The Air Up There: 35 Monster Airs

Instead of my usual yearly sojourn to Bells for the Rip Curl event, I chose to hit Western Australia for the Margaret River Drug Aware Pro. My foot was still on the mend, so I was kind of landlocked when it came to shooting. Here, Julian Wilson made my afternoon with this huge golden air. The kid knows how to work it for us photographers. Photo: Nate Smith

Gabriel Medina flaring on a tiny day at Sydney's most famous beach, that being Bondi Beach. This kid really is unbelievable in the air. Photo:Alex Marks.

Mikey Brennan, Clifton Beach flair. Photo: Stuart Gibson

This was maybe 1999, and it was super late in the day. Heaps of photog's had packed up and left for the day, and there were only a few left on the beach at Off The Wall. I saw the golden light starting to build in the sky, so I headed down towards Backdoor on the off chance that if Bruce busted an air, he might do it against this one golden bit of sky, thus at least giving me a backlit silhouette of him. Sure enough, Bruce goes huge, and I took about six slides of it at at about a 40th or a second. Here's the amazing bit: during just that moment of inertia at the height of his maneuver, he was still enough for me to produce a reasonably sharp image. None of the others were anywhere near as good. Photo: Sean Davey

Taj air force with the last light. Seignosse. France. Photo: Jose V. Glez.

Air time at Off The Wall. Photo: Doug Falter

Clay Johnson boosting large after the sun went down. Photo: Andy Bowlin

For this image of Peter Devries doing a frontside air, we stitched together eight images to create a sequence look. It was one of my entries in the RedBull Illume contest. Photo: Jeremy Koreski

Ryan Carlson is incredible. He told me that he gets so low to his board sometimes he bruises his balls. I don't think he ever got the respect he deserves for being one of the best air guys ever. He committed his life to pushing aerial surfing and I have seen him do things that aren't human. Thanks for always blowing my mind Ryan and being such a great guy. Photo: Foster

I guess I have a thing with stitching the best competitive airs I’ve shot. This was Slater at Bells in 2012. The sound when he landed it from the crowd on the beach was amazing. Photo: Ed Sloane

It's pretty common to see Randy Bonds doing airs exactly like this. This fickle spot and lighting, however, made for a great night of shooting. Photo:Ryan Craig

Gabriel Medina, air drying. Photo: Matt Dunbar

Iketut Suartha, local de Sanur, gran conocedor de Keramas, donde pasa mas tiempo en el aire que en el agua. Iketut Suartha, local of Sanur, connoisseur of Keramas, where he spends more time in the air than in water. Image: Tozzi.

My take on “that” air. It was pretty cool to be there for that. Photo: Ed Sloane

Si te estas iniciando en el surf, entras al agua y ves a Kai Otton Airlines, tienes dos opciones: darte la vueta y comprarte una raqueta de tenis, o pensar: ese voy a ser yo en unos años... If you are a beginner, walk into the water and you see Kai Otton Airlines, you have two choices: turn around and buy a tennis racket, or think, that will be me in a few years. Image: Tozzi.

Julian Wilson boosting way out on Day Two. Photo: Hennings

Ryan Carlson is one of the best air guys in the biz, and he lives right next door. So when a work buddy called me and told me to get down there, I grabbed Ryan, and we tamed the Pacific Bully. Photo: Sardelis.com/HBSurfShot.Blogspot.com

John John Florence threw what some are calling the biggest air in competition ever. And, oh yeah, he got a 10 for this. Photo: Hennings

This was landed at Rockys. Photo: Mike Healey

This is Sepp Bruhwiler making a solid air on the Central Coast of California. November 2012. Photo: Dylan Gordon

Why bail out the back when you can air out with style instead? For Nathan Fletcher, a smaller day like this in knee-high water is the perfect time to play. Photo: Benjamin Ginsberg

Luke Ditella getting some air time in NJ. Luke is a true gentleman with a big heart. After Hurricane Sandy hit the coast he helped start up a non-profit organization called RebuildRecover. Photo: Steve Coleman

Air. Photo: Stephane Lacasa

Archrock, South Africa. A big thumping day for us to be in the shorebreak at first light, but this 10' Bottlenose is pulling some big air. Photo: Greg Huglin.

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

Kelly Slater pulling a huge air during the Quiksilver Pro New York. Photo: Christor Lukasiewicz

Keanu Asing, Kewalo’s. Nice air, and I love the light. Photo: Conor Kennedy

Spectators watch an impromptu air show. Photo: Jeff Flindt

Jeff Lukasik is another humble, down-to-earth, incredibly talented surfer from San Clemente. If you ever surf the Lower’s right, chances are you’ve split a peak with Jeff. Photo: Mark McInnis

I initially passed over this photo until my friend Shay got really excited when he saw it. The massive air, the lone peak out the back, all make for an interesting shot. Photo: Matt Degreff.

Air surfing is what the majority of young hot shots are doing, but this Godfather was in the air long before the new tadpoles. Photo: Patrick Eichstaedt

Normally this guy is riding huge barrels with a GoPro in his hand. Anthony Walsh taking to the air. Photo: Jason Reposar

From my first trip to West Oz earlier this year. Julian was throwing some of the biggest airs I'd ever seen in person this trip and I was so glad when I downloaded my cards and everything came out how I'd planned. Photo: Trevor Moran

Trevor Thorton threw some massive airs. Photo: Justin Jung

Cory Lopez was living in Dana Point for a while which was great for me. No matter how many flips and rotations guys are pulling, giant straight airs will never go out of style. Photo: Kevin Voegtlin