was really really good. One piece was a Mahi made of PVC. The pipe was cut and shaped in to a Dolphin as it spiraled upwards. The head big and square of a bull. The best part about it was the color. It was a perfect green and blue with splatters of spots all over. Another was a half piece of PVC pipe that was carved out as an octopus. Again the colors and patters gave its skin a perfect color and texture. For eyes it had two blue beads that let light in and seemed to glow. Kate ended up getting a wooden seahorse that was carved and stained to perfection. I was more interested in the surfboards. He had a wide range and about half the short boards looked like they were in decent condition. It would only be 25$ for a day to rent them. I also asked about a spear gun and they had those too. Up on the ceiling were three tow boards. Alex, according to his mom, was a famous surfer and really well known. There were a few photos of him riding the tow boards in the shop on some nice size waves. He finally arrive a pretty tall guy with some super long dreads. I told him I would be back when the waves got better but I got a spear for the day because I had wanted to hunt some fish pretty much since I had arrived in PR. He even told me a few places to go right in front of his shop. The gun was a bit sketch and the shaft would lock in but spin around inside the handle. There were two really thick bands on it though so I was pretty sure it would do the job even though it was only about 28 inches. Kate and I swam out from shore and about ten feet out saw a sea turtle. I only loaded one of the bands on the gun figuring it was plenty powerful to catch a small fish for the two of us. Kate was wondering why I didn't load both bands so I tried to get the second even thicker band on the shaft. For some reason it was just the wrong move and I immediately pulled a muscle in my neck without loading the band. It was pretty bad but not severe and I decided not to push it. I also didn't was to give up and I knew that being in the water with a mask on would support my neck easily enough even if I could not really look left or right. We played around in the shallows for a while and headed out to the first reef. It was pretty clear and we could see the bottom. The reef was fairly brown but it had a few small rock shelves. The first thing I saw was a nice blue parrot fish swim at us. Kate dove down right away not exactly thinking about hunting I guess and the fish swam away. She was pretty much one step ahead of me and I couldn't get anywhere near a fish the whole time. Finally I mentioned it to her that she was probably scaring the fish and she got a bit angry about it and went back to shore leaving me by myself. The reef was very small and a second reef another two to three hundred yards and across a sandy channel was supposed to have more fish but I was kinda spooked out there alone. I decided to stay back from the main cluster of the small reef and then approach it to see if the fish would return without me there for a bit. It was only about five minutes and I slipped up to the spot keeping the gun right up against my body. I saw a little blue parrot right away and angled on the surface towards him staying relaxed but frustrated about having made Kate leave. As he headed towards me I used a little frog kick to close the distance and imitate a sea turtle a little. I was getting close and he decided to turn just about six feet in front of me but down near the bottom about eighteen feet away. I slipped down towards him matching his forward speed. Finally level with him I kept pace kicking slowly and extended my weapon from under my body. The fish did a classic turn left turn right and back and forth trying to keep an eye on me as I was directly behind it. Finally it made a false move and swung completely sideways losing forward momentum and closing the distance. It was probably not the best shot for the gun but it carried all my current frustration right between two of the large scales on the parrot. I shot him center mass towards the back and the shaft didn't even come out the other side. Luckily the barb was stuck in his skin and I had him securely down the shaft in a moment. With no stringer and no knife to dispatch the guy I tried to thread him on the spear line. The gun had a weird slide along the shaft though and I could not get it through the hole. I should have just bit him to death but I decided to swim him back to land and find Kate to try and get it on ice. Back at the beach I had no idea where she was and I was just sitting there with a little dead fish in the heat of the day not really sure what to do. I decided to hand clean it on the water away from the kids playing at the beach. It wasn't very hard to scale it and gut it with my bare hands but I ended up puncturing the intestines a little. Kate walked up just as I was finishing and we headed back to the hostel and threw him in a plastic bag in the fridge to eat later that night. Kate convinced me that we might need two fish, one for tomorrow night, and we decided to head back to a little marina. The rocks protecting it were the edge of a marine protected area. I figured there were probably fish there because of that. Alex at the rental shop had told me that tarpon also lived there because fishermen cleaned their catches in the area. That seemed to be a bit scary for Kate so I was on my own again. The great thing was how my neck only hurt half as much in the water. I swam out around the rocks. It was only about four feet deep though so I followed a small finger of rocks out towards some moored boats. I saw another sea turtle right away and just kinda hung out with him for a bit. The depth was probably fifteen to twenty feet and there was a bit of coral around and only tiny rock ledges. There were not a lot of yummy fish around though. I got to the end of the rocky reef and dove down just to get a closer look. As I came up I glanced left and a huge silvery fish came out of the fog, swam to about ten feet away, and turned sideways. It was a tarpon about 20 to 30 lbs just hanging out seeing what I was doing. As I looked over the rocks the fish came by a number of times sometimes five at once. It was pretty cool to see them and though most were small there were a few in the sixty pound range. After a bit I changed tactics and decided to creep a little closer to the edge of the marine protected area. I had to cover a little distance over sand but finally reached another bit of reef. I started seeing some little mutton snappers around and even took a shot at one but it only glanced his side. I creeped up on some small groupers about 1-2 lbs and some looked ok to shoot since there were no size limits. I just couldn't bring myself to shoot such small guys and I was not totally sure they were not illegal Nassau grouper or baby Goliaths since I couldn't remember the defining body structures of the two. I was totally skunked but happy to have the parrot in the fridge I called it a day. We ate the parrot that night. I baked it whole but it had a bit of a briny taste that made me wish I had filleted it instead.

