Shawn Davis Photography - Blog

2010 Mavericks big wave surfing contest photos

Shawn Davis — Sun, 14 Feb 2010 16:00:17 +0000

The captain of the 28 ft. rigid inflatable boat I was riding on had departed from San Francisco at 6am to deliver the boat to Half Moon Bay. He headed under the Golden Gate Bridge and prepared to make the left turn and the run south down the coast. Through the fog he could still make out the giant waves that were breaking and preventing his turn. He proceeded farther offshore hoping to find the point where the breaking waves turned to rolling ocean swell. Mile after mile the waves were still breaking. After traveling 15 miles straight west, he saw his first opening and made the turn south.

Then getting in to the Half Moon Bay harbor was another feat. He had to wait for the right wave and then power down it just like the surfers, trying to out run it before it started breaking.

He survived the trip and we were able to get back out and watch some awesome surf. Some of the sets were absolutely monstrous. Click on the photo below to see the full gallery of pictures of the 2010 Mavericks surfing contest. Enjoy the photos!

On the boat for Mavericks surfing contest tomorrow

Shawn Davis — Sat, 13 Feb 2010 02:35:39 +0000

I went out on a boat for the 2008 Mavericks surfing contest and thought that doing it once would have been enough, but when I got the chance to do it for the 2010 Mavericks surfing contest, I couldn’t resist.

I’ve got a spot on one of the boats going out for the big wave surfing contest at Mavericks tomorrow!!! Stay tuned for photos.

Until then, click on the photo below to check out some of my photos from the 2008 contest…

UPDATED: Here’s the link to the 2010 Mavericks surfing contest photos…

Fall visit to Muir Woods

Shawn Davis — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 20:11:24 +0000

We had a visitor in town this past week and took her on a drive up to Muir Woods via the Marin Headlands, Marine Mammal Center, and Rodeo Beach. Having been to Muir Woods many times, I am always at a loss for new photo ideas that aren’t the same old picture of looking skyward at the giant trees. This time I found a leaf on the ground and tried to use it to get some different sorts of photos.

Yesterday at Fort Point

Shawn Davis — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 18:13:30 +0000

I stopped by Fort Point yesterday hoping to catch some surfers taking advantage of the first big swell of the winter season. But, the tide and swell direction weren’t quite right for surfing.

I headed up to the top level of the fort and got a couple other pics. The Coast Guard motor lifeboat was beading back in under the Golden Gate Bridge.

And a seagull was watching a sailboat regatta.

A couple other photos from this morning

Shawn Davis — Sun, 18 Oct 2009 20:04:34 +0000

While out at the beach watching the marathon, I found a few other things to photograph. This totem pole is looking out over Ocean Beach through the fog and seems to be saying “brrr it’s cold here.”

I really liked this coin operated telescope that seemed to be looking out to the other side of the ocean.

6th annual Nike Women’s Marathon

Shawn Davis — Sun, 18 Oct 2009 20:00:00 +0000

Today was the 6th annual Nike Women’s Marathon with around 20,000 participants. I headed out to the beach to catch a bit of the action. The stream of runners was constant for the whole hour I was watching. Here’s a shot of the runners descending the hill near the Cliff House. At the finish line, all runners were met by firemen in tuxedos who were presenting the finishing gift of a Tiffany’s necklace.

Congrats to all participants.

Lands End sunset after the big storm

Shawn Davis — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 03:33:26 +0000

Yesterday’s storm was the first big storm for this season bringing nearly 3 inches of rain to San Francisco and ranked as the 7th strongest storm since 1955 on the Bay Area Storm Index. Although the forecast called for the storm to continue on into the night, the skies cleared just enough to make for a beautiful sunset. Here’s the view from Lands End overlooking the Pacific Ocean.

Season finale 200 lap Enduro at the Petaluma Speedway

Shawn Davis — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 04:49:52 +0000

Last night, the Petaluma Speedway hosted their final event of the 2009 racing season, a 200 lap enduro. As the 39 entrants lined up on the track before the start, nearly half of the 3/8 mile track was covered with cars. The field was made up of a wide variety of cars including a Volvo, a Lincoln Towncar, 2 Ford Falcons, a Toyota Corolla, lots of Chevy Monte Carlos, and a bunch of others. Rules of the enduro were simple. No yellow flags. If a car died, it was left on the track for the rest of the race right where it died and the driver and co-driver remained inside.

Congrats to Danny Marsh (shown above) for his first race in his 1964 Ford Falcon.

Check out the full gallery of photos.

In memory of Bill Weir (US M9)

Shawn Davis — Sun, 11 Oct 2009 04:52:22 +0000

I was sad to hear about the death of bay area windsurfer, Bill Weir, last week. He had been battling brain cancer for the past year. Bill was a regular at Crissy Field for many years and a favorite of mine to watch. No matter if it was on his formula or slalom gear, Bill was always making the most of the conditions and having fun.

Baby photos

Shawn Davis — Sun, 27 Sep 2009 17:14:19 +0000

The goal for yesterday was to get some shots of the J24 National Championships that could be used for the J-Boats calendar. The sun was out after a week of fog, but the wind never materialized. What to do instead – baby photos. Congrats Meredith and Blair!