PERFECT WAVES FROM AROUND THE WORLD.
A collection of some of my personal favourites.
Perfection being a subjective term, some waves are perfect for surfing and some more so just for their sheer power and beauty.
Cyclops | Wave #1
A mutant slab that still defies belief
Southern Ocean, Western Australia, 2002
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MUTANT SLAB
‘Cyclops’ is one of my favourite all time images. Shot on Fuji Velvia film in 2002, when we first discovered this crazy wave. It was on an expedition for the film 'The Billabong Odyssey'.
The first waves ridden were by Mike Parsons and Brad Gerlach by means of tow in. The location itself was unearthed by Greg our guide and local abalone diver.
To me the wave still today represents a defining limit of what is possible or impossible to surf. Despite all the technical advances and the professional surfing approach of today, it remains more on the impossible for all but a handful of the worlds very best or foolhardy surfers.
It is without doubt the most dangerous wave I have ever shot.
On one trip with Mark Mathews, Richie Vas and Greg our host, we flew from the east coast of Australia, a five hour flight, all day drive from Perth and several hours 4x4 and a boat ride.
Surf was pumping with massive swells heaving over the shallowest reef. Mark and Richie caught one wave each - they survived and said “that’s enough”. We packed up immediately and left - they never surfed there again.
Despite its lack of appeal for surfers it is the most spectacular wave I have ever photographed.
It’s a mutated beast of solid southern ocean swell colliding in to reef that has only one or two feet of water on it. It literally detonates rather than breaks.
This image that appeared on the cover of my book by The Surfers Journal titled “Masters of Surf Photography” is a huge lump of ocean around 12-15 feet in size, that simply refuses to obey the laws of gravity.
No Photoshop - this is shot on film and is an awesome display of power.
Pound for pound I believe it to be the heaviest wave on the planet.
MUTANT SLAB
to TEAHUPOO PERFECTION
The ‘PERFECT WAVES’ collection continues; next up we have one of the most ‘phenomenal’ waves on the planet, one that holds a special place in my heart. We’ve all paid witness to some of it’s incredible displays of mind blowing surf.
Timeless Perfection | Wave #8
A perfectly groomed line stretching across the reef
Teahupo’o, Tahiti
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TIMELESS PERFECTION: Teahupo’o displaying absolute perfection. One of the most documented waves on the planet, yet each wave from every session has its own unique and distinctive look.
Despite its perfection it is still a challenge to get all the elements to align without a droplet out of place, while at the same time retain some sort of perspective. I have hundreds of perfect empty waves but without some reference they could be two feet or twenty feet, as the shape remains the same.
“Timeless Perfection: The Edge of Teahupo’o” has the slightest yet significant indication where you can appreciate the scale this wave.
Two minute figures, surfers, are just apparent in the right hand of the frame paddling over the wave.
The line of the lip falling in such a perfect manner and reflected in an opposite but equally impressive balance of exploding white water. The subtle, near mono tones hues of the day remind me of the calm before the storm, eerie yet spell binding.
With such beauty in a wave it is easy to to forget the gravity of the consequences that exist when flirting with such a mistress.
P-PASS SESSION
Perfect P-Pass | Surf #18
Shane Dorian’s power, control and the clarity of the moment
Pohnpei, Micronesia – 2013 Swell
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P-PASS: Waves are not only special for their size, shape or power but equally important for me personally, are the experiences I have documenting them.
P-Pass is one of those waves, and I am sure it holds special memories for any one that has had the good fortune to have visited there. Not only for its congenial host Allois, but a reef pass that should be declared scared ground for all surfers world wide.
My memories are of a small crew of very talented hard core surfers, that just happen to be real nice people. Dan Ross, Mark Mathews and Shane Dorian.
Combine them with an 8-12 foot swell and virtually no one else for most of the day.
Conditions that saw variable offshore winds, to glassy, sunny, plus occasional storm clouds, provided a selection of backgrounds for the flawless grinding pits.
It was a form of photographic ecstasy.
A day I will long remember. The vibe of the whole session is subtly reflected in this image where Shane and and Mark paddle back out in between sets where the most perfect of waves goes not only unridden, but not even considered.
Very rarely in a life time would you ever contemplate letting such a perfect wave pass you bye. A polite and considered protocol ruled the line up where each surfer would offer, encourage or coax the other in to the most ridiculous 8-10 foot barrels. Anything less would just roll down the reef unridden.
STANDING OVATION: As a fitting tribute to the three surfers at the end of the day, others surfers who had arrived at the camp late afternoon and experienced a taste of the fury and power of these waves, gave a standing ovation when boys returned to the camp after surfing eight hours of absolutely perfect surf.
MASSIVE ENERGY
Mind over Monster | Surf #62
James McKean conquering the beast
Shipstern Bluff, Tasmania
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‘ENERGY’ 2023 RED BULL SURF PHOTO WINNER
EXTREME SURFING
One of the most extreme days at the incredibly challenging Shipstern Bluff on a remote stretch of coast in Tasmania Australia. The irregular bathymetry creates steps in the wave that adds to the unpredictably and creates a spectacular platform at the base of passive imposing sea cliffs.
