Surfing in Canada

[Shaner]

Hey everyone. Happy New Year. I've been out surfing and trying to take a few photos once in a while. I'm sad Santa didn't leave a 600mm lens for me but oh well. Here's a few shots I managed to grab while not surfing.
http://shanederingerphotography.zenfolio.com/img/v3/p1006835253-4.jpg
A spot I frequent on a decent size swell.
http://shanederingerphotography.zenfolio.com/img/v3/p596251866-4.jpg
I like this spot because you can get real close to the action. These shots will mostly be all out at 300mm.
http://shanederingerphotography.zenfolio.com/img/v3/p623212485-4.jpg
A gorgeous sunrise. I like getting out there early. Beautiful but cold!
http://shanederingerphotography.zenfolio.com/img/v3/p871859471-4.jpg
And one more...
http://shanederingerphotography.zenfolio.com/img/v3/p652209861-4.jpg
Hey everyone. Thanks for looking. There are some more at my site. www.shanederingerphotography.zenfolio.com (http://www.shanederingerphotography.zenfolio.com)
Also I'd love any suggestions on lens upgrades from my Sigma 70-300mm 4-5.6 to something that won't break the bank entirely.

[DoctorIt]

surfing in a hoodie... aahh, the memories of surfing on Cape Cod, MA in high school! Nothing like that down here! :D

your dawn shots are great, i love it when the light goes through the wave like that.

lens suggestion:
If you shoot Canon, 400mm f/5.6L is well under $1000usd, dead sharp, lightning fast focus. Look up some surf threads by gus (the sports forum mod) - he shoots with that lens.

If Nikon, look into the Sigma 100-300 w/1.4x TC, also sub $1000. I have owned that combo and it is a great setup on a budget, and will get you to about the same performance as that Canon lens mentioned above.

Unfortunately, you'll see $1000 is really the miminum for what you are looking for in terms of performance. Good luck and keep 'em coming!

[Shaner]

Thanks for the compliments. Yeah, surfing in a hoodie, snow on the ground = surfing in Canada.
I sould have mentioned what camera I use. I just got a D80 about two months ago so any suggestions on the lens would be great. I figure I'll have spend over a grand so that's ok. Hopefully less than 2g's. I'm worried about light and blur which is the most difficult thing because it always seems to be overcast and dark. Thanks.

Shane

[OrvSal]

I'm feeling cold just looking at your shots. The local surfers think they are cold here! I'm also using the Sig 70-300 and would like to get the Sigma 50-500, lots of good reports on that one but it still needs a lot of light to use. Looks like you could use a big buck 2.8 for those lighting conditions. Would a, better beamer, flash extender on a sb800 reach out far enough to help with some of those shots?