l am a photographer who has made a few shots of surfers.l am told that some of the picturesare outstanding and l would like to practice more on good surfers with good waves.

l think that surfers must read weather reports and check wind, tide and wave information to decide when to go to the beach.Perhaps they check other things as well.

l go to nearby surf spots and l find that sometimes there are many people surfing and sometimes not.

l live near Pismo Beach California and the pier there is a wonderful spot to take pictures of the surfers in the water.l like that spot, but l could also go a few miles up and down the coast for this.

The bottom line:how does one know when there will be good surf at a particular place that will attract surfers?

l will be happy to send an example of my photo work to those who send email addresses.

Thanks in advance.

Jim

Take a trip to Oahu on the north shore at spots like Waimea Bay and Pipeline. Or go to teauphoo, Tahiti.

Find out which tide works best for that beach, and go during that tide - the surfers will be on it. Wave tables kind of explain themselves: whenever swell comes your way, you can pretty much bet there will be waves, and therefore surfers, if the wind is offshore.

Go to surfline.com and check the surf reports for different surf spots near you. Then you will be able to choose where to go take pictures.

The Surfboard Man
http://thesurfboardman.com/

wavewatch.com is a great website that will give you up to the minute surf forecasting. There is one page built specifically for your area. Unlike Surfline, there is no need for a membership to use this website.

http://wavewatch.com/

Cheat and check the cameras and reports on Surfline.com. Find out who the standout surfers are for your break and hook up with them. Have them call you when it is firing so you know when and where to be.

To get a little added publicity see if some local businesses that surfers frequent (surf shops, coffee houses, etc) will let you put up some pictures with business cards, that way if someone wants to do a photo shoot they have a number to call.