Nov 27th

Mt neck was hurting pretty bad still and a few pills didn't really help. I returned to the rental shop and let them know that I would have to wait and maybe rent a board tomorrow. The thing that sucked was the waves were really good. Overhead and glassy lines were coming through at Steps, Tres Palms, Domes, and everything in between. It was a bit crowded and lots of drop ins but not like a bad day at Masonboro. I just took a few pictures of the waves and we found some sea glass. Then went for a snorkel to find the water was all clouded up. My swim fin decided it was time to snap as well. I was pretty bummed out but decided we should try and find a cool new place down the beach to explore. We ended up driving out of town and down a random road that finally reached the beach. It was only about a mile from the hostel but we decided to walk a bit. We found untold amounts of good sea glass and empty stretches of narrow beach. After a while we went back to the hostel and decided to snorkel again at the marina. I tried to duct tape my fin but the strap just slipped out of the tape. I really wanted to get video of tarpons but the water was too cloudy and my fin was barely staying on my foot. I was starting to feel my neck get a bit better though and was hoping I could surf the next day. We stopped at a coffee shop on the way back to the hostel called Surfs Up Coffee Shop and bought a few bags for our parents there. The guy working the place was really nice. He said he moved to PR at 15 and bought the place off some other people a few years ago. He even gave us free iced coffee kind of like a coconut frappachino he said he made up himself. Cracked out we ended the day eating a nice meal and lounging in the hostel living room.

Nov 28th

Woke up feeling semi OK about my neck and able to look left and right a bit. I popped a few ibuprofen and grabbed an awesome 5'11” at the rental shop from Alex. I headed out at Tres Palms and surfed some head to shoulder high rights at for about two hours. The takeoff was right next to a rock that would suck out of the water and the wave raced along nicely for about fifty yards on a good one. I caught a few nice waves watching the reef rush by through crystal clear water. I even kicked it once after falling and being pushed towards the inside but not hard enough to get cut. Sea turtles kept popping up in the line-up too and the pain meds were working well enough that I never thought about my neck once. I got a nice sized wave for my last ride and even though some long boarded dropped in on me towards the end of the ride I didn't really care. I rode the foam in and made a sketchy exit as waves swelled up on the edge of the rocky bottom with cobble stones rolling in and out of the sand. Kate was a bit bummed and overheating on the beach. We went back to the hostel and ate some lunch and got some much needed water. We went back to the coffee shop to get some good drinks. There were two guys there on computers and nobody around to serve us. I decided we should wait around because the coffee was probably worth it. I thought maybe the guy was just in the bathroom and that caused one of the guys on the computer to snicker to himself and glance at his friend. A couple walked into the place and stood there waiting as well. After about five minutes the bathroom door did open and out stepped the owner and some kind of gnarly looking woman. I just kind of figured it was his girl friend of something I it was kind of funny to me that he was obviously in the bathroom having a little fun with her. He looked a little sweaty and embarrassed and the couple immediately whisked him away into his office to talk in private. He did manage to shake my hand for some odd reason and all I was thinking was why is he not getting me some coffee, that's not very nice. The girl just stepped outside and sat down. Kate was kind of staring off out there and I didn't hear the exchange but the girl said something like I was just walking by and he asked me to come inside for a second and I don't know why. The owner walked out of the office for a moment and handed her something then went back to talk to his friends. We decided not to wait for him to emerge from the office and after a short conversation in the car I was, like Kate, of the opinion that the woman outside looked more like a meth head prostitute than anything else. He had probably handed her the money we paid him with yesterday for her services. We left Surfs Up Coffee and Prostitutes happy to never return. I had another one hour session at Tres Palms and we returned the board to head out of town. The swell was fading and we wanted to move on to some other adventures and a less expensive place to stay. We decided to make our way to a place called Nino's Camping on the edge of a lake. It took a few hours to get there and we pulled up to some birthday party. After a bit of talking we found out that we were in the right place. Nino's son helped up down the hill and past a hotel where camp sites were located at the edge of the lake. After setting up camp we got to chat with Nino who was an old Puerto Rican man that looked like a cowboy. He showed us around and let us use the grilling area as our cook site. With no hot water and a leaky toilet the place was not the best. However the fact that there were really no bugs there turned out the been true. It was strange but no mosquitoes, no gnats, and only a few ants. The place mostly had small lizards. It was an awesome place and I was wishing we had stopped at a Wal Mart and grabbed an inflatable boat to ride the lake for a bit. The birthday party ended not too long after sunset and we had mostly peace and quiet after dark save a few advertisement trucks with giant speakers blaring music and ads through the distant hills. All was quiet and dark in the tent until a loud crunch of leaves nearby. It ounded like a falling stick to me but then another closer crunch. Finally after Kate asked if I had heard it a loud sound of something on the tarp just outside the entrance to the tent brought an eery silence. Then WHAM! Something smacked the mesh of the tent door causing Kate to yelp. She grabbed the flashlight and tried to see out but it only lit up the inside of the mesh door. She slowly moved the light forward to get the majority of the beam heading out the mesh. As she brought the light to the mesh we saw a massive bullfrog staring at us looking as confused as we were. The thing just hopped away back into the night leaving us laughing in the dark.

