PHOTOGRAPHY

Intrepid big-wave photographers encounter many dangers — sometimes in huge swells and shark-infested waters — to take spectacular surfing pictures

Images by Andrew Chisholm and Stu Gibson have been included in a new book of the nation’s best surfing shots

The big-wave playground of surfing greats presents unique challenges for photographers who, like their subjects, are at the mercy of the swell and sometimes brutal waves and weather.

“The images don’t come easily, especially in Tasmania,” says surf photographer Stu Gibson, whose award-winning photographs are included in The Best of

the Best from Surfing Australia, a collection of 27 images from the Nikon Surf Photo of the Year Awards 2013-2017, taken by Australia’s best surfing photographers.

“It’s never an easy day at Shipstern [Bluff],” Gibson says. “We don’t get great waves all the time, so everyone has to be on high alert for a good wave day. We also only have a few really good surfers, like Mikey Brennan, in Tasmania. There are probably only five to 10 guys who are really passionate about chasing the waves.”

A photograph by Gibson in the book shows Brennan standing mid-barrel and seemingly mesmerised by the power of the wave he’s surfing at Shipstern. The image won the Nikon Surf Photo of the Year Award in 2014.

“It’s amazing to be recognised as one of the top surf photographers in Australia, or even to be on the same list as these other photographers,” says Gibson, who specialises in surf action shots taken from the water using a DSLR camera with underwater housing.

“There’s been a lot of changes [in surf photography technology] over the years. The passion needs to be there to keep going. The conditions in Tasmania can be really tough with the weather and the isolation.”

The Best of the Best compilation includes photographs by Andrew Chisholm who, like Gibson, has captured riders in action in massive surf at Shipstern.

“On a still day, when the ocean is glassy, you can hear the surfer coming in,” Chisholm told TasWeekend earlier this year for our cover story on big-wave surfing.

“Just the board making a shuddering sound as it crosses the surface of the wave.

“Then when the surfer pulls back into the barrel after landing on the step [an imperfection on the face of the wave created by a reef feature], the hooting and hollering of everyone in and around the water. I can only imagine how the rider himself is feeling.”

Surfing Australia chief executive Andrew Stark says the book, which his organisation has co-published, provides a substantial record of the fantastic imagery associated with the sport and its history, culture and lifestyle.

“What we’ve been able to display over the past five years [during the Nikon Surf Photo of the Year Awards] has been incredible in terms of the quality of the photos and the stories of the photographers,” Stark says. “We wanted to really capture that and make sure what we’ve achieved with the awards will be protected for decades to come in a book form.”

He says the book reveals both the power of the ocean and the challenges and risks faced by surf photographers.

“The photographers themselves are putting themselves in some really precarious situations in heavy waves and sharkinfested waters. A lot of the images are shot from the water; they’re generally swimming,” Stark says. “There’s an image in the book by Leroy Bellet [winner of the 2016 Nikon Surf Photo of the Year], which he took while he was on a surfboard himself.

“Both of the Tasmanians, Gibson and Chisholm, are highly respected, internationally recognised photographers. When they go and shoot at somewhere like Shipstern, they are putting themselves out there, often in heavy seas. That break is notoriously dangerous whether you are in the water or in a speedboat.”