Keeping in line with the recent surfing theme, I found this film trailer below. I’m fascinated with surfing but even more then that I’m fascinated with surf films. To me, they seem to be so ahead of kayaking or canoeing films in that the angles are better and they make better use of techniques like slow motion to create those big beautiful sweeps as the surfer goes from left to right across the TV. That’s not to say that there are lots of good sea kayak pieces out there but I will die a happy man if I never see another camera-stuck-to-the-front-deck-facing-backwards kayak surfing film.

Here is the description on the new Fiberglass and Megapixels film that won several cinematography and documentary awards on the film festival circuit.

Fiberglass and Megapixels sheds light on Hawaii's North Shore winter surfing scene and finds the true beauty within the overcrowded image gathering free for all.

The surfing industry relies on these inspiring pictures from Hawaii to sell the surfing lifestyle to the masses. It’s all about the surfing image, and these surfing images must first get in the camera. Fiberglass and Megapixels goes deep as professional surfers, photographers and cinematographers share their perspective on what it takes and what it means to get the shot and be able to live a life completely based around surfing.

If you have ever wanted to see what it's like inside a kayak manufacturer plant then be prepared to have all your dreams fulfilled.

Palm Equipment is a manufacturer out of the United Kingdom that sells paddling clothing, PFD’s, spray decks, as well as manufacturer Dagger kayaks for the European market.

The video is below.

This is easily one of the best looking short films I have seen in a long, long time. Put together by renowned photographer and body boarder Mickey Smith, Dark Side of the Lens is a poem set to images and music dealing with his motivations behind surfing and surf photography.

"Originally I planned for the film to be more anonymous, rather than biographical, an all encompassing piece, to represent the photographers keeping the surfing machine afloat", explains Smith.  “Something that offers insight into what it takes to grind out a living as a water-based photographer in the surfing industry: a short experimental glimpse at a life lived in the shadow of obsessive photographic pursuits."

Listen for the best quote in the film: "If I only scrape a living, at least it’s a living worth scraping."

Alex Matthews and Nick Castro kayak the caves and arches of Port Renfrew - a small community on the west coast of Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada. The video gets exciting after the 1:30ish mark.

Video after the jump:

If I get in trouble I really hope these guys come and save me but if they don't provide some pre-rescue entertainment, I’m going to be pissed.

Full video below.

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Everybody is getting into shooting video while in a kayak. If you are on a budget and want to get in on the action then the Flip Video Camera is a good place to start. Depending on which model you are interested in Amazon has them between $120-180. They record directly to internal memory so no need to fumble with tapes. When you are done you can easily transfer video directly to your computer or straight to youtube.

The problem is that they are not waterproof. To help solve that problem, Aquapac has released two brand new cases designed specifically for Flip Cameras.

The cases are made out of a flexible material that is optically clear so there won’t be any interference. It’s submersible to 15 feet (3 meters) and pretty cheap at $30.

More info: aquapac.net

Over the past year or so, The Hurricane Riders have been developing quite a name for themselves on YouTube with their crazy rough water sea kayaking shorts.

Last week I sat down (via a keyboard) with team member Rowan Gloag in what became the 1st in our 1 part series, Better Know a Hurricane Rider. I wanted to find out the story behind the Hurricane Riders and what keeps Rowan motivated as an instructor.

Tell me about The Hurricane Riders. How many members are on the team and how long have you been around?
Currently there are 6 members in THR. However, we may increase that number in the future. James Dunderdale and Marty Perry started the crew back in 2007.

Several members of the team are also guides and sea kayak instructors. Tell me about that. How long have you been instructing for and how often throughout the paddling season do you teach?

• Rowan Gloag (Me) - I am a full-time instructor working for both for Deep Cove Canoe and Kayak (DCCK) and SKILS. I've been doing this since 1998.
• James Dunderdale is the School Director at DCCK and works for SKILS. He teaches as much as he can. He has been an instructor since 2003.
• Marty Perry is a full-time instructor since 2007 at DCCK as well.
• Chris Wilson is a part-time instructor at DCCK since 2001.
• Pawel Szopa taught as an instructor at DCCK from 2003 to 2009.
• Kim Hannula runs Deep Cove Outdoors. (She is not an instructor)

How did The Hurricane Riders get started?
We had been play-boating in long boats for years and originally it was just about paddling long boats in more demanding conditions. As professionals in this industry, we needed an outlet that was just for us, that wasn't work, where we could push our skills. We started off with just pictures, but in 2008 we began shooting rudimentary videos with our point-and-shoot cameras. With no editing experience and armed with a new Macbook, I did my best to link images to music. It was a steep learning curve with over 50 hours going into our first video.

There is some great rock hopping footage throughout in the video below but Paul Kuthe shows us how it’s done around the 56 second mark.

Nicely put together by Christopher Lockyer.

The Heliconia Press, a leading producer of outdoors related video for over 12 years, unveiled today its latest digital video initiative - Paddling TV.

Heliconia kicks off Paddling TV today with the public release of Sea Kayaking TV. - the first of five channels within the new Paddling TV Network . The remaining four Paddling TV channels (Whitewater TV, Canoeing TV, Kayak Fishing TV, and Rec Kayaking TV) will be released to the public over the next few months.