Nov 29th

We woke up to an amazing sunrise over the lake. Packed up our things and had some coffee and cereal. With the last of our things in the car we said goodbye to the lake and Nino and headed towards the Arecibo observatory following his directions. We got lost once or twice but finally arrived at the main gate. The place was closed on a Monday. For some reason we had arrived at a special time of year where it closes Mondays and Tuesdays only. After talking to the guard it was obvious that we could neither get in nor even see the observatory from some other high point. We moved on thinking about just walking in anyways and tried another local attraction. It was supposed to be an amazing cave system and you could go on a guided rappelling tour. Also closed Monday and Tuesday. Finally we decided to go to a final place down the road another hour or so called the Taino Indian Cave. We arrived at the dirt parking lot our guide book told us to expect and paid the two dollars for parking. They insisted on letting their son guide us through the caves and a small miniature pit bull named Psyca escorted us along with another pup. The cave was a large open hole carved out of a limestone rock cliff on the edge of the ocean. As we walked along the rocks holes would appear and show that you were walking over a hollow chamber thirty feet down. The place was really cool and down a ladder were some ancient and some new pieces of graffiti. There was even a pool of surging water that connected to the ocean via tunnel. Above in the cave tops were giant bee hives and various passages went out to the surface. Our guide took us climbing up one of them and we popped out of a crack near where we had descended the ladder. You could just imagine the Indians popping out of the woodwork but apparently the Spanish slaughtered them in the cave. After the caves our guide took us down the coast where arches were carved out of large limestone cliffs that gave way to secluded looking beaches. The area had been used a number of times for Hollywood movies and filming for another was going to begin soon. It was easy to see why. The whole area was amazing and unique. Waves sent a constant spray of water over the area with onshore winds and the limestone rocks were extremely pitted and pointy. Our guide told us that local kids often play there and when the waves are big hide under ledges and let the water sweep over them. Sometimes when it's calm they jump the cliffs into the water in a few spots. One cliff top was marked with a memorial for a boy who was killed when a wave swept him from the top of a cliff never to be found. We hiked from beach to rock to beach until I finally asked him what the furthest distance was he had ever gone. He pointed down the beach to a nearby palm tree. We headed back down to the parking lot taking a shortcut through the trees and then some yards. He showed us another cool place near the cave where tidal pools were nice to swim in. The bunch of guys all related to each other were back at the parking lot and we talked with them for a bit before heading out. We wanted to make it to San Juan to find a place to stay and catch our flight home the next day. Looking in the guide book we decided on a hostel in Old San Juan. That was a mistake. When we finally go to Old San Juan our tiny rental car barely fit through the streets and there was literally nowhere to park. It was chaos and after a few minutes I just wanted to get out of there. We worked our way out of that rat trap and right into another. The car needed gas right away so I pulled over at the first gas station I could find. I parked the car not thinking about it walking inside to get five bucks of gas. I had noticed the crack heads outside but didn't think much about it since so many people were around. I was going back to the car when I head Kate yell my name. I rounded the pump to see a crack head standing next to the open window of the drivers side of the car and Kate inside freaking. The guy was twitching and acting nuts with a big fro, no shirt, tons of scars, and dollars and trash in his hands. I just walked up and the guy backed off a bit twitching all around being weird. I was pretty pissed off at that point because he had obviously scared Kate really badly. I put the pump in the car and started getting my gas and the guy comes back up to me spouting some nonsense about women wanting to see their men fight. Then he tried to say something about needing a favor to which I said only one word. NO. The guy tried to mumbles some half ass god bless you since he was out of tactics and moved on to the next person. Kate was still shaking inside and holding my video camera. She said the guy had leaned in the car and was looking all around and she grabbed it not wanting him to steal it. She couldn't get the window up because I had the keys and had just been yelling No, no, no, at the guy when he walked up. He had been saying all sorts of crap to her about how she was needing her man and he would be her man. It was pretty good for him that I didn't see him leaning in the window like that. We just drove out of there and didn't look back. I had never really wanted to be in San Juan and the days events just made me want to not be there even more. We drove a while down the highway and arrived in some place called Isla Verde. It was supposed to be the touristy beach of San Juan. There were big hotels and a casino there but right across the street was a condom shop. It was a strange mix and kind of stupid. We went all over trying to find a place to stay and tying to avoid being ripped off. It was way overpriced with hotels trying to get over a hundred dollars for the night. We were just thinking about how much we missed the Fajardo Inn. We finally accepted a night at some Isla Verde Inn or hotel and the place was kind of a dump but the lady at the counter promised continental breakfast. We walked a bit to find some dinner at night but it didn't seem very safe so we got back in the car and drove to a nearby bakery. Inside was like a magical oasis. There were pastries for miles and lots of people enjoying themselves. The food was a bit pricey but we had a nice sandwich and cake then called it a night.

Nov30th

We woke up and headed downstairs for the continental breakfast. I don't know what their idea of breakfast is but there was a pot of coffee and pieces of pound cake. Nothing else. We approached the man at the front desk telling him about the juice, and other assortment of foods and baked goods we were told to expect. He was baffled and then apologized and brought out a pitcher of juice. We just kind of stared and went down the street to the bakery to get some actual food. Breakfast in belly we packed up everything from crap hotel and hopped in the rental car. We drove down the coast away from the city. The buildings all ended and we passed by a number of cool beaches and through a pine forest. After a bit of driving around we stopped and played at the beach for a bit collecting shells and wading in rock formed tidal pools. It was eventually time to go and we gave away our camping chairs to a young couple on the beach. We brought back the rental car and grabbed a bite to eat before heading onto our plane. It was a fairly easy flight and a few delays in Atlanta gave us plenty of time to relax in the airport there while frantic people ran around trying to get home and cursing airline staff. We finally touched down in Charlotte during a huge downpour but made it home safe and sound very happy to be in a nice bed and away from San Juan. The trip was a great adventure and we saw so much in such a short time. I definitely hope I get to go back some day and camp in Culebra as well as surf in Rincon a bit more but the bitter taste of San Juan and a lot of overpriced traps has me thinking about other destinations.

Beach 2 Battleship Tri

2010-11-14T12:21:00.008-05:00

I didn't really take a lot of photos of the event, not at all like last years' event which I posted a album of on my website gallery (kehayaphoot.com/gallery). I was concentrating on the surf, but I had enough time to snap a few shots. It's always an amazing time and just watching a triathlon makes you want to do it. There is so much energy in the air!

Participants line the south end of Wrightsville Beach to start the swim leg of the race.

Participants enter the water for the swim.

Pain is pretty much happening all the time when you push yourself.

After hours of intense effort, finshing will make you smile!

Courage in Sports

2010-11-12T14:52:00.003-05:00

So i've been talking with some people and it looks like some photos I took at the Surfers Healing charity event in Wrightsville Beach might be used on CBS this Sunday! check out the details below!

RIP Andy Irons

2010-11-03T08:08:00.003-04:00

Andy died from Dengu Fever. http://sports.espn.go.com/action/surfing/news/story?id=5757369

This is a photo of Andy enjoying the premier of the surf movie Still Filthy at Red Dogs in Wrightsville Beach taken 8/12/2009.

New Print in S End Surfshop

2010-10-27T13:32:00.003-04:00

I placed another 24X36 print for sale in South End Surf Shop. Check it out next time you are in their board room.

