Innehållsförteckning för #377 - Summer 2025 från Surfing Life

Yurra wanhtharra surfing gals, guys, gurus, groms and grandmasters, and welcome to the “summer” edition, bookending Surfing Life’s 40th anniversary year. Twenty-twenty-five cops a once-in-a-lifetime visit from TC Alfred—sounds more like the