So there he was, young Grant Molony drifting about in unfamiliar waters, waterhousing in hand, trying to make sense of the ever-shifting Puerto Escondido lineup. Waves would stand up and reel off, either too far away to shoot or too close and self preservation would kick in and he'd dive deep to avoid the explosion.

But then a left stood up outside and not 100 metres away, and someone was scratching hard to get into it. If the surfer made the drop and nutted up the barrel then he'd be driving straight into Grant's field of view - bring it on...

As you can see from the sequence, the surfer, Argentinian Nahual Amalfitano, did just that and got horribly pitted right past Grant's lens. Later, on his paddle back out Nahual, buzzing and popping with adrenalin, stopped for a chat with Grant.

"You get the shot?" asked the affable Argentinian.

"Yep, full sequence," replied the Cenny Coast photog.

Recognising the Australian accent Nahual paddled over to quiz the size of the tribe.

"You Australian? By any chance do you know Russell Molony?"

With a cackle Grant explained that he knew Russell - ex-WQS surfer and Aussie Indigenous Champ - very well indeed. Russell was his brother! And with that the Australian photographer and the Argentinian surfer had a grand laugh at the Mexican Pipeline.

All photos by Grant (brother of Russ!)