A wave during the tropical season of 2010 at Masonboro.

Ghost Crab

2010-10-25T10:56:00.004-04:00

Finally got a good opportunity to photograph ghost crabs. Only had one lens handy but here is one photo I liked.

This ghost crab is fleeing the scene but ready to pinch. He was hiding amongst the shells trying to blend in.

Prints at South End Surf Shop!

2010-10-15T14:46:00.005-04:00

Check out some surfing prints of mine at South End Surf Shop across from the Oceanic Restaurant at Wrightsville Beach!!! This is the first place my prints have ever been on public display and for sale!

South End Surf Shop

Inside the shop.

One of my photos is above the drinks and under the surfboard.

Two small prints are next to the shoes.

Another is above the door when you leave.

The last one is above the entrance to the board room!

Bark in the Park!

2010-10-13T12:12:00.001-04:00

Bark in the Park 2010 took place on a hot and sunny October 9th. Check out the photos! http://kehayaphoto.com/gallery/

Jason Andre Alaia Shredding!

2010-10-05T10:50:00.002-04:00

Check out the amazing write-up Jason's wife did for ESM!

http://www.easternsurf.com/thisjustin_100410/

Mexico photos

2010-07-25T11:24:00.003-04:00

I posted a new album on my website gallery with photos from a surf trip to Oaxaca, Mexico. kehayaphoto.com/gallery

Also check out the video from the trip:

Learning the Easy Way

2010-07-09T18:58:00.003-04:00

So there are a few things you can learn the easy way. One is surfing. Just come out to Tony Silvagni's Surf School at the end of Hammlet Ave in Carolina Beach. The other is to have your housing flood while shooting surf school. Yeh, i thought it would never happen to me but it did. I got lax and didn't tighten a wingnut. I learned the easy way though since only about a half ounce of sea water got in and didn't touch my camera. Washed out and dried the housing and was back shooting in the water for the afternoon lessons! No harm no foul...

The look on my face when I saw the water in my housing.

Some guys from Spain sharing a wave

Madeleine getting some coaching on the wave.

6 years old and his first ride ever. Yeh he's smiling.

It's nice to have some help getting out.

Bird of prey

2010-06-25T14:46:00.003-04:00

I spotted this guy today at Crystal Pier after a surf session. He was sitting right on top of the Oceanic restaurant. Seems like those plastic owls don't work so well. Even the little bird harassing him didn't have any luck. You can see these birds throughout the summer feeding on fish in local waters.

A small bird swoops trying to encourage the Osprey to take flight.

The Osprey mocks the plastic owl.

Spearing

2010-06-14T09:14:00.005-04:00

I'm starting to feel like I've spent more time in the last week away from shore spearfishing than I have on land. I don't have the right equipment to get some deeper water shots and I have trouble equalizing. I took a little time to take some photos though during one trip. Here are the ones that turned out. There are also some videos on my youtube page: http://www.youtube.com/jkehaya

Relax

Light beams

Sheep Kill

Into the depths

New Vid

2010-06-02T12:23:00.001-04:00

Here's a few clips of the waves from the end of May.

Crack

2010-05-21T09:45:00.003-04:00

Things to think about when buying board shorts:

comfort
fit
rash protection
stretch
durability
style
and...
making sure your backdoor isn't showing when you backdoor a section.

Say no to crack. Click to enlarge :)

What do you see?

2010-05-05T12:53:00.005-04:00

Took this photo a few weeks ago; back when we actually had some waves. I immediately saw something totally opposite of my buddy Brian. Take a look and think about what you see then scroll down to see two interpretations. Click em to get a closer look.

It's just the ocean showing you the love.

Yeh, you thought you were gunna make that barrel till you got axed.

Moon Rise

2010-04-30T10:28:00.004-04:00

The night before last I saw the moon rise. It was crazy looking, orange, and huge right over the ocean. I headed out last night to try and photograph it. I came away with a few shots, but it was challenging because the camera's internal light meter always over exposes the moon. This was one of the fisrt shots i got while the moon was low. I really like the warped effect the horizon gives, and the moon looks huge. Unfortunately the time to expose the pier would have taken to long to get a clear shot of the moon at the same time. Some later shots i created a composite image in photoshop to fix this problem. Anyways here's the shot. It was about 15 seconds to expose the pier but 2.5 seconds for the moon at this point and it was moving fast.

Mexico Video

2010-04-29T11:02:00.002-04:00

i finally finished editing my footage from Mexico. Everything was shot in the Go-Pro Hero HD.

here is the link to the video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pj9eTtDrFGs

Sunsets

2010-04-22T16:37:00.003-04:00

Sunsets are great and all but sometimes they get a little boring. Clouds block the sun, or there are no clouds at all. Although this is useful for other types of photography, when these two conditions occur the sunset is not going to be very dramatic. What you really need is a local cloud layer, and the sun setting where there are no clouds. For these special occasions you often have to be in the right place at the right time. I'm trying to increase my odds by following part of one simple saying. "Red sky at night, sailor's delight." What this means is that the sun is setting into an area of high pressure. Although it is not certain, this means the weather should be sunny the next day. So it makes sense that in order to get a good sunset you need to be currently under the tail end of an area of low pressure. This will yield cloudy skies above and, clear skies just over the horizon. The result will (hopefully) be the sun set producing beautiful red or orange light that hits the underside of the cloud layer lighting it up. In the optimal conditions the whole sky from horizon to horizon will glow bright with color. Now you just need that to line up with your location. The same thing can happen in the morning for sun rises. It's often hit or miss, but I'm hoping to increase the number and quality of my sunsets while maintaining an efficient work schedule by not wasting my time waiting for a sunset that will not appear. Either way, hit or miss, you will see a lot of moody skies. Here are two examples, one hit, one miss.

A Hit. Sunrise at Wrightsville Beach.

Not the color i was looking for but a nice photo.

