Wish I could take photos like these!:

[jhain]

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/object/mavericks2007?o=8&f=/g/a/2008/01/12/mavericks.DTL&type=mavericks2007

[WannaJumpMyScooter]

1. you can

you just need a 1m lens, a dry place to stand, and the time to shoot and edit the thousands of pics you have to take to get ones like that.

go for it

[Blue_In_AK]

2. Right. I think it's the lens that makes the difference

I got some fairly decent surfer shots with my 200 mm lens down in California, but I was too far away to get the color and detail in the faces.

[ManiacJoe]

4. Yes, at that level it is all about the lens.

[jhain]

3. and a jet

to get to Mavericks on short notice

[WannaJumpMyScooter]

5. and one of these...

200-500 f2.8

[Dont_Bogart_the_Pretzel]

7. LOL

[jhain]

9. and how the heck

would I waterproof THAT?

Well, if you have it delivered here, I will work on it.

[DS1]

10. I saw a guy with one of those at the beach

I have no idea what he was shooting because for damn sure there were no surfers. Maybe he was checking out the topless beaches in France.

ba-dum-tiss

[WannaJumpMyScooter]

11. maybe he was overcompensating?

[DS1]

12. Doubt it, he packed it into a Subaru Forrester on the way out

and those aren't exactly dick-mobiles.

[ET Awful]

6. The best surf photographers are in the water with a waterproof housing

http://www.brianbielmann.com/gallery_surfing.html

You can't get shots like these from the beach :)

[jhain]

8. Great. Just great.

I'm going to be up all night. ;-)

#2 in the 'Waves' gallery is SICK.

[Ms. Toad]

13. Wow!

With surf like that, how does one manage to stay steady enough to get a shot? I have enough trouble holding the camera steady when I'm 30' under (and below most of the movement).