TOP 10 SHOTS OF 2019 - @STAUGSURF - Surf Station Surf Report

Hey Everyone! This blog post is going to be about my top 10 favorite photos I captured this year. I have taken around 100,000 shots. Its been such an amazing year and I can’t wait til 2020! Read below!!

This was shot down south with Gavin Coluccio (@coluccio_bros). This day was likely the strongest swell of the year. The swell maxed out at 6.8ft @ 14 seconds, which is massive. This shot was taken during the incoming tide. I went and shot the entire day, taking just about 2000 photos. I love this shot because it is just a really cool shot. The foreground and background set this shot apart from others I feel like.

This next shot is of Caroline Marks (@caroline_markss). I went down south to Ponce Inlet expecting clean, barreling, fun conditions and what actually happened was straight onshore winds of 10-15mph. This was extremely weird because just to the north and south, conditions were offshore. I arrived there at 9:30am and I didn’t take a single shot until my friend Michael Dunphy came at around 12:30pm. After he came, Caroline and her brother Luke came. The shot below was the first shot I took of her. The reason I like this shot is, well lets be honest, Its Caroline Marks :-). But also it is a really cool shot and her board is completely vertical, which those are some of my favorite shots.

This is a shot of my friend Alex Hobbs (@ohgreatsea). I went down to Flagler Beach and shot with Alex. There were some fun left overs. I took this shot with a 16-55mm kit lens, which also adds to how much I like it. It represents how you don’t need expensive gear to get a red shot!

This is Parker Sawyer (@parker_sawyer). During the summer, Parker was one of the head people at the Surf Station Surf Camp. I photographed it all summer and one of the places surf camp was at had an amazing sandbar (SECRET SPOT). The rights would peel down the beach, it was so fun. We woke up early a few mornings and went out and shot at the SECRET SPOT. The swell was 2ft @ 8 seconds and the tide just switched, I was in the water and this monster set came (looked huge after not seeing anything bigger than knee high for months) through. Then some pelicans flew by and I took this shot. I love this shot for so many reasons.

This is Joel Luteran (@joelluteran). I went south with the Luteran family and we traveled around finding waves. The third place we stopped was Sebastian Inlet, which is where this shot was taken. I like this shot because Joel is in the barrel and the water color is amazing. I feel like the water color really makes this shot that much better.

This is Gabe Kling (@thor904). I went down to NSB during a super fun swell and shot for hours. Gabe came down and surfed also. One of the many maneuvers he threw was this huge backside snap. Such a mental move. I love this shot just because of how mental the maneuver was and the water spraying in the air. I love three types of shots. Big airs, huge spray, and barrel shots from the water.

This was taken during Hurricane Dorian and the winds turned offshore and the waves began to finally clean up. The people in the foreground add so much to this shot. If they weren’t there, it would just be a boring wave shot. Also the wave is HUGE but the foreground is what adds flavor to the shot.

I have no idea who this guy is, but I went to shoot one morning and the fog was extremely dense. I could barely see the water from the pier. I love lifestyle shots and that is one of the main reasons I love this shot. It is such a unique shot and I’ve never seen anything like it in St. Augustine.

This is Andrew Lands (@andrewlands_). He convinced me to come shoot at the pier one day and it sucked. The only thing that made it worth it was this amazing rainbow. It was so vibrant and it lasted for several minutes.