Evolution of a Waterman

2010-04-11T19:38:00.002-04:00

SO, i recently went out with my buddy Brian and did a did a few shots. The waves were on point and so was he. Check out the results on his blog: http://evolutionofawaterman.blogspot.com/

The inaugural Quintiles Marathon at Wrightsville Beach

2010-03-23T11:30:00.005-04:00

Woke up super early to take photos of the Marathon last weekend. Wave action has been lacking these last few days in Wrightsville so I figured the race would be a good experience. I came away with a few good shots. Running is not easy to photograph. The obvious shots are often pretty boring to me, but luckily the race started at sunrise so oportunities for different light and some flash work were there.

The start was at sunrise with just enough light so runners could see the ground.

The one guy waving made this photo. People are really having a lot of fun running these long distances.

My buddy Jake on course for 13.1 miles heading down Eastwood.

Motion blur is the only way to convey the speed people are going.

A line of people to the horizon pack Military Cutoff.

The first female half marathon finisher, Debbie Surface, seems to have a smile on her face as she enters the final mile. She finished with a 1:24:17.

Local girl Melanie Lenk came in second for the half at 1:28:16.

Here is the first female finisher for the full marathon, Christa Iammarino, flying through the final stretch in Mayfaire Shopping Center. She finished with a time of 2:53:41.

Kevin Lisska breaks the tape as the first full marathon finisher with a total time of2:40:19.

OBX Day Trip

2010-03-08T18:32:00.006-05:00

So, I went up to the Outer Banks Saturday night. Saw tons of deer on the drive up and woke up the next day to the light house pumping. Here are a few photos to wet the appetite.

This wave broke just as the sun rose.

Waves were spitting 5 per minute. This one had a bit of character.

Another wave breaking at sunrise.

About mid-morning, Brett Barley, recent Pipe Masters standout, right in the spot.

Brett again. This time it's just before sunset. Nothing like surfing all day when you know the waves aren't going anywhere.

Finally some waves

2010-03-05T10:38:00.003-05:00

It's been forever since we had waves. Nice little lefts started peeling in kinda unexpectedly yesterday though. Light wasn't too cooperative though.

This guy tucked in a small one but got a bit too much spray in the frame for my taste.

An empty one rolls through with a little glimmer of light showing through the clouds.

Dubbington!!!

2010-02-13T22:16:00.002-05:00

New album up in the gallery! I'm out in Cali shooting the swell but got to shoot my buddy's band: Dubbington. Check it out: kehayaphoto.com/gallery

DUBBINGTON

2009 Album Now Up

2010-02-05T15:06:00.003-05:00

These photos are a bit of a year in review. Most if not all were never published. Check it out: Kehayaphoto.com/gallery

Ahhh Summer

2010-01-30T10:09:00.004-05:00

Just got thinking about summer again with all this cold weather. Here are a few pics from last year.

Boats clog the intercoastal waterway.

Beer fueled crowds block out the sand on Masonboro Island.

The beach patrons pack the sand from pier to pier.

First Prints

2010-01-26T12:07:00.002-05:00

I've been working for a while to get up a shop on my website so people can buy prints of my work. Turns out some already want them :) These are the first official prints made for a client. All prints will be limited so when you see something you like don't wait!

Red Dawn, WB Sunrise, and a bolt of lightning.

Closer view.

Crane takeoff.

Another closer look at this massive 24X36 print on vinyl.

Linville Gorge

2010-01-18T09:58:00.003-05:00

Went to the mountains this weekend. It was icy and not too cold. I did a few really awesome trails in the linville gorge wilderness. Here are some pics from in the woods.

pano of a falls down in the gorge.

Kate on babel tower

Heading down cabin trail.

Linville Falls

Frames Frames

2010-01-13T14:43:00.004-05:00

So, My dad and I cleaned out my grandmother's outdoor shop. I found a bunch of old frames and wood for frames my grandfather left behind. Since nobody else wanted it I took every last scrap I could get my hands on. All of it was old and covered in dirt and dust from sitting in a shop for years. I spent the last few months cleaning the stuff. It's all has a legit antique look too because of the time it spent in the shop, and who knows where before that. Some of it was made in Belgium. My grandfather made all kinds of amazing things from wood in his shop in my grandmother's basement: Three story doll houses, rubber band guns, rocking horses, frames, tables, and more. It's really quite pretty material in my opinion. Anyways I finally cleaned all the frames and wood, and made my first cuts today to create my own frame from my grandfather's stash. All that's left is to glue it together and put on some hardware. It's the simplest piece I could find of the lot and although I'm not new at making miter cuts I didn't want to mess up a nicer piece on my first time. The wood is a motley crew, which will yield some very strange dimensions, but I’m looking forward to completing all the frames and mounting my pictures in my grandfather's work.

The materials and some already completed frames I cleaned.

My first frame.

Gopro

2010-01-07T02:22:00.002-05:00

So i have a second video up on my youtube page. http://www.youtube.com/jkehaya

Here is a frame grab from the video.

2010

2010-01-04T19:10:00.001-05:00

This little guy just wants to wish you all a happy new year.

GoproHD first time out!

2009-12-10T21:07:00.001-05:00

Took my gopro out for the first time and scored some fun wave. Now i just need to get it in some heaving barrels. Check out the video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ROVz849N8wE

Gopro HD cam has arrived.

2009-12-08T13:02:00.004-05:00

Just got my Gopro HD today. Gotta get it mounted on my board! Had a few problems with the MP4 files. Had to convert to AVI to edit in premiere and it's still struggling at 720p. We'll see how it goes after a few tubes.

The cam.

Back From The Outer Banks Again

2009-12-04T02:47:00.003-05:00

Just got back tonight. Kinda wierd going up alone. Camping in a storm was pretty fun. Got a few good shots. Still having trouble getting in the tube with people. Some people just don't like you in there with em on their wave it seems.

My little cave away from the rain and lightning.

Long range shot for a fisheye. The guy gets spit out.

MS4K

2009-12-01T16:24:00.002-05:00

So I decided to grow a stach for the kids. As you can see it's not super impressive. The official growing period ends Dec 8th too so it's not looking so good for me as far as having a good quality stach by then. But hey, it's for the kids so let's all get it done. If you want to donate to a good cause check out MS4K website and send in a donation! IT'S FOR THE KIDS!!!!!
http://www.m4k-ilm.org/m4k-ilm/Home.html

Here are the pictures of my awesome mustach.

