plane bug + new lens

I knew that! That lady sitting next to me on the plane was coughing too much...

After a great first day in Maui in the water with a double surf and sail session, I'm now lying in bed with a cold and a fever. Oh well, could be worse...
Yesterday though, before getting really sick, I managed to sit on the bluff and test the new lens I bought for my Sony.
Check out the results, starting from Graham Ezzy in Maui for the Christmas holidays. Nice shirt/sail color combo.


Super gusty/offshore wind and what seemed to me like mostly a wind swell... at least I didn't miss anything epic (even though the pro always make it look epic).
This is Levi on his new Goya sails.


KP hitting the lip with board, sail and body.


This time, instead, hitting a clean aerial.


Mark Angulo doing his thing.


I like this one because it seems almost black and white with only the pink left as the only color. This guys is at Middles... how's the zoom?


Not a fun moment.


Here's a slide with a few more pics. Check the zoom on # 6 and 7.

And here's the 1.7 magnifying lens I bought (less than 100 bucks).


First quick feedback after one hour of use: it rocks and it's exactly what I needed.
The light was horrible, so don't be fooled by that.
The images are still sharp even at max optical zoom. When I dig in with the digital zoom I can get into skin pores and body parts (stay tuned for the first duck dive shots...).
It added a little weight, but it's still light enough to be carried at all times in my backpack and to be held by hand without the need of a tripod.
In other words, I love it. The Canon is going back as soon as I get out of bed...
Costo customer service, I'm coming!

Oh, a unexpected advantage that I didn't even think of: at full optical zoom, even the movies are now close enough. Here's a short clip of Mark Angulo (at Middles).
But I enjoy taking photos much better though, so don't get used to them...


As the weather map clearly shows, the strong offshore (can I add ugly?) wind will continue. That low on the left, instead, will send a big WNW swell around Tuesday. How big it will be in Maui, that'll depend on the amount of blockage the other islands will provide... always a very difficult thing to forecast.
Will I be well by then?


Checking the long term modelled maps, it seems that more big waves (this time from a more North and close source and with no much trade wind) will hit starting towards the end of next week into 10 days from now. God, I hope I'll be well by then!!!

PS. As a reader pointed out in a comment on last post, it seems that somebody in Italy read my comment about the lack of smiles (or more likely just shared my opinion and found a smart way of pumping up the business). This shop owner in Grosseto is now giving 10% discount to the clients who enter his shop with a smile...