Description
Having spent nearly two decades working with Tom Curren, I’ve come to appreciate just how elusive a figure he is. So when Rip Curl handed me an assignment to shoot Tom in board shorts and a watch, I wasn’t exactly optimistic about even catching a glimpse of him. But the next morning, fate had other plans. Backdoor was perfect; glassy, flawless waves that beckoned to be ridden. And sure enough, there was Tom, already out there, blending effortlessly into the surf. For the next three hours, I tracked him like a ghost with a long lens from the beach, waiting for the right moment. As the swell built, I shifted my angle, positioning myself just right to peer directly into the barrel, using a polarising filter to cut through the haze. Each time I finished a roll of film, I’d reload, making sure I had fresh stock to capture every fleeting second. Then, like a true wave god, Tom paddled into what would become the wave of the day and maybe even the season. With everything perfectly aligned, firing off a full roll of film on one single, perfectly ridden wave. My assignment was complete, but what I had captured – an iconic moment in time was more than I ever expected.