Local legend Jimmy McKean navigates a series of irregular steps in the face of a giant southern ocean swell.
The steps are somewhat unpredictable and add to the precarious nature of one of the world’s most spectacular and dangerous waves.
Very few people have ever surfed here or are ever likely to.
It receives the brunt of open ocean swells and makes anyone just being out-there vulnerable to the wrath of the approaching storms.
UNFORGIVING: Not a location that would forgive any error if a mishap were to occur. We left rewarded with confirmation that perfect unridden waves still exist on the thousands of kilometres of Australia’s remote coast on any given swell.
DREAM WAVES
Lances Right | Surf #55
A lone surfer paddling out into the early light of a new session
Mentawai Islands, Indonesia
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DREAM WEAVING: Desirability is sometimes a more appropriate measure of perfection, where the waves more closely align with our abilities than ambitions.
Massive waves of Nazare, Teahupoo and Pipeline may be awesome in their power and ferocity, but not necessarily on the wish list for most surfers to actual experience.
All surfers are aware how fine a line there is between dreams and nightmares.
Lances Rights more closely fits the category that could be titled “Waves I would love to surf”.
The ability to mentally explore or visualise through this image, the options of the lines you would like to draw, or the moves you would make, makes this particular image a virtual platform for mind surfing.
This could be you…
The dream of the empty line up. This image is akin surfings Disneyland, the Mentawais, and its most treasured reef “Lance’s Rights”.
This is almost a bucket list of every surfer that visits this region.
An area that is a smorgasbord of perfect waves. Yet we all know the reality of getting this wave to our selves on any given swell, are shall we say unlikely. Making this image even more desirable piece of history.
SYMPHONIC EXPLOSION
Compression | Wave #36
A thick slab of ocean extending forward under its own weight
Up the Line, Tahiti
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BEAUTY OF DECEPTION: Like a symphony of elements coming together in harmony, a portrait of energy, shape, texture, tone, and power. This reef in French Polynesia is fickle by nature, shallow and powerful, rarely surfed but spectacular when all the elements combine in to one fleeting moment.
An instant that is about to be shattered as the wave translates from an aquatic sculpture of perfection in to a violent and explosive conflict with the reef.
But for one brief moment before impact, we are intoxicated by the sheer perfection of this wave. Through the miracle of photography this instant is preserved to savour and celebrate forever.
FAST & FURIOUS
Desert Point | Wave #66
Long glassy perfection unfolding through warm tropical light
Lombok, Indonesia
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DESERT POINT: Some waves are difficult to adequately represent just how perfect they are in one still image. Desert Point, on Lombok, Indonesia is one such wave.
The sheer length and duration of this perfect peeling barrel is mind boggling.
This image shot on film never gets old, as a perfect wave is then, it still is a perfect wave now. A slight motion blur indicates a sense of speed.
This is one of the fastest waves in existence.
The consistent lip line that falls flawlessly the entire length of the reef has led to some of the longest tube rides on the planet being recorded.
The coincidence of the the swell that runs at an optimal angle to the flat reef for several hundred meters. A reef that is directly adjacent to the deepest trench in Indonesia, a funnel the oceans energy.
The wave is fickle and subject huge influences of tidal movements, it requires all the elements to come together, and when it does you will never forget it. The wave doesn’t back off as freight trains down the reef. In fact it goes faster and faster and grows in size and speed the further it goes.
FIRST LIGHT
Majestic Motion | Wave #106
Morning light moving across the face of the swell
Waimea Bay, Hawaii
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WAIMEA SHORE BREAK: Natures own gallery exhibits the art of the breaking wave that is live and interactive ever winter. The Bay is like a natural amphitheater for not only witnessing giant surf being ridden out the back, but the collision of these huge swells in to the worlds most famous shore break.
Spectators and Photographers being able to look from the side view directly in to the eye of the barrel. A magical spectacle can be witnessed when viewed in the very first minutes after sunrise.
Light shafts through Waimea canyon and illuminates only the breaking wave set against a black rock backdrop.
It is natures finest combination of theatrical lighting and action anywhere. I have on occasions flown from Australia specifically for these glorious fifteen minutes of light and swell at the Bay.
THE ART OF WAVES
Above the Break | Surf #60
Bede Durbidge tracking across a perfectly formed Kirra section
Kirra, Australia
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KIRRA: Perfection is often a matter of perspective. Kirra is renowned as one of the worlds most perfect right hand point breaks. Conveying that perfection usually requires moving images or a line up perspective.
In this image the perspective is the hero.
Shot from a helicopter looking directly down on Bede Durbidge from a unique perspective.
The transition of tones from the folding lip to the white water indicate a dimension to the wave. The stark and perfectly divided front and back of the wave display a juxtaposition rarely seen.
THE JEWEL IN THE CROWN
Flawless | Wave #82
Every element converging above the reef for a single moment
Teahupo’o, Tahiti
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RIDING THE CHAOS - One of the most celebrated waves in surfing history – Nathan Fletcher rides the wave of the day in the storm of the century from the Code Red swell that hit Tahiti in 2011. With nerves of steel captain George Riou places his vessel (and all those aboard) in the perfect spot for me to document this historical ride.