ksusa boy goes big time

Man O' War · Post by **Man O' War** » Wed Oct 12, 2011 12:19 pm

in surfline's article on fall coming to cali, notice the name under foto #1 of the 27-shot series

http://www.surfline.com/surf-news/calif ... ell_60966/

is this not our marcus bockman aka kneelingBROTHA?

Bruzer · Post by **Bruzer** » Wed Oct 12, 2011 6:15 pm

Way to go, Marcus! Your composition and timing is spot on. And again thank you so much for helping track down that great watershot Tim took of Susan aka The Aqua Girl - it meant so much to her that she had friends like you and Tim. At her Celebration of Life, I gave Ian & Evan framed shots of their Mom plus a wallet photo - none of us could say anything for 1/2 a minute. I was really stoked to see you headlining that SoCal feature. Bruce

kneelingBROTHA · Post by **kneelingBROTHA** » Thu Oct 13, 2011 2:38 pm

@Mark: Yes, that's me! I'm excited that you noticed my credit, I was really pleased with how that picture came out! And, I cannot thank you and Tony enough for that kneeboard; I rode it in the biggest waves I've ever surfed on any board (over the summer during our big South at Creek and a secret spot in the South Bay). It was an amazing feeling streaking down the line in big surf on the knee-ski!

@Bruce: I'll definitely let Tim know about the impact his photos had on you guys. I'm sorry for your loss, but it's great to hear that the photos helped out. Tim will surely be stoked to hear that.

And thank you for the compliments on the photo, here's the story behind it:

Before 5AM, I was awake. Restless knowing there was surf, I couldn't sleep. I texted a dawn-patrol buddy a few minutes before 5AM to see if he wanted to go down south to hit The Wedge. Sometimes we go bodyboard some waves at first light before the circus. However, he didn't text me back. Sleeping at 5AM--who does that? (Apparently, most people!)

So, noticing the stillness of the wind outside my window--and knowing that combo swell was in the water--I immediately gathered up my photo equipment to go to Manhattan Pier. I figured the sunrise and early morning light would be prime material.

I got there around 5:45AM, and started shooting in the dark, as my camera has great performance to around ISO 4000-to-ISO 5000 Just before first light hit, I could see barrels grinding across the South side of the pier. At that moment I knew that this day would have potential for publication.

So, I just kept shooting through 7AM, at which point I was back to noise-less ISO 100. Around 7AM, I noticed my autofocus was no longer working properly on my camera! I was shocked--and a bit worried.

So, I nervously switched to manual focus, and around 7:30AM, nailed the shot on Surfline.com. I shot until a bit after 10AM. I was blessed with the best combination of lighting and surf I have yet been privy to witness through a camera lens! And I got to see surfer Chris "Barrel-man," local on the South side of the pier, get between 4 and 5 priceless in-and-out barrels.

Apparently, they call him "Barrel-man" for a reason!