Mind over Monster | Surf #62
James McKean conquering the beast
Shipstern Bluff, Tasmania
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SURF PHOTOGRAPHY
The 'Wave of Consequence' Series came about on a long haul flight headed for a remote Island on a search for an undiscovered surf break.
Story by Surf Photographer Ted Grambeau.
While cruising at 40,000 feet up in the air, I'd put together a selection of images to share on social media for the next couple of weeks and was searching for a title. The images I'd selected were all pointing me in one direction, they were all waves of destruction, and waves that would do you some serious harm, maim and instinctively kill. They were not a wave many in the world could surf or would ever want to surf, only the brave and extremely experienced have ventured onto the face of these monsters. When ignited, they literally explode. Cyclops and beyond, Chopes and Waimea just to name a few.
CONSEQUENCES
One of the greatest and most permanent consequences of our thoughts, choices and actions would be death. These waves are ridden by choice not chance, those who chase them, hunt them and ride them, all understand the consequences and choose to risk their lives.
“As part of my journey as a water and surf photographer, I’m privileged to have witnessed and documented some of the greatest swells surfing has ever seen. I’ve missed some, but those that I’ve managed to document have been epic.”
THE TALENTED AND THE BRAVE
The behind the scene crew from the (often questionably possessed) boat driver, the skilled and brave jet-ski rider and of course the unwaveringly talented and ridiculously brave surfer that charges down the face of some the greatest monsters of the ocean, know all too well the consequences that they may experience.
BEST OF THE BEST WAVES
Last Light | Wave #75
Evening light settling over rolling Atlantic swell
Praia do Norte, Nazaré
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Pacific Blue | Wave #109
Perfect symmetry over razor sharp reef
Teahupo’o Barrel, Tahiti
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Perfection | Wave #19
A wave of consequence wrapped in flawless form
Teahupo’o, Tahiti
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Nias Thunder | Wave #69
Deep brown barrels rolling beneath the coconut palms
Lagundri Bay, Sumatra, 2018
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Liquid Chrome | Wave #12
Textured by light and drawing with intent
Teahupo’o, Tahiti
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Holy Grail | Wave #114
Warm light and a flawless reef pass at first light
Mentawai, Indonesia
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Morning Rhythm | Wave #86
First light revealing the rhythm of a rising swell
Undertow Bay, Cape Paterson
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Illuminated Slab | Wave #108
Light finds its way into the heaviest water
Teahupo’o, Tahiti
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Luminous Edge | Wave #71
Light finding the wave beneath a black sky
Nazaré, Portugal
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Flawless | Wave #82
Every element converging above the reef for a single moment
Teahupo’o, Tahiti
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Primed | Wave #18
What the End of the Road looks like when everything is set
Teahupo’o, Tahiti
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Ocean Motion | Wave #125
Light shaping the surface of turbulent water
Nazaré, Portugal
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Classic Cylinder | Wave #58
A turquoise cylinder running its full line across the reef
Teahupo’o, Tahiti
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Mirror | Wave #85
A perfectly formed barrel distilled to reflection and shadow
Teahupo’o, Tahiti
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A-Frame | Wave #83
The reef drawing clean symmetry through the swell
Up the Line, Tahiti
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Reef Grind | Wave #80
Light and mist trapped inside something built to destroy
Teahupo’o, Tahiti
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Compression | Wave #36
A thick slab of ocean extending forward under its own weight
Up the Line, Tahiti
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Pristine | Wave #22
An enormous force held within a composed and luminous form
Teahupo’o, Tahiti
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Release | Wave #31
The wave releasing everything it has left
Teahupo’o, Tahiti
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Undertow Bay | Wave #81
The early morning soul of a southern coastline
Cape Paterson, VIC
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The Cape | Wave #88
First light revealing the texture and movement within the swell
Undertow Bay, Cape Paterson
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Awaken Giants | Wave #105
First light revealing the movement within the swell
Waimea Bay, Hawaii
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Monolith | Wave #123
Atlantic movement rising into monumental form
Nazaré, Portugal
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Timeless Perfection | Wave #8
A perfectly groomed line stretching across the reef
Teahupo’o, Tahiti
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Bells Bowl | Wave #103
The rhythm of winter swell along an iconic coastline
Bells Beach, Torquay, VIC
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Winkipop | Wave #102
Long clean lines arriving with the morning swell
Torquay, Victoria
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Power Surge | Wave #104
The force and movement of a swell beyond expectation
Lagundri Bay, Sumatra, 2018
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Atlantic Witness | Wave #70
The theatre and spectacle of a coastline in motion
Praia do Norte, Nazaré
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Limitless Gold | Wave #73
Golden light illuminating rising ocean forms
Nazaré, Portugal
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WAVES OF CONSEQUENCE
ENDANGERED - Surf Adventure (Iron Horse) “This was a journey. A real journey. And in my humble opinion, that ideal is endangered.”
POINT BREAK - HELL OR HIGH WATER - “The swell arrived and did not disappoint, conditions were flawless and the scene was set, local surfers continued to vi for waves as it was business as usual at the worlds most notorious left-hander.…”
MONSTER SURF - Nias “The usual suspects, the team of big wave surf nomads that circulate the globe, arrived at a similar time to myself, in time for an 8-10ft swell.”
EDGE OF OBLIVION - CODE RED - “Perched precariously on the back (stern) of George Riou’s boat, I am 100% focused on capturing whatever drama is about to unfold in front of me. A shiver runs up my spine as a…”
BIG WAVE SURFERS - Fiji “Fiji not only produced one of the biggest swells ever, but became a magnet for the world’s best big wave athlete’s, both tow and paddle.”
WILD OCEAN - DARK FUN - “Some surf locations need no introduction, however, if you're still unsure let me just say it's one of the wildest and most dangerous locations in the world for surfer and photographer. Great whites don't seem to mind the bitterly cold conditions.”
BEYOND LIMITS - SUPER HUMAN - “2015's year of Pro Surfing was beyond incredible and at the same time brutally punishing. The world's best surfers were absolutely pushed to the bloody edge…”

Cyclops | Wave #1
A mutant slab that still defies belief
Southern Ocean, Western Australia, 2002