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Cellpic Sunday – The Kite Surfer

Kite surfing on a stormy day.

A note to my regular commenters: It appears the SPAM filter on my site has gotten extra critical in determining what is SPAM and what isn’t. I noticed a few posts from regular commenters that ended up in SPAM during my usual monthly clean-out. I’ll check the filter more often now that I see that it is being extra selective. I do appreciate when a reader takes the time to comment, and I always respond.

Emerald Isle, North Carolina.

On New Year’s Day, we embarked on a two-week January escape to Emerald Isle, a charming barrier island situated on Bogue Banks, just south of the renowned Outer Banks chain. While geographically distinct, Emerald Isle shares much with its famous northern neighbors, earning its place among the “southern Outer Banks” or “Crystal Coast” for its dazzling beaches and relaxed coastal atmosphere. Unlike the peak summer season, January paints a serene picture, with many condo owners embracing mainland comfort, leaving their beachside havens to those seeking winter solitude. This tranquil setting, with its empty condos and whispering waves, became our haven, allowing us to fully immerse ourselves in the island’s natural beauty.

Three-times zoom view of the server flying through the air.

Two days during our two-week January stay at Emerald Isle were interrupted by official storm warnings. As predicted wind speeds neared gale force and the possibility of strong rainfall increased, the property owner advised us to secure the storm shutters in front of the large ocean-facing patio door. While the winds raged and before light sprinkles turned into a steady rain, I ventured out on the third-floor balcony to secure the shutters. Observing the turbulent ocean, I noticed an unexpected sight: a kite-surfer utilizing the wind’s power to navigate the waves with a kite-surfing wing. This intrepid individual rode back and forth along the surging waves, harnessing the wind’s energy in a display of skillful defiance against the elements.

About the photos: I captured about 15 seconds of video of the surfer going back and forth along the waves, sometimes being lifted into the air by the kite. From there, I pulled out two video frames to share here. I’d planned to share the entire video as well but with the high wind on the third-floor deck and the high zoom setting on the S23U, the video turned out to be too shaky to be useable. However, as I watched it in a video editor, I noticed that some frames were fairly clear with minor motion blur. I’d set the camera to 3X zoom, then zoomed to 10X while the video was running. That was a mistake. I should have created two videos, one at each zoom level.

On my Windows laptop, I used the Snipping Tool to copy and save two of the clearest frames and imported them into Luminar Neo. I used the same process for both of them and started with the SuperSharp tool set to remove motion blur. Then I added only about 20% of the Enhance AI tool to add contrast to the images. The Supersharp tool added a minor amount of banding to the sky, so I used the Structure tool, masked everything but the sky, and then set the Structure setting to minus about 50%, just enough to remove the “stair-step” effect of banding in the sky. From there, I exported the images to a Flickr album. If you’d like to pixel-peep the two images in 2K HD, check out the Flickr album here.

I encourage fellow bloggers to create their own Cellpic Sunday posts. I never have a specific topic for this feature, and the only rules are that the photo must be captured with a cell phone, iPad, or another mobile device… If you have an image from a drone or even a dashcam, that’s acceptable as well. The second rule is to link your challenge response to this post or leave a comment here with a link to your post in the comment. Oh, and, you don’t have to post it on a Sunday.

John Steiner

63 comments

  1. It’s fascinating to watch kite surfers at any time, John, but how brave and how skilful to handle waves like these. I have no skill in this department, whatsoever and am immensely impressed..

    Reply

  9. I love the coast in England in winter and I’m pretty sure I’d love the Outer Banks too, as I did when we visited them in summer many years ago. While this may not technically be OBX, it seems it easily could be. I also enjoy watching kite surfers (we saw lots in Cape Verde) but I wouldn’t want to attempt it myself! You’ve done well to get such a clear image from a video frame capture, the time spent editing has paid off 🙂

    Reply

  23. Two beautiful images. I would not have known they came from a video. A few years ago I tried to photograph two wind surfers near Asseateague National Park. I was too close to them and they were moving too fast, so my photos did not turn out well.

    Reply

  31. Wow, that must have been a scary thrill for the kite surfer. You went to a lot of trouble to get that photo! Good for you. I had some great kite-surfing photos in Melbourne, but not with a cell phone.

    Reply

  32. What a serene escape to Emerald Isle! 🏝️ Your vivid description of the island’s winter tranquility and the unexpected kite-surfing adventure during the storm adds such a unique charm to your experience. The process you shared about capturing those moments, despite the challenges, gives a fascinating peek into the behind-the-scenes of your creative journey. Looking forward to exploring the Flickr album and diving into those breathtaking images by the ocean!

    Reply

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