Very useful when thinking.

As you can see it almost spans my entire upper lip. Almost.

And it's blonde... kinda wierd.

I feel like I look a bit like Einstein here. Not sure why. His stach was so much better.

I dare you to make a donation. I DARE.... YOU.

Holiday Flotilla

2009-11-30T12:26:00.006-05:00

26th annual NC Holiday Flotilla photos:
Wrightsville Beach lights up in festive colors for the holidays.

The dolphin has welcomed people to the beach for years.

A large party boat sits in Banks Channel awaiting the parade of boats and fireworks.

A boat goes by docks in Banks Channel during the flotilla.

Boats traverse Banks Channel to get a closer look as the fireworks begin.

A second blast erupts to mark the start of the display.

The finale started off with a huge explosion of golden sparks, and brought a close to a cold night of hot chocolate and friends and family.

Monster.

2009-11-20T15:55:00.003-05:00

Strange monster found in the marsh. Try to guess what it is before scrolling down for the answer :)
AHHH!!! what is it?

Dead Sunfish.

Leonids Meteor Shower

2009-11-17T11:18:00.003-05:00

Just a quick one. Woke up at 2:30am and drove down to Fort Fisher to check it out. Turned out to be a lot better than i thought. It's really hard to get a photo of a meteor. Needs to be really bright. I managed to come away with one though. Enjoy.

Here i have marked out Leo and Mars. The meteor is on the left and the dotted light is an airplane going by. Click to enlarge.

Ida/Nor Easter

2009-11-16T17:23:00.005-05:00

Hurricane Ida became a pretty little Nor Easter that even sent waves down to Wrigthsville Beach. Got a few photos, and finally got into a few barrels with surfers thanks to Chris Curry, Jarrod Covington, and their excellent surfing.

Click to enlarge

What a view.

Jarrod Covington

Chris Curry

Beach 2 Battleship

2009-11-10T21:47:00.004-05:00

Had a ton of fun taking photos at the race. Check out the gallery on my website for more: http://kehayaphoto.com/gallery

Mike rounding the corner about 1/4 mile from the finish.

50mm

2009-10-26T16:43:00.003-04:00

Tried my 50mm in my housing today. Mixed results. Only 5 guys were out so i just took a few then got out to catch some waves myself.

Wave

Hard to get sharp photos with dark cloudy skies.

Just really liked this one.

Bark in the Park

2009-10-19T16:45:00.003-04:00

Love dogs. Can't help it. Got some great shots at Bark in the Park a few days ago. Check them out in my website gallery. http://kehayaphoto.com/gallery

That's one happy dog.

Along came a...

2009-09-24T08:58:00.003-04:00

Probably an Orb Weaver Spider. It's About the size of a half dollar with its legs spread out.

legs crawling along

Up to a safe place to hide and feed. Don't forget a safety line.

Canes Preseason game

2009-09-22T12:22:00.004-04:00

So you can get your camera into a Canes game if you don't have a lens that's too big. I managed some decent shots... i think. It was a really fun game and i had a lot of great oportunities to get shots. I'm going to put up a gallery on my website of about 17 shots since they are better veiwed in a larger size.

This fight was pretty good.

Cole is amazing to watch.

TS Danny

2009-09-11T17:13:00.006-04:00

I chased TS Danny up to the OBX even though the waves were forecast to be great everywhere. It turned out pretty good and I even got my first 2 photos on surfline! http://www.surfline.com/surf-news/danny-delivers-tropical-storm-sends-fun-surf-to-east-coast_30145/

Unfortunately I worked myself so hard I got pneumonia and ended up collapsing in my apartment before finally going to the doctor. I'm finally feeling better though, and have done a bit a spearfishing and had a chance to get these photos up. It was my second time swimming out in surf up there so I definitely learned a lot. Hopefully I'll get some better ones next time.

S-turns doing its thing. Pretty drifty. I was too tired to fight it and kept having to walk back down the beach.

Another one out there. This guy air dropped and made the bottom turn. Right as he was set up for the barrel I realized I was too far out and missed it just as he pulled in. Definitely the best chance I had at getting a shot of a guy in a tube.

Lighthouse barreled all day. In the afternoon everyone left and the place got real empty.

Benny B would have had a stand up barrel on this one but a late drop resulted in a broken board. He got another and 20 minutes later got spat out of another wave.

Hurricane Bill

2009-08-21T19:44:00.002-04:00

It has begun!!!

Outside set from Bill

Life Rolls On

2009-08-13T12:59:00.004-04:00

Every year, the Life Rolls On Foundation comes to WB and makes it possible for people with spinal cord injuries to surf. Volunteers provide food, water, music, and especially in water support to make it safe for all the participants. Imagine you only got to surf once a year and you will realize how big of a deal this is for some people.

Miss Wheelchair NC getting a fun ride.

Fun with Crabs

2009-08-05T13:05:00.003-04:00

Blue crabs are one of the coolest, just because of the colors. This guy and me had fun for a couple minutes taking photos before I let him go. It's strange how they get really calm after you hold them for a while. He was actually living in a crab death pond so maybe he's happier now since I let him go in the waterway.

Mr Blue Crab

Mr Dead Crab in the crab death pond.

Raybans

2009-07-26T21:36:00.003-04:00

So Robert makes a pretty good model. I decided this one would be a good Ray Ban ad.

BLOOOD!

2009-07-18T13:50:00.002-04:00

Fin meets face. Pulling into a stomach high barrel just cause you are desperate to see the inside of a tube is not always the smartest idea. 3-4 days out of the water is lame.

"I don't got time to bleed"

Sunset

2009-07-17T11:49:00.003-04:00

Funny how some days you look outside and see rain. Then just as the sun is setting the rain stops, a rainbow forms, and the clouds explode with color.

It was fun racing down the wet road on a road bike to get this photo before it vanished

WB Sunset

GGGRRRROOOOOMMMMMMSS!!!

