Morocco - "The Surf"

The famous "Anchor Point" in Tagazhout. Surfer in the midst of a cutback.

Morocco has some of the best right hand point breaks in the world (water also stays relatively warm year round)... and in Taghazout, several of these point breaks happen to be located within a 5 mile radius of each other. They need a bit of a swell to break well, but if you stay there for at least a week during January or February, you're guaranteed at least a couple sessions at one of these spots. Recommend staying at Surf Maroc if you want to stay in a good location, have comfortable accommodations, eat great food, and be right next to the surf!

When I visited Morocco, the locals were complaining about the surf being "small"... but we still managed to surf head high+ waves the entire trip. I have to credit our surf guides Simo & Jo for finding us these waves. It wouldn't have been the same without them. Thank you!!
Also want to thank the gracious hosts at Surf Maroc!

View of Anchor Point from the car lot.

Chilling out on the rocks in Taghazout.

In Morocco, body boarders are respected the same as surfers. The doesn't seem to be any animosity between the two. Here we have a body boarder from Ireland (Chris) taking off deeper than everyone else at Anchors.

Waiting to make "the jump" at Anchors (timing is everything). Before I paddled out for my frist session, we saw someone that didn't time the jump too well... and was covered in blood. Not the most motivating thing to see before my first session.

The wave at Tifnit... one of my favorite spots in Morocco (not to be confused with Tiznit or Tinfit).

The "Trestles Wave"?

Looking down at Killers... epic. It was cool to see the swell lines form a boomerang shape as they hit the reef. I didn't get a chance to surf Killers, but it looked like it had great potential.

Just around the corner from Taghazout is a beach break called Tamri. This was a really interesting spot... because the wind could be blowing fully onshore at all the breaks in Tagazhout and still be offshore in Tamri. The beach break might look perfect in this picture, but it was challenging if you were surfing it for the first time... sandbars were constantly shifting and conditions were constantly changing (I just did what the locals did).

Looking down the beach at Tamri. 

This photo was taken on the way to the reef break at Tifnit. If you didn't feel like walking, you could take the donkey for 10 dirham (1 USD).

One of the surf mobiles. It was deceptively large inside the car.

Local fisherman at Tiftin.

Watching the Sunrise @ MAD

As I was en route to Morocco, I had a bit of a layover at MAD (Madrid International Airport). I arrived in the pre-dawn hours and proceeded to the One World Iberia lounge (wish I was here in the afternoon... because the complimentary wine bar looks incredible). As I was enjoying a cappuccino and some fruit, I noticed that the sky behind some the hills started to glow. I went over and took a picture (through the extremely dirty windows) right before the sun made its way over the hills. Good start to my trip!

Somewhere Over Central America

I love the giant clouds that form in tropical locations. Here are a couple grainy iPhone images that I took while I was en route to El Salvador.

Somewhere Over Miami

Over the last year, I've found myself spending a lot of time in the Miami International Airport (wedding, airplane transfers, etc)... and I've really grown to dislike it (especially the customs area). However, it's certainly nice to fly into. Here are some grainy iPhone photos that I've taken over the last year.

Somewhere Over NYC

Some grainy iPhone images taken from above NYC... it felt like the pilot purposely flew us over all of the tourist spots on this particular flight. Felt like I should have paid extra??

Somewhere Over the Gulf of Mexico

Taken somewhere over the Gulf of Mexico as I was en route to El Salvador. Love the turquoise blue water and fluffy clouds sitting on top of it. 

Maine Coastline

I took this photo on the northern most end of York Beach (in Maine) where a giant point sticks out into the ocean. I like to imagine that if the swell was big enough, came from the right direction, and the tide was right... a wave would break the entire length of the point. I don't think that this is actually possible, but it's fun to imagine!

Sunsets from 40,000ft

Over the last few years, I've flown quite a bit... and I always seem to be in the air when the sun is rising or setting. I'm not sure if it's because I'm looking at the sunset from a different angle (or because I've had a couple glasses of wine), but they are quite breathtaking at 40,000ft. Somewhat recently I changed my "seating preference" from aisle to window and started documenting the sunsets with my Canon EOS T1i camera or iPhone camera (whichever is more convenient to access at the time). This is a small collection of the sunsets/sunrises I've experienced... some of which I've already featured.

