barrels

My take on Hurricane Arthur. /  by Nathaniel Harrington

It didn't produce hurricane swell until well after it passed the shores of Forida, but, I still got my 2 hour window of opportunity to see some amazing swell come in. It sat of the coast of FL and built on monday-tuesday as tropical storm Arthur, thats when we got our rain and wind. By Wed morning it had gone just far enough north to give us some chest to head high swell while basting us with offshore winds. Those off-shores quickly diminished the incoming short-period swell to a mere foot or two in just a matter of hours. Most people around here never even saw what Arthur had given us... 

I almost talked myself out of going to shoot photos this morning, I was tired, and I really didn't think that the winds would have cleaned up yet. The night before I was surfing 6ft 3 second-period swell with 20-30mph winds in downpour! I thought that there could possibly be some size left to it but I had no idea what I would find when I got to the beach, thats why it was hard to wake myself up. I usually get to the sand by sunrise about 6:10am, this morning I left the house at that time. 

I was walking the trail to the beach trying to listen for that distinct sound... CRACK, CRACK, CRACK... That's the sound I have learned to love here in FL. Well, I did hear it. My walking turned more into running like a giddy lil grom as I bolted to see what was making my favorite sound. I turned the last corner to the beach and got my first glimpse of what was going on, my only regret was I hadn't really touched base with any surfers the evening before. I had no one out there with me. It was just me and some lonely barrels just doing their thing.

And this is my take.

Three months in on the East Coast and I got to see my first glimpse of what this place can do. I'm excited because I know that this was a tiny swell, with a tiny window for surf. I'm really amped to see what a big one can do. 

 

Thanks for checking in! And a special thanks to ESM for the media support. They used a couple images, those can be found here: 

http://www.easternsurf.com/index.php?option=com_k2&view=item&id=1538:first-taste-of-seasons-first-storm&Itemid=109

 

-Nathaniel Harrington

 

40 Degrees of Thankfulness! /  by Nathaniel Harrington

First, Happy Thanksgiving! I don't know about you but this is my favorite Holiday of the Year! Just the name gets me.. Thanksgiving! Awesome. 

This morning I woke up here in St. Petersburg to a chilling 40 degrees at 6am. Grabbed my SPL WaterHousing, which I had to brush the dust off of..., grabbed my cup of tea and off to the beach! 

I arrived as the sun came up to see a wonderful sight, waves. Barrels none the less! The wind has switched from the howling on-shore to the glassy-machine-barrel-making off-shore breeze. First thought that came to my head was, "I'm so Thankful!". God hooked it up this morning.

I shot a lot of images as I froze in the cold air, chest deep in the warm water. Every wave was an opportunity for me to get my head wet again warming it up just to be greeted by the chilly bast out the back end. Yes, it was freezing. I shot for two hours, attempting to fill my memory card as fast as possible so I could feel like I had accomplished my mission of finally getting barrels shots again. 

Below is the outcome of a wonderful start to this thankful day. I hope you enjoy, 

Again, Happy Thanksgiving! 

-nh

More from Porter's back yard. /  by Nathaniel Harrington

I'm currently going through past images, gathering them up and getting ready to ship them off to a brand new Gallery in Laguna Beach, California. 

Here's a couple I found that I haven't put out yet..  Stoked! 

Central Cali Barrel. /  by Nathaniel Harrington

Central California Barrel bra. These mini A-frames were part of an epic trip to Northern California this last summer. 

Ben Classen and I went out to this super fun beach break after an epic morning of driving through Big Sur. The waves were on the smaller side and the water was cold.. but central california produces images none the less. 

De LightFull Morning! /  by Nathaniel Harrington

Here's A gallery of Images from Yesterday's Morning shoot at the Wedge.  

I was a little bummed out to find it overcast early, but then the sun peaked out just for about 15min or so, enough time to score some great shots! The size was there and the water was glassy, perfect conditions.  

thanks for looking. :) 

-nh