2009-07-10T19:16:00.003-04:00

When groms attack you realize you're not having as much fun as they are. Probably because the waves are head high for them and knee high for you.

Nash carving into one today.

Noah duck diving a wave.

My face looks better blurry lke this.

Skurfing

2009-07-06T12:12:00.003-04:00

Everyone loves to skurf. It can definitely translate to your surfing back in the ocean. I've never seen anyone doing the stuff these guys were doing though.

Tailslide? No problem.

Click to enlarge.

Air with a grab.

Rainbow

2009-06-30T12:30:00.006-04:00

So rainbows are hard to photograph. I took this one into photoshop to try and bring out the color better. Here are the results. Not super nice but not super bad.
Before

After

After 2

Mind Surf

2009-06-20T08:39:00.005-04:00

The waves of the past few days are all gone here. Only a tiny perfect wave was left. Can't help but imagine what it would be like if they were bigger.

Drainer

Impossible closeout

perfection

thin lip

mini spit

Timing timing timing

2009-06-17T09:25:00.003-04:00

Timing is very important. Note these photos that could have been awsome but my timing was way off. got a bit excited I guess.

Not bad but coulda waited a sec longer

Conner here is about to bust a sick air. There is no air photo. This could have worked in a sequence I guess.

Yet again a nice photo but a little early.

almost awsome but a half second later woulda made all the difference.

GL2 kit and underwater equipment for sale

2009-06-16T11:20:00.003-04:00

Time to sell the video equipment since I'm focusing on photography now. Gl2 is in excellent condition. Comes with 2x tele, wide angle, shotgun mic, filters, 2 7hour batteries, 3 tapes, cleaning tape, lens hoods, charger, manual, all cables, remote, and a porta brace bag to hold everything. 2000$

Ewa marine housing rated to 33feet for 200$

Ocean images housing rated to 150 feet 1000$

Ocean Images housing. Comes with 2 O-rings, instructions, weight, extra screws, and silicone grease. Front port has minor scratches that do not show up when underwater or for 50/50 shots. Otherwise in perfect condition.

weight and spare o- ring.

front port with minor scratches showing.

Ewa Marine bag come with silica camera dry, carrybag, and instructions. Front port is clear, but the bag itself is a bit dingy.

carry case and camera dry.

Shot of the front port.

These accessories are all in great condition. All glass is scratch free and clear.

The camera has some light scratching in some places on the body. Was repaired once and works perfect. The lens is clear and scratch free.

both the tele and wide angle are clear and free of scratches.

Lens is clear and free of scratches.

Side view

All the original cables, manual, battery, larger eyepeace, charger, and remote.

Porta Brace bag will hold everything that comes with this kit.

Bait Ball

2009-06-11T15:07:00.004-04:00

We've had a large ammount of bait around lately. Jumped in the water and shot a self portrait with some delicious looking menhaden.

Me and the menhaden.

Gymnastics

2009-06-08T17:06:00.004-04:00

I've been going to gymnastics in Wilmington for a while. Finally spent one session taking photos. A few turned out how i wanted :) It's so fun to go in there and play on all the equipment. Here's Shane, who makes everything look easy.

He can do a really clean layout.

Front on the tumble track.

Layout closer up and from the other side.

Summer Storms

2009-06-03T11:57:00.002-04:00

One of the many things that define summer around here are the afternoon thunder storms. Sometimes, passing just after dark, they bring us a beautiful display of lighting.

Waves for days

2009-05-25T09:54:00.004-04:00

The last few days there have been waves all day long. I swam out a bunch of times with the water housing to learn learn learn. It was a ton of fun. At one point I was pinned to the bottom in the fetal position by a wave haha. Got some pretty good shots too. There is a slideshow in the gallery up with more photos on my website: kehayaphoto.com

Brentley cutting back.

Alex rising to the top.

Right hand pocket. Why aren't you in here??

Alex bottom turning backside.

Ocean Rescue Training with Coasties

2009-05-14T14:13:00.004-04:00

Hanging out with the life guards is pretty sweet. Today they had training with the WB coast guard. After the training the coasties treated us to a ride over the shoals. We got completely out of the water a few times in that big boat.

Arriving at the WB station.

In the water ready to hoist a victim onto the boat.

JT getting pulled on board.

Alex getting strapped down.

Up he goes

This was one of the harder inpacts as we got air over the back of a wave that broke on the shoals in front of us.

Unfortunatly I was stuck in the back but i'm sure the guys on the small boats got a great view. They were getting air all over.

Everyone was relaxed and happy and wishing they could go out again.

Charelston, SC CofC graduation

2009-05-11T15:57:00.003-04:00

Spent a few days in Charleston, SC. It's a city of contrast. Although beautiful and historic, it's not very photogenic. Of course, I've only spent about a total of one week in the place. Spring time flowers are everywhere. The air on one street will be encrusted with jasmine and the next with the sewer. One block is uptown, the next, Projects. All be it the nicest Projects I have ever seen.

These flowers are why the air smelled great almost everywhere. Bad allergies beware.

The large amout of trees power lines and other infrastructure make the city hard to photograph. Also a lack of tall buildings to look down from doesn't help.

Had to visit folly beach. It's supposed to be one of the best surf spots on the east coast when it's on. Obviously not today.

New houses.

Nice old houses.

These are the projects one block away. Actually very nice, they are arranged quad style with playgrounds in the quad.

I was in town for my brother's graduation.

I took some candid shots with waiting for my brother to walk.

Here's another guy looking happy and relaxed before the ceremony starts.

Oh and good news, 2013 and it all turns around.

Lifeguard Tryouts 2

2009-05-04T15:18:00.004-04:00

I went to the second round of lifeguard tryouts yesterday and got some more photos. Swam out with my fisheye in the water housing to get some of the rescues from a different prespective. Even some fun waves out there.

I almost started drowning too.