Low Tide Sunset - HB

This photo is best viewed at a larger size (suggest clicking on it directly). Low tide sunset at Huntington Beach.

Last Light

I took this photo on the day after Christmas in Huntington Beach, CA. The sun had just dipped below the horizon and the sky was glowing an incredible orange color. I definitely miss seeing these sunsets (gotta love how the smog enhances the glow a bit).

A Sunset In the Shadows

I was messing around with double exposures in Photoshop and came across an old image I took in Quebec City. It was late in the afternoon and the sun was at a pretty low angle. Therefore, the buildings facing west were starting to get shadows on their walls. I thought it might be interesting to add a sunset picture into the shadow... kind of two conflicting images: "Old Historical City" vs. "Surf City". Anyways, I think it came out pretty well... interested to hear what others might think.

HB Winter Nights

At "The Strand" in Huntington Beach enjoying the pleasant winter nights.

Fire pit at the Hilton Waterfront Hotel in Huntington Beach. Enjoying a nice dinner in the winter nights.

Palm Tree Silhouettes

The setting sun in Huntington Beach, CA. 3 palm trees line the beach. Love the gradient color of the sky.

Pacific Coast Highway - Golden Hour

When most people think of Los Angeles County, I don't think that this is an image that comes to mind. However, if you're willing to take a 30 minute drive (assuming it's not rush hour) up the coastline, this is what you find. This specific shot was taken at a view point over Pacific Coast Highway in Malibu. The weather was perfect and the sea was quite calm. When I lived in LA, I used to come up here a lot to surf during the summer time. The waves were fantastic and I really enjoyed the change of scenery. I had not been back in about 10 years... and don't think anything really changed.

Malibu Life

Cruising down PCH, my father discovered a little restaurant perched upon the cliffs of Malibu overlooking the ocean. If you're looking for good food, drinks, celeb watching... or just want to enjoy a nice view, I recommend stopping at Geoffrey's. These were a couple of images I took while relaxing for an afternoon glass of wine.

Golden Hour - HB Pier

I've posted several images already of the HB pier... so I assume that it's getting a bit redundant. Therefore, I promise that this will be the last one. I'm going to refer to this image as "Golden Hour". Right as the sun is about to dip below the horizon, the entire sky will glow a golden color. This actually can be slightly enhanced in California because of the smog/haze. The light reflects off of the smog and increases the glowing effect.

Pier Reflections

I'm always glad when a sunset takes place at low tide. It makes any image you take much more interesting because you get really cool reflections from the wet sand. This particular image was taken at Huntington Beach Pier towards the end of the day. The surf was quite good this afternoon... so I almost didn't come out of the water in time to gather my camera. However, the spot I was surfing worked better on high tide and was starting to shut down. Anyways, I thought these were pretty rad images.

Under the Pier

When I lived in Newport Beach, I used to surf next to the Huntington Beach pier about 3-5 times per week (one of the best & most consistent surf spots in Orange County!)... and never really had that much appreciation for it. However, after being away from it for 3+ years, I've learned to appreciate its uniqueness again. Here I am standing under the pier at sunset. What you don't see are the 30 other photographers with Digital SLR cameras and tripods surrounding me.

HB - Lifeguard Towers

Every county in Southern California has their own unique lifeguard towers. Therefore, when you see an image of a lifeguard tower in an advertisement or movie, you can usually tell what beach it's being filmed at ("The OC" never actually filmed any of the beach scenes in Orange County). These particular images were taken at Huntington Beach (in Orange County) right as the sun was about to go down.

The Real OC - Huntington Beach

Right after I finished college in Los Angeles, I moved down south to Orange County. I lived there for just over 3 years and really enjoyed it. I think people have a mis-conception of what it's like to live in OC because of the various television shows: "Laguna Beach", "Arrested Development", and "The OC" (did you know that one of the actors from the OC actually had to move from Orange County to Los Angeles to film the show?). Yes, some of the stereotypes are true, but it's all dependent on the types of people you choose to spend your time with... it can be whatever you want to make it to be.