Monster Gallery: The 100 Best Surf Photos of 2013

One of my favorite shots from Teahupoo. Just the atmosphere. May 14th, 2013. Photo: Ben Thouard.

Colin (Whitbread) is my go to guy, he used to live just down the street and we always seem to link up with great light and conditions. Photo: Myles McGuinness

A Deal, NJ landscape with a backwash wave opening up. Photo: Christor Lukasiewicz

Rifles. If only I had a dollar for every time someone dropped an F-bomb when they saw this one. And yes, he made it over...just. Photo: John Barton

New Hampshire. Photo: Brian Nevins

Portugal. Land of Secrets. Photo: Joao Bracourt

Solitude. Photo: Miles McGuinnes

Photo: Chris Burkard

Secrets. The best kept ones. Photo: Joao Bracourt.

"As long as the sea and the waves fascinate me so much , i will keep on surfing... togather with studying the bible". Photo: Gai Schteinberg

Lone surfer in West End, NJ going out for another epic ride. Photo: Christor Lukasiewicz

The end of the Road. Photo: Joao Bracourt

And that looks about right. Photo: Jason Corroto

Lines to infinity. Photo: Adam Warmington

Bethany Hamilton. Photo: MIke Coots

Beards and hoods. Photo: Mark McInnis

Empty. Aside from the birds. Photo: Colin Nearman

I'm convinced that Rob can pretty much surf on anything under his feet. Here he is from an alaia session in Carlsbad. Photo: Anthony Ghiglia

South peak flarring up at Blacks Beach, 2013. Photo: Miles McGuinness

The Fin Project. Photo: Tim Hogan

Bryan Johnson gets a solo session in on a below zero morning. That's seasmoke on the surface caused by frigid temps hitting the high-30 water temps. Photo: Brian Nevins

Cold doesn't exist. Photo: Brian Nevins

The Outer Banks is for real. Photo: Ben Crum

Nate Smith won the Red Bull Illume Best Close up and Athletes Choice award with. Andrew Mooney. Photo: Nate Smith

Here's Surfline forecaster Jon Warren on a screamer during a trip to central America last summer. Photo: Myles McGuinness

Rincon. Santa Barbara, California. Photo: Joe Curren

Manasquan. Photo: Joanne O'Shaughnessy

James McKean, navigating with a very foggy compass. Photo: Stuart Gibson

Bruce Irons risking life and limb on a solid close out end section to an OTW wave. I saw him coming and couldn't believe he did this. I'm pretty sure he didn't do it for the shot as he got pretty lit up in the flats but I'm stoked he did and glad he didn't break a leg doing so. Photo: Nate Smith

Escaping flood waters added some great colors to the mini peaks on this day. Photo: Deb Morris

Yannick De Jager, pictured, with a strange view; not photographed with a fisheye but with a 50 mm. Photo: Gyselinck

Isaac Stant, about to bear the brunt of it. Photo: Sofie Louca - Fish Bowl Diaries

A lone surfer at the Da Hui Backdoor Shootout, Pipeline. Photo: Sean Davey

Perfect line of waves at one of Hobart's point breaks in Tasmania, Australia. Photo: Sean Davey

Perfection lies just down the hill. Photo: Adam Warmington

Dolphin silk. Photo: Craig Parry

The Queen of the Coast at sunset... Photo: Andy Bowlin

Sometimes everything lines up perfect. Pete Devries, lining it up. Photo: Kyler Vos

Liquid Gold. Directly after a storm, run off from tea-trees tinted the water, creating spectacular color and light. Photo: Adam Duffy

A mid winter pulse producing some clean lines. Cayucos California. Photo:Colin Nearman

I believe this is Tim Tebow just moments before paddling out at Blacks Beach. One of those days when the mist from the waves get pushed against the cliffs to make for some dramactic light. Easily one of my favorite beaches in the world. Photo: Myles McGuinness

Brazilian backwash. Photo: Adam Duffy

Martin Cabada. Walking on water. Photo: Robb Wilson

Mini waves are arguably the greatest thing to photograph when it’s flat. Photo: Ed Sloane

Skip the sunset mojitos with Bali's white linen crowd and get over to the Bukit to catch the best light of the day shining through a wall of Indian Ocean perfection like this one that Nyoman 'Blacky' caught at Bingin. Photo: Tommy Schultz

Bodyline. Photo: Warren Keelan

Speed lining out the front at Pitstops. Photo: John Barton

"Ahh why did I come in?!" Image: Tozzi

Mauritania. The area around the Nouadhibou Peninsula is known as the shipwreck capital of the world as it is littered with hundreds of rusting wrecks, which were driven ashore as part of insurance scams. This hulk sits in the middle of a great right point. Photo: John Seaton Callahan/surfEXPLORE

Bron Huesenstamm, Stoney Point. Lake Superior, Minnesota. Photo: Joe Curren

Boys fishing, typhoon swell. Kenting, Taiwan. Photo: Joe Curren

Here's my brother, Jamie, deep in a cold barrel at home in New Jersey. I enjoy how the wave seems to be bending away and has created a bubble around him. Take him out of the photo and chances are it would take a minute to figure out this is a photo inside a wave. Photo: Trevor Moran

Inside out in Brazil. This is my favorite be achy in Brazil. It's a solid wedge, close to shore, and perfect for water shooting. Photo: Adam Duffy

Alex Botelho. Z-Point. Photo: Joao Bracourt.