Nice turn

Fins out

Water Housing Gets Wet 2

2009-05-02T12:58:00.005-04:00

So my buddy Nick was in town and since he hates surfing I decided to force him to go out and catch some waves. Really I wanted to work on the water droplets issue and get a few photos I knew he would love. Seems like i got the droplets beat! The waves were pretty awful, (small and choppy) but a few shots came out ok. It was nice to have someone who was not afraid to get close for once. Now I just need better waves and someone who doesn't hate water, salt, warm air, getting wet, surfing, fun, people, and puppies.

Nick is not concentrating on getting up or the drop; he is evaluating just how much he loathes puppies.

I see a bright future in butt modeling for this young man.

Pretty sweet looking bottom turn on the best lightning bolt I have ever ridden. There's serious magic in that board. Here's the guy that makes it: Craig Hollingsworth

Some flowers

2009-04-29T21:17:00.004-04:00

So the NC Department of Transportation has something called: The North Carolina Wildflower Program. It's purpose is for beutification of the state. These flowers are part of the program and are on the north and west side of the Wrightsville Beach draw brdige.

Ft. Fisher Aquarium

2009-04-27T13:17:00.005-04:00

Sunday I went to the Ft. Fisher Aquarium for the first time in years. While there I overheard a woman say, “Come on. Come on kids, we gotta get our 8$ worth” as she pushed her kids along from one exhibit to the next. Hmm, I spent 8$ for 3 hours of seeing local marine life that would be impossible for the average person to ever see without the aquarium.

With a 2 hour movie costing 7$-9$ in this town, I would say the aquarium is pretty cheap. I probably could have stayed there 3 hours longer if I was not on a mission to take photos. It’s strange that people take the aquarium and its inhabitants for granted. It’s oh so delicious inhabitants.

It was pretty fun shooting photos there, but the glass sure throws some challenging reflections. Maybe I can convince them to let me dive in the big tank some day to shoot some closeups.

The striped bass seemed as interested to look through the glass at me as I was to look at them.

I thought it was strange that the aquarium had ducks but he sure was handsome. There are a few other birds there as well just wandering around.

Alligators have kinda creepy feet.

A delicious school of massive spadefish made endless circles in the big tank while an old black drum scoured the bottom with friendly sharks, rays, morays, and others.

The rays loved to fly up the glass. This grouper was a camera lover for sure, always right against the glass staring and holding still for me. Also here is a bonnet head shark and a big old puffer fish.

In the reef tank lots of little guys darted around constantly.

This moray came right up to the glass and just sat there for the most part. Sure has a lot of wrinkles.

Jellies were my favorite of the day. They just have the best light.

These lobsters are huge. One day I hope I can get good enough at free diving to grab one but for now this is the only place I'll probably see them this big.

WB Ocean Rescue Tryouts

2009-04-25T15:59:00.006-04:00

Today over 40 people showed up to try out for one of limited spots on the Wrightsville Beach Ocean Rescue staff. Each person is trying to join a group that is well known as one of the best trained squads (physically and technically) in the country. The tryouts consist of a timed ½ mile swim/1 mile run followed by both an active and passive rescue. When Ocean Rescue director Dave Baker says, “do not stop swimming” and “if you have to puke, do not stop running” he means it.

People line up to sign in at 8am.

The Coasties take up position in case they are needed and monitor the swimmers.

The hopefuls are told what is expected of them.

Head Lifeguard Jremeny Owens explains the swim/run to the candidates.

Dave gives them one last pep talk before the competition begins.

The participants charge in!

Some surge ahead while others fall.

The first task is to round Crystal Pier before heading to a buoy at the water tower.

Guards watch from the beach in case anyone needs assistance.

After you exit the water it's back down the beach for a mile run.

A guard gives a quick lesson on rescue technique before the active rescue.

Dave and a group of guards who play the victims talk over their strategy of how much they can struggle during the active rescue.

Participants head out to save their victims who are screaming and thrashing just outside the sandbar.

Cruisers don't go well in the soft sand :)

Dave demonstrates the proper technique for the passive rescue.

Now that you've been half drowned by a "victim" in the active rescue it's time to drag some dead weight up the beach to the high tide line.

They make it extra fun by adding a little water weight to their wetsuits.

The guards all chat at the end of the tryouts getting ready to conduct final interviews.

Interviews are pretty relaxed, language skills, prior experience, a few jokes, check, check, and check.

It's all over around noon, the guards all pitch in and get their truck and PWC out of the soft stuff.

Music Downtown

2009-04-24T13:46:00.011-04:00

So I decided it would be fun to take some pictures of live music downtown, mostly because Michelle thought it would be a good idea. Special thanks goes out to Michelle and Ian for putting in a good word, and Hell's Kitchen and Sixteen Taps for letting me shoot photos in their bars. Also to Gypsy Fire and Will West for letting me take photos of them.

Check out their pages if you get a chance.

The Bands
Gypsy Fire
Will West

The Bars
Hell’s Kitchen
Sixteen Taps

Getting shots was actually really challenging, especially since I hate flashes for the most part. Just got to figure them out is all.

Hells Kitchen

Will West

Good Music, BAD projector screen! Hah, I was so annoyed with having a large white bar in the photos.

Will again.

Across the street at Sixteen Taps

Gypsy Fire

Yeh... err... you see what i was trying to do here.

Downtown Wilmington

2009-04-23T12:01:00.005-04:00

So I drove around all day trying to find the best angle to shoot downtown as a whole. A lot of legwork later and I got a few decent shots. Even made some nice panos with photostitch. I'll definitely be going back to get more sometime.

Cool old tug on the Cape Fear.

Downtown just before sunset.

Water Housing Gets Wet!

2009-04-21T14:57:00.009-04:00

So I got my SPL water housing last Wednesday. I finally had a chance to swim out with it for the fist time today! Plenty of water droplets :( but the worst ones photoshoped out. Apparently the "spit method" does not work on domes. Anyways here are the best six shots I got today. Drool away! Can't wait to swim it out in some good sized waves.

Looking through the tube

Gotta love light in the lip

Time to stall out and pull in... if you can fit.

Bottom Turn

Movin down the line

Andrew carves an open face.