#My5Lineups: Anthony Walsh Invites Us to Ride Shotgun in Some Big, Heavenly Barrels
He’s arguably the most barreled man in the world.
This GoPro POV shot of Laird Hamilton and me is one of my all time favs. I was using a Mygo mouth mount and Hero 3+ Black Edition. Shooting photos on time-lapse mode every .5 seconds. This was an early morning session before the Women's Fiji Pro. The event moved to Restaurants because of the size. It was about 6- to 8-foot backs and 12- to 15-foot faces. This wave, Laird was riding the wave for a while before I decided to take off behind him. It wasn’t planned, I just went for it. He didn’t know I was there until I pulled up into the barrel behind him. We both came flying out and he said, "Let's go again!” meaning try to pull into the next section, but it looked long and fast so I straightened out. All morning I was shooting in video mode, but for this wave I decided to switch out to photo mode and I’m glad I did. In this photo you can see jet skis, boats, Tavarua Island, and, obviously, Laird on his 11-foot SUP. Photo: Anthony Walshs
Photo: Anthony Walsh
Sunset session at the Grower, Desert Point, Lombok. There as no one out and it was amazing! I was using a GoPro Hero4 Black Edition, shooting on time-lapse mode, taking photos every half second, with a customized pole I made. I've been surfing Desert Point for a long time. Usually it's pretty crowded, but this session had no one at the Grower. The Grower section of Desert Point is just that: a grower. It just gets bigger and bigger, shallower and shallower. It's the end section at Deserts and it's rarely surfed by most people for good reason. This day was 4- to 6-foot backs and 8- to 10-foot faces. Photo: Anthony Walsh
This shot is of Cloudbreak in Fiji. It was shot from a drone using a GoPro Hero 3+ Black Edition on time-lapse mode every .5 seconds. I flew it from a Tavarua resort boat from the channel, which you can see in this shot. Looking straight down on Cloudbreak when it's small is amazing, because you can see all the cracks in the reef and actually see all the different ledges that you surf. This day was about 3-foot backs and 6-foot faces, and it was the day before the waiting period started for the 2014 Women's Fiji Pro. Photo: Anthony Walsh
One of the most perfect waves in Indonesia is Supersuck, Sumbawa. It's generally really crowded, but this swell wasn’t too bad. It was also as good as it gets. This was midday when the tide was good to surf further up the point. Because of how shallow and sharp the reef is, a higher tide and further up the point is where you need to surf. This was shot with GoPro Hero4 Black Edition on time-lapse mode every half second, using Mygo mouth mount. Photo: Anthony Walsh
Editor’s Note: #My5Lineups is a new series highlighting five of a featured photographer’s favorite lineup shots. The thirteenth in the series is photographer and barrel master, Anthony Walsh.
I have a lot of energy and can’t sit still for more than 5 minutes, always looking for adventure wherever I am… Whether chasing big swells or perfect lighting, I always have a GoPro camera close by.
I am a professional freesurfer originally from Australia, residing in Hawai’i. I’m also a GoPro employee; I shoot product launches and events for the World Surf League.
I got into photography because I often have epic surf sessions alone and wanted to capture them.