Monster Gallery: 101 Best Photos of 2014

Convection. Photo: RayCollinsPhoto.com

Difficult to stay focused on paddling for the horizon when the clean-up sets are this damn pretty. Photo: John Barton

French Sunrise, probably my favorite moment of the day. Photo: Grégoire Gyselinck.

Fury. Photo: RayCollinsPhoto.com

"Brendan Buckley is one of my favorite surfers to shoot photos with. Until this day, Buckley will charge the heaviest sections to go for airs that most people would snap their ankles on, but he pulls them. This was a stormy spring day here in New Jersey. We were going for big boosts with the jetty and clouds in the backdrop." Photo: Ryan Mack

Stephanie Gilmore at P-Pass. This is one of those moments that just happen. The rain stopped, the clouds parted and the sun burst through just as Steph took off….she pulled into a nice little barrel and as she came out the lip flared…The delight on her face is genuine, this is not her working the camera, she didn’t even know that I had this shot until later. Photo: Richard Kotch

Post snow melt peak. Photo: Brian Nevins

Longboarding is something I don't get the opportunity to shoot enough. I'm looking forward to linking up with surfers like Nick Anderberg again to capture this timeless and beautiful genre of our sport. Photo: Mark McInnis

This might sound kind of weird, but this image actually makes me extremely sad. I had been chasing this wave for ten years, and never scored it like this. We rolled up and the four of us surfed this wave by ourselves for three days straight. While we were there, the fishing village on the inside started building a jetty so they could launch their vessels closer to the village instead of driving them the 1/8 mile to the old boat launch. By the time we left, the backwash from the hardly even built jetty was already messing up the inside of the wave. Breaks my heart. Photo: Mark McInnis

Photo: BC Laserwolf

Mikey Moran, The Wall. Photo: Brian Nevins

"The walk out after a long day can be one of the most satisfying parts of surfing." Photo: Paul Greene.

Mark Mathews. Photo: RayCollinsPhoto.com

Cortes Bank. Photo: Brian Nevins

I had not been to Fiji for many years and this was a pretty different trip as I didn't stay in the action packed islands, namely Namotu or Tavarua. Instead, I was on a small, rocky boat stationed near the judging tower at Cloudbreak. We got to see when it turned on out there. This shot is a result of that boat and a little knowledge knowing that late this day would be good. Here, Nat Young, Rookie of the Year stole the wave of the afternoon and gave me one of my favorite photos to date. Photo: Nate Smith from Highlights from the Weirdest Year Ever

Hanging out in the ceiling of a hefty one at Bank Vaults while Drew Meredith sets up for the run through the end bowl. Photo: John Barton

It's not all about surfing people. Make sure to get out there and explore other parts of the world. Here's my lifelong friend Lane Pearson sending it near Yellowstone National Park. Photo: Mark McInnis

Tristan Guilbaud, Maldives. "The light here is almost perfect for this type of shot." Photo: Grégoire Gyselinck.

Kelly Slater again on one of the most amazing waves I have seen ridden in a contest. I managed to shoot this from the Volcom boat that was anchored in the channel. I was standing next to my mate Andrew Christie yet we both have different perspectives. Shooting contests is always a challenge to get something that the next guy hasn't. KS got clipped at the end of the wave, but man it was a pretty special moment. Photo: Nate Smith from Highlights from the Weirdest Year Ever

I won't tell you where this wave is, but let's just say it is not Sydney. The locals here love this place and I wish to return so out of respect, I won't name it. This wave was just insane and this was when I has fresh stitches in my foot. Seeing these peel off was killing me not being able to get in the water, but I think I made it look pretty inviting this way. Any surfer could nail this wave. It was crazy fun. Photo: Nate Smith from Highlights from the Weirdest Year Ever

Sam Hammer. "This is probably one of my favorite photos to date. Sam dropping into a freight train left the week after the Dooms Day swell here in New Jersey. You can fit a full size SUV in the tube right behind him and a small school bus into the sections he’s on." Photo: Ryan Mack

Sunset soul glide. Marcus Lascelles at Lakey Peak. Photo: Richard Kotch

Speed blur. Photo: Ray Collins Photo

Nathan Fletcher at Teahupoo in Tahiti on the code red swell. This is the craziest wave ever ridden by a human. Yes he survived. Photo: Brian Bielmann

"This is one of those photos where everything falls into place. You can feel the surfer's happiness." Photo: Grégoire Gyselinck.

Manasquan Inlet, NJ. "This photo is one of my favorite lineup photos I've ever taken. I just love the big spray going over the back of the wave from the offshore winds and the glowing light effect in the shore break." Photo: Mike Incitti.

