Tom Curren Backdoor Sequence

Having worked with Tom for nearly two decades I am fully appreciative of how much of an elusive character he is. When I was given an assignment by Rip Curl to shoot a very specific brief of Tom wearing board shorts and a watch, I was less than optimistic that I would even see him.

The next day revealed flawless waves at Backdoor. Tom was already in the water. For the next three hours I stalked him with a long lens from the beach, then adjusted my angle to look directly into the barrel. I used a polarising filter to reduce the haze and refreshed each roll even after just a few shots, keeping a full roll at my disposal at all times.

Then, like some sort of wave god, Tom paddled for the wave of the day. Maybe of the season.

I had already positioned myself at the perfect angle and unloaded a full roll of film on that one wave. The most perfectly ridden wave of the season. My assignment was complete.

I look at the way that wave was ridden like a piece of art. And with time, it sort of just gets better.