About Surf Images
Surf Images is Greg McCarthy from Oceanart Photography
Hi! Surf Images will showcase surfing images photographed by Greg McCarthy (me). The Surf Image website will host images that were taken of surfing events such as club contests and regional titles and as well, surfing sessions that go down around the beach on any given day. The images will feature surfers who do make it into the mainstream surfing media as well as those surfers who…..do not.
If you see an image of yourself or an image that you just like on the site and would like to purchase a copy you can. For details of how to purchase an image go to “how to purchase an image”. The images are printed at the same photolab that I use for my Oceanart Photo Gallery. Images are printed on their Durst Lambda 130 printer using Kodak Endura paper. The image prints are not printed using ink jet printers.
This Surf Images website will feature surfers young and old, surfing shortboards, longboards, bodyboards and will also feature other beach and surf activities. The images will, for the moment, mainly showcase surfing in and around the Cronulla and Ulladulla areas. I am based, for various periods, in one or the other location. However, from time to time as I get to travel to different surf spots I will also feature images from those travels.
I have been photographing surfing for over thirty years now, starting out with a Pentax camera I was given for my 21st birthday (yeah I am an old bugger). I now use Canon camera gear for all my sports photography, progressing from film to digital technology in early 2006 and use Aquatech sports housings for photography in the surf. At the moment my camera gear consists of four digital and two film bodies, all Canon. I mainly use an EOS 1D Mk III for surf photography with an EOS 1D MK II N as a back up. If I think the images maybe useful for my Oceanart Gallery I will use an EOS 1Ds MKIII (21 megapixels) or an EOS 1v film camera. I also use an EOS 5D (now upgraded to the 5D MkII) for camera board work (where I mount the camera on the board and trigger it with a radio remote) or when I need a lightweight camera for in water work such as when using the fisheye lens. I use Canon lenses ranging from a 800mm f5.6L IS USM lens and a 600mm f4.0L IS lens from the beach (sometimes with either a 1.4x or 2.0x teleconverter), a 300mm f2.8 L IS lens usually from a boat and in the water Ienses from 70-200mm f2.8 L IS zoom lens through to a 15mm f2.8 fisheye and a range of lenses in between.
In 1997 I was fortunate enough to win first prize in Canon’s Asia Pacific photographic competition for professional photographers. The image was of a surfer at Shark Island, Cronulla. What made this image so spectacular was that it was taken with a camera and fisheye lens mounted inside a waterhousing I made myself and bolted onto the front of the surfers board. The camera was triggered by a radio remote unit that I also made myself. That same year a similar image I shot from the same session also ran on the front cover of Tracks magazine's photo annual.
Over the last few years I have also been developing my Oceanart Photography Gallery. Oceanart specialises in images taken in and around the Ocean and has a large collection of fine art prints. You can view the images online at www.oceanart.com.au or at our Gallery (location details are on the Oceanart website). We also have a range of framed prints on display and for sale at the Strawberry Fair café in the Mall at Cronulla.
This site, from time to time, will also feature video action shot around the same locations that I will be focusing on for the still images.
I hope you enjoy the images as they appear on this site and don't forget to check us out regularly as you never know...... you might just spot youself or some of your mates.