Peak action and offbeat looks from surfing’s top shooters.
New Year’s Day rundown, the top-to-bottom rubber an absolute seasonal necessity in British Columbia. Photograph by Jeremy Koreski.
A you-should-have-been-there case study in lineups, both empty and properly spoken for, from the well trodden to the rare. (Clockwise from top left) Roka Puta, Basque Country. Photograph by Javier Muñoz; Kai Hing, Sumba. Photograph by Jason Reposar; Jordy Smith, Salina Cruz. Photograph by Jan Bijl; Hammerland, Los Angeles County. Photograph by Fred Pompermayer. Janek Peladeau, Vancouver Island. Photograph by Marcus Paladino.
Pipeline pays no preference to age or era. Nor does it always reward commitment. Unidentified, bucked over the boil, 1976. Photograph by Jeff Divine. Fourteen-year-old MaiKai Burdine finds more solid footing in 2020. Photograph by Mike Chlala.
Peak-moment captures and in-between looks, united by mutual lack of saturation. (Left to right, top to bottom) Kaspar Hamminga, Brittany, France. Photograph by Jan Bijl; Whiteout treks in New Jersey. Photograph by Shawn Casey; Harrison Roach, Indonesia. Photograph by Woody Gooch; Jared Mell, Bali. Photograph by Harry Mark; Dylan Longbottom, João De Macedo, and Danilo Couto prepare for Nazaré. Photograph by Ricardo Bravo; Kyuss King, North Shore. Photograph by Nick Green; Harley Rubenstein, Central California. Photograph by Colin Nearman; Snapper Rocks silhouette. Photograph by Thomas Lodin; Tom Carroll, Raglan. Photograph by Alex Brunton.
(Left) Gony Zubizarreta and Jayce Robinson on the ones and twos in Portugal. Photograph by Pedro Mestre. (Right) Dane Gudauskas, Pete Devries, and Noah Cohen put their 4×4 drivetrain to good use in New Zealand. Photograph by Mark McInnis. Jason Woodside slots into a Hitchcockian setup in Central California. Photograph by Jeremiah Klein.Ben Aipa with one of his many team riders, Trestles, 1976. “Ben was one of the original Hawaiians—along with Larry Bertlemann, Dane Kealoha, Buttons Kaluhiokalani, Mark Liddell, and Louie Ferreira—who would show up in the summer during the California contest season,” says photographer Art Brewer. “They always stayed in San Clemente and Dana Point—close to the best surf. This was one of those ugly June days when the waves were on fire.”Jack Robinson, Margaret River. “The who’s-who were out this afternoon,” says photographer Tom Pearsall, “but Jack showed them all what a local-level understanding of a spot can lend itself to.” Brayden Cain, Saltwater Beach, New South Wales. Photograph by Alex Brunton. Ben Macartney, Bronte Beach, Sydney. “The banks had been pushed out so far past the reef that the takeoff was in line with the cemetery,” says photographer Bill Morris. “It was 8 to 10 feet of pure south groundswell combined with a cold, offshore west wind. Waves were being ridden all the way to Tamarama, the next beach north, but quite a few surfers were washed onto the rocks in their attempts.”
