Cyclops Mutant Slab

Cyclops is one of my all-time favourite images. Shot on Fuji Velvia film in 2002, this was the year we first discovered this crazy wave, during 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 approach to surfing today, it remains one of the most impossible waves to tame for all but a handful of the world’s very best or most foolhardy surfers.

Without question, it is the most dangerous wave I have ever shot.

I remember one particular trip with Mark Mathews, Richie Vas and Greg our host. We flew from the east coast of Australia, a five hour flight, followed by an all day drive from Perth, a few hours in a 4×4 and finally a boat ride.

Surf was pumping with massive swells heaving over the shallowest reef. Mark and Richie managed to catch one wave each, survived and both agreed: “That’s enough.” We packed up immediately and left - they never surfed there again.

Despite its lack of appeal to surfers, it remains the most spectacular wave I have ever photographed. No Photoshop. Shot on film, it’s a pure display of power.

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 particular photo titled Cyclops, which appeared on the cover of my book Masters of Surf Photography by The Surfers Journal, is a huge lump of ocean around 12–15 feet in size, that simply refuses to obey the laws of gravity.

Pound for pound, I believe it to be the heaviest wave on the planet.

Print Size: Standard (regular) 3:2 Aspect Ratio
75 cm × 50 cm (approx. 30" × 20")
100 cm × 67 cm (approx. 40" × 27")
120 cm × 80 cm (approx. 48" × 32")