Words can't do this justice. Magical moment in Tahiti. Photo: Seth de Roulet

Nazaré rears its heavy lip as it breaks top to bottom. Photo: Rui Boino

Aerial view of a pass in French Polynesia. This is an example of a good set up. Shot from my motorized paraglider. Photo: Ben Thouard.

"Tell me again how we are supposed to get out there?" - Classic New Jersey winter swell. Photo: Robert Siliato

Frankie Harrer. East side, Oahu. Photo: Megan Villa

Days like these don't come along very often. Photo: Adam Warmington

Bobby Okvist airing it out over a triple-overhead wave at Newport Beach's The Wedge. I'm incredibly honored that this image placed Top 50 Overall, and Top 5 in the Wings category, for the 2013 Red Bull Illume contest. Photo: Ben Ginsberg

Winter surf here doesn't bode well for photographers. The light is weird... the water is a dirty chocolate brown.... But, the waves are pumping. The lack of green water sometimes requires black and white, but Florida charger Mark Dawson has relocated to the Outer Banks for the barrels, not the water color. Photo: Gallop

Grace, style and ease. Kassia Meador blowing minds. Ventura, January 2013. Photo: Dylan Gordon

Crossing paths. Photo: Trent Mitchell

Sunset on Moorea Island, Tahiti. Photo: Adam Duffy.

Colombian national freediving record holder Sofia Uribe Gomez charmed by a Caribbean reef shark. Photo: Lia Barrett

I took the week off work to get this swell on the Gold Coast and scored! This is Kirra midweek and uncrowded. Photo: Jack Dekort

Mid winter Iceland. Snow fall, only about four hours of light, a wind chill way below freezing and a field of Icebergs to get through before you can surf. Ian Battirck getting ready for a standard solo session. Photo: Tim Nunn

Reflections, Bondi Beach. Photo: Rhydian Thomas.

Belly flop drop-in. Photo: Pierce Anderson

Tunnel Vision - Kings Beach, Sunshine Coast. Photo: Kieran Tunbridge

Miguel Mouzinho, Porto de Mos. Photo: Joao Bracourt.

Unridden perfection sometimes allows us to appreciate the beauty of the wave even more. Image: Tozzi

South Africa, 2000. For my first six years of shooting in SA, I kept being told this shot was faked. It's not. Photo: Greg Huglin.

Outrageous. Nathan Fletcher about to take a hell of a ride. Pipeline, December 2011. Photo: Dylan Gordon

Silhouettes, this day brought a lot of images. Photo: Steen Barnes

Dolphins breach the surface. Photo: Clare Plueckhahn

Sunday silk. Photo: Chris Dixon

This is one of my favorites yet. Keiki beach break so big it's dwarfing everyone on the beach. I’d say twenty foot faces. Some Hawaiians would probably say ten though. Photo: Doug Falter

Someone just scored wave of the day. Photo: Robert Siliato

Hard to believe this wave is just 15cm in height. The wind was howling offshore producing the ripple effect captured in the inside of the wave. With the reflection of the sun and sand, the colors were magnified. Photo: Deb Morris.

Mark Matthews mastering Ours. Photo: Jason Corroto

Serenity amongst the devastation. Such is the case along the New Jersey Shore since Hurricane Sandy hit. For a brief moment, NJ surfers were able to forget about the devastation. Photo: Robert Siliato

Friendly swim. Photo: Jason Corroto

Not a bad wake up call. Photo: Mark McInnis

This is Brazilian hell-man Stephan Prado getting his share on a nice late season afternoon. Photo: Jack Dekort

The massive bowl in effect at Nazaré. Photo: Mark Wengler

Unknown swimmer diving under the clouds at Makapu'u. Photo: Gage Hingeley.

This wave has always intrigued me from a distance. A few months ago I finally made the trek down to it on first light to see what it was all about. Photo: Ben Lee

Reaching for the roof. Photo: Seth Migdail.

Moby's Tail. Photo: Warren Keelan.

No one out. We're out. Photo: Willie Kessel

Cloud 9 in Siargao might have been named after a marshmellow and chocolate candy bar, but there's nothing tasty about its new nickname 'Crowd 9'. When the rest of the island is sleeping off a few too many San Miguel's, you could be catching a Pacific sunrise (and uncrowded waves) like this guy heading out the pier at dawn. Photo: Tommy Schultz

Locals coming in from a stormy fall surf. Tofino, British Columbia. Photo: Alex Guiry

Golden peak, Bronte. Photo: Rhydian Thomas.

Super Tonic. The Wedge. Photo: Willie Kessel

CRESENT - AUSTRALIA. Just a cool viewpoint. Photo: Shelli Bankier

This rider was caught in narrow view tucking in, Warilla. Photo: Dylan Robinson

Jason Breiholz and Nigel Haynes enjoying the view in Kill Devil Hills, NC. Photo: Matt Beacham

"Go Surf Or Go Home" At the entrance of Ayampe, Ecuador. Photo: Alex Guiry