This Is Where Passion Lies

Adriano De Souza winning the Australian Open Of Surfing at Manly. The waves were pathetic for most of the event. But these guys do magic and even look cool on this little stuff. Photo: Chris Eyre-Walker.

Surfing can be very therapeutic. No one remembers what they were thinking about before they got into the water and no one worries about anything but the moment once they are in it and everyone feels great once they come out of it. Photo: Chris Eyre-Walker.

Not every day is a perfect surfing day. And sometimes that's a good thing. It pushes our creativity. Photo: Chris Eyre-Walker.

The glorious Sydney winter days. Off-shore winds, solid ground swells and crystal clear water. Photo: Chris Eyre-Walker.

A lot of the swell tends to pass trough on the horizon here at Manly beach. But there hasn't been a day where I've come down to shoot the waves, surf, ocean or beach life where there wasn't anyone surfing. Even the smallest stuff is good enough for some guys. Love the enthusiasm. Photo: Chris Eyre-Walker.

Every surf photographer knows this feeling: A surfer get on a wave and even before he gets on his board you know it's going to be a close one. Should I get the shot or save my head? Went for the shot. He turned right above me and once I sank into the wave I followed him and got this shot of him only just missing my head. Worth it? Worth it! Photo: Chris Eyre-Walker.

This guy just made the ocean look like pure gold. Photo: Chris Eyre-Walker.

There is nothing better than getting up early to a sunrise lighting up a break like this one. Nothing. Photo: Chris Eyre-Walker.

This actually was quite a solid 6ft wave before the surfer ended his ride on the close-out. I like the rocks and the golden sunrise light shining in the spray in the background - gives the whole thing a nice sense of scale. Photo: Chris Eyre-Walker.

In May I spent 3 weeks in Europe and managed to find a couple of perfect, dry spring days in Ireland - amongst many grey and rainy ones. With no idea of where to go I just hired a car and searched the west coast for waves for about 3 days before I found this little gem (and many others). Photo: Chris Eyre-Walker.

A perfect sunrise, a slight off shore breeze and anything above 2ft will create a stunning subject to shoot. Photo: Chris Eyre-Walker.

Spring is the best time in Sydney for colourful sunrises. This shot just beautifully captures that feeling of being the first ones out on a morning session. Surf or no surf, a sky like this even manages to impress the toughest surfers out there. Photo: Chris Eyre-Walker.

An early bird surfing at sunrise. I get up most mornings as long as I know that at least there is good surf or a sunrise - when both happen at once things get really fun. Photo: Chris Eyre-Walker.

A local surfer making the best of the conditions and pulling of a solid air. Most of the times people pick the shot where the surfer is highest up in the air. But in the row of shots I got here I picked the one just before he got back down. The dramatic sky and his position just touching the surface just came together nicely. Photo: Chris Eyre-Walker.

I took an 8 hour train ride up the coast to meet a friend at Crescent Head to find myself stuck with no waves for 3 of the 4 days we were up there. On the last day things picked up and I was determined to make up for the previous days and sat and waited for 2 hours for this shot to come together. 90% of the waves on this spot were useless and ugly or the light was just not doing what I wanted it to. But all the waiting payed off and the wind turned, the sun light up the cliffs and this perfect roller came through. Long weekend saved. Photo: Chris Eyre-Walker.

This is one of the first shots I got when I got my first housing. A local surfer is shredding this little waves to pieces right in front of me and you wouldn't believe my excitement when I was downloading the images from the memory card knowing I had one of these somewhere in there. This was shot using a custom housing with barely any controls at all, so I'd go out shooting 16GB of photos not knowing if a single one came out in focus. Photo: Chris Eyre-Walker.

Love the mood in this shot. This guy is catching quite a heavy wave and there is virtually no one around. I shot this from a long way away with a 400mm lens. Photo: Chris Eyre-Walker.

One of those shots where everything has to be right. The wave, the distance and the surfer's skill. Things came together rather nicely on this one I'd say. Photo: Chris Eyre-Walker.

This one wave only works at the right tide and right size and direction of swell. But when it works people get out and surf some nice barrels here. The rocks bellow the surface are round and smooth too, so a perfect spot to learn all about point breaks. Photo: Chris Eyre-Walker.

I love that my Aquatech housing allows me to capture the moments and places we don't usually see. Even for someone who doesn't know what surfing or surf photography is about, seeing an image like this one is just fascinating. Photo: Chris Eyre-Walker.