"Speed blurs capture so much motion. In longboarding in particular, there is more body movement to convey." Photo: Paul Greene.

Yannick De Jager. "This is one of my strangest shot with a 50 mm." Photo: Grégoire Gyselinck.

Spring Lake, New Jersey. "2011 one of the better swells of that winter. These perfect peaks pushed down the beach, just breaking with no one really out, so I turned around and climbed up onto the nearest jetty and shot north instead of the all star session in front of me. Lucky I did 'cause I snapped this snow covered lineup." Photo: Ryan Mack

A soft dimpled set wave comes rolling into the shores at Blacks Beach. In the early years of my work I would have completely missed something so simple as this moment, which now evokes as much interest, if not more, for me as high action. Photo: Anthony Ghiglia

Mike Gelason. "Doom’s day swell here in New Jersey – dark and rainy conditions made me slow down my shutter for a different effect on my subject. This was one of the first major winter swells in 2012 right after Hurricane Sandy so all the boys were frothing to get on the great tubes." Photo: Ryan Mack

The range of colors can be so dramatic at this time of day. Photo: John Lucarelli

A cold winter day just after a passing snow storm laid a pile of fresh snow and brought plenty of waves to New Jersey. I was shooting water this day and came away with a few good images but I knew I had to get out and get the land angle with the snowman. I saw a child making it as we paddled out. This is one of my best selling prints and you can purchase it here. Photo: Ryan Struck

As I continued to transform my work, I found myself looking for anything different that I thought might make for an impactful image. This photo was shot with a long lens looking almost straight down on a clean wave rolling into Blacks Beach. Photo: Anthony Ghiglia

I took this photo with my first DSLR three years ago on Easter Sunday. One of the first photos that got me recognized as an up-and-coming photog. Still had a ton of work but was told that I had a great eye for photography and to keep at it. Taken with a 60d and a canon 70-300 4-5.6 which I learned the hard way that, at 300, was soft no matter the aperture. Bought the 70-200 2.8is soon after seeing too many good photos getting trashed because they were too soft for my liking. Photo: Ben Currie

This image from Nicaragua is a good example of a wave's relationship with its surroundings. Being a part of that surrounding and specifically being alone in that surrounding is what I try to convey in these types of images. Photo: Anthony Ghiglia

"This image invokes a feeling of discovery – finding an empty gem like this is everyone's dream." Photo: Paul Greene.

This is a little wave near my house. It's always the first place I check in the morning. From there I can usually base where to go. Most of the time I'll drive around and end up right back where I started. Photo: Andy Bowlin

Life is better in the slow lane. Photo: Christian McLeod

Brad Domke and Mark Mathews should be committed to a mental institution. Photo: Chris Gurney

Crazy colors. Photo: Holly Tree Photo

"It's funny how small of a role the wave itself can play in surfing." Photo: Christian McLeod

Photo: Morgan Maassen | ESPN The Magazine

Juxtaposition of color at sunset. A-frame Outer Banks. Photo: Graham Hunt

Nuclear Nazarè. Photo: Miguel Caparica

A-frame Outer Banks. Photo: Graham Hunt

Barrel Vortex. Photo: Ray Collins Photo

Alex Gray, Central Coast, CA. Photo: Nelly

Frigid waters of the North Atlantic. Photo: Chris DeLorenzo

Hangin' a little five spot. Photo: Seth de Roulet

Mark Healy takes a very late drop at Pipeline last winter. Photo: Brian Bielmann

The beauty of the Pacific Northwest is unmatched. Photo: Mark McInnis

Andy Irons again ,between this world and another Fiji Tavarua Island

Andy Irons between this world and another - Tavarua, Fiji. Photo: Brian Bielmann

Kelly on the Gold Coast. Photo: Nate Smith Photo

Mike Coots in Hawaii. Photo: Mike Coots

Contemplation in the North Atlantic. Photo: Chris DeLorenzo

Atlantic dreams. Photo: Ben Currie

Dolphin Silk. Photo: Craig Parry

Central Coast, California. Photo: Andy Bowlin

Ian Walsh slips into Cortes Bank. Photo: Brian Nevins

Bali bagus. Photo: Federico Vanno

SF, CA. Photo: Julien Bacal

very friendly ocean Tahiti, I was shooting the Mantas and pushing them off me to get them in my viewfinder and I felt thos tap ping on my arm and looked down to see this turtle trying to get my attention by tapping me with his fin. Crazy crazy experiance

"I was shooting the Mantas and pushing them off me to get them in my viewfinder and I felt something tap me on my arm and looked down to see this turtle trying to get my attention. Crazy, crazy experiance." Photo: Brian Bielmann