The above shot of Christian Redongo by Zak Noyle in Tahiti was just voted Surfer Magazine Photo of the Year. It’s certainly a lovely shot, no doubt about that, but I would be hard pressed to have to pick between that and the ones below. One thing is certain however – this years finest surfing photography was mas o menos owned by the talented Zak Noyle and Chris Burkard.
2011 was certainly a good year to be in Tahiti. One of the best water photographers in the biz, Zak Noyle, left his home island of Oahu with a small crew bound for Teahupoo. Talent is great when it comes to photography, but a little bit of luck never hurts either. Nature provided for this shot with a perfect peeling tube ridden by Christian Redongo, and the kind of rainbow that postcards are made of.
Derek Hynd finless at J-Bay by Alan van Gysen
Former pro surfer turned journalist Derek Hynd is one of surfing’s most enigmatic characters. This is why we sent Steve Shearer to learn what he could about Derek and his cult-hero persona and profile him for our October issue. What Shearer discovered that Hynd’s crusade against friction allows him to attain unnatural velocities. Here we see Derek reaching terminal velocity on a wide-open wall at J-Bay.
Iceland lineup by Chris Burkard
When most surfers think of their dream surf trip, they usually don’t picture throwing on a 5/4 wetsuit with booties and gloves in Nordic waters. Luckily for Chris Burkard and a small crew of surfers, this meant that they had all of Iceland’s frigid perfection to themselves. Burkard spent his stay shooting perfect, empty lineups and some of the most awe-inspiring landscapes that you could ever hope to find on a surf trip.
Jesse Merle-Jones from below by Zak Noyle
Nothing matches the calming effect of the underwater world. Even just a few feet below the surface things move in slow motion, colors are muted, hard edges become soft, and quiet envelopes everything. “I love this perspective because it gives surfers such a different view of what they normally see,” says Zak Noyle, who spent an entire day swimming on the reef with just a camera and a pair of goggles. “There’s so much going on below the water that’s hidden to the viewer above, from how shallow the reef really is to the way that the wave barrels and turns inside out on itself below the surface. It’s so beautiful. I kept forgetting to come up for air.” Photo: Noyle
Via Surfer Magazine
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