Flash!
During the Era of shooting flash in the water I had an idea to build an external flash (slave) housing and have an assistant swim out with me to get multiple flashes going off at one time. These have been used for a long time in skateboard action shots, but nobody had ever done it in the surf. Sean Labrie at SPL Waterhousings was psyched on the project and made me a few of them. I bought a couple extra flashes and some Ultra Slaves and Cory Hansen was psyched to swim so we started shooting flash every evening. The effects and results were unbelievable! We started using colored gels and even more flashes and things got even crazier! Matt Rockhold was always on it and he got some of the best shots.....This triple flash shot being one of my favorites!
_______________________________________________________________________
Off The Wall 2003
I drove down to Off The Wall and pulled up in a big mud puddle. I could hear the waves thumping from the street. I was like “Oh Fuck” as i grabbed my Flash Housing and fins and walked down the infamous trail in the dark. It’d been firing all week and I was hoping Mick would be on it again. He seemed to be on it every morning lately. Hmmm, not a soul around. I watched as a big Backdoor set bent and grinded down the reef towards me. It was almost light enough to see now. A wave peaked up at Off The Wall, and I saw someone paddle up the face! The light was starting to reflect off the water and a big set loomed out the back. Its a tricky spot....too far inside is no good, and too far outside is even worse, so I kinda swam in circles trying to negotiate the exact spot to be in as Mick paddled hard and drove down the face at me.
"....With flash you only got one shot so I waited and popped it right before I was gunna get sucked over....."
As Mick paddled back out we laughed about how blind he was after i shot the photo and how sick that wave was. One for the books!
_________________________________________________________________________
I spent a month in Teahupoo, Tahiti. I was staying with a Tahitian family on the lagoon out front and Poto was nice enough to let me use his ski while he was busy doing water patrol for the contest. I was so stoked and I was free and mobile! Every morning I’d buzz out to Teahupoo in the dark to shoot flash. The swell had been perfect for the last week. 3-5 feet and easy to handle. On this particular morning the swell had risen. I noticed it as I hopped on the ski at our house. I was instantly on alert and my stomach started to churn. As I pulled up Parko and Andy pulled up along side my ski. We tied up to the rope in the channel in silence and watched the sky turn colors as the mountains were highlighted and became visible.
I was pinching myself. It was obviously a little bigger but I was psyching at the chance to shoot flash with Andy and Parko at Teahupoo with nobody around. I hopped in and swam over to the bowl. The water was bath tub warm...
"...and I felt that feeling of bliss come over me. The one we searched for. The one that only happens when you know exactly where you're supposed to be at that exact moment in time.
Fear turned into stoke..."
...and I hooted after every wave as they got blown out of barrel after barrel.
What an incredible journey life is sometimes!
RIP Andy Irons. One of the best to ever glide on a wave!
_Nelly