Behind the Shot - Tony Warrilow

Stu Nettle picture
Stu Nettle (stunet)
Swellnet Dispatch

By Tony Warrilow

_dsc0133.giant_.jpgAs the crow flies my place is about two kilometres inland. It’s near a fairly exposed stretch of coastline so it's not unusual in the quiet of night to hear the distant growl of an active ocean. But I reckon it’s when you can hear the individual crack of a breaking swell that you know the next day will creep into the giant realm.

This particular swell had been on the charts for a week and all indications were for “as big as it gets” and clean conditions. I expected the full contingent of traveling chargers as well as the usual diehard local crew. My job was to shoot empties so getting there before the pack was key to success.

Stepping outside around midnight to start my drive to the bombora the sound of the ocean confirmed what the charts had been saying. It sounded like a cannon fire on slow repeat.

Dawn at the boat ramp and only the local crew are to be seen and with the first set at the bombora we knew this was going to be a special day.

There were only two skis and four surfers. They all got epic waves.

For the technical minded the swell topped out at 5.9 metres on an 18 second period but I don’t think that’s how you actually measure the size of a wave like this. Maybe it’s more the “level of drama” that is the true indication of proportion. The thing here is that it’s not just a drop and a quick head dip. This thing runs like a point break. It has a tendency to wrap toward the surfer and the water movement behind the tube is frightening.

The two surfers featured in the images, Chris Ross and Shannon Warrell have quite different styles [note: Tony submitted two photos to Swellnet. See second shot below]. If Shannon man handles the wave with brute strength Chris is smooth and graceful to the point of being balletic. It must be nice to be calm in the eye of that storm.

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My ocean photography is more geared towards capturing the artistic side. I look for the serene and beautiful but also really like dramatic, ugly oceans. I don’t normally shoot surfing as such but when there is crew riding past you on waves like this you just can’t help but stop and take notice.

These two images made up half of my entry into the recent Australian Institute of Professional Photography awards. Very flatteringly they all won awards. The AIPP awards are not so much about surfing photography but about professional imaging. It would be fairly safe to say none of the judges surf or really have an understanding of surfing giant waves. The images did well on merit alone.

To see more of my work check the Warrahwillah website
Tony Warrilow