Tom Curren Backdoor Sequence for Collector’s

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 Tom.

The next day revealed flawless waves at Backdoor. Tom is already in the water. For the next three hours I stalked him with a long lens from the beach. I then adjusted my angle in relation to Tom so as to look directly into the barrel. I used a polarising filter to reduce the haze. I would refresh each roll even after just a few shots so as to have a full roll at my disposal.

Then like some sort of a wave god, Tom paddles 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 the one wave, the most perfectly ridden wave of the season. My assignment was complete.

Print Size: Standard (regular) 3:2 Aspect Ratio
75 cm × 50 cm (approx. 30" × 20")
100 cm × 67 cm (approx. 40" × 27")