Mitch Crews is a highly regarded Gold Coast surfer. I took these shots of him practising for the Australian Open of Surfing. He surfs with immense power as can be seen by some of the air he gets. Mitch’s story of living with Ankylosing Spondylitis is fascinating and inspiring. Four years ago, as a 19yo, he was almost crippled with the pain of this severe early onset arthritis. But thanks to his participation in a drug trial he is back and in form.
15yo Californinan/Japanese surfer Kanoa Igarashi has been surfing since he was 3yo. He’s seen as a bit of a prodigy, beating many older surfers in competition. At the Australian Open of Surfing he went through to the Quarter Finals of the Junior Pro men’s event, losing to eventual winner Jacob Wilcox.
There are some early morning shots here which I really like. Love this first one in particular.
So Matt just today won the Surfest at Newcastle against Nathan Hedge having beaten Adriano de Souza in the Semis. Impressive!!
Matt Banting is a powerhouse of a surfer; he’s one of those surfers who seems able to leverage aerials out of the most meagre of waves.
He has a place in surfing history already having won both the Open and Pro Juniors at the inaugural Australian Open of Surfing in 2012.
He bowed out of the 2014 event relatively early but no doubt we will see much more of him soon….
Three pro surfers carving up the waves in a practice session for the Aussie Open of Surfing.
Second set…..:)
The Australian Open of Surfing includes a skate competition which is conducted in a purpose built massive ‘skate pool’ constructed on the sand. I thought I would have a try at getting some interesting shots. It proved more challenging than I had imagined; from high in the stands the view was good but from above it was hard to see the height that the skaters reached. But from down at ‘pool’ level it was difficult because they move VERY fast and disappear into the pool only to suddenly erupt up the other side without warning. Anyway it was fun and different. I have kept some pics cropped wide to give an idea of the context . They need a ladder to get some of the sk8rs out when they come off their boards. Two of the boys in this are aged 8yo and 10 yo and they could really fly!!
Cooper Chapman grew up on Sydney’s Nthn Beaches. He is competing in both the Junior and Open competitions of the Australian Open of Surfing 2014.
Matt King won the U18s Australian Junior Surfing Title in 2012. He is known for his spectacular aerial work!
These are from Ben’s heat in Round 2 of the Pro Juniors at the Australian Open of Surfing.
The heat was early in the morning and, being on the east coast, this makes shooting very challenging because you are pointing almost directly into the sun.
For all that it does lead to some nice effects! There are a couple of shots here I really love and the last is typical Ben….always smiling even when he just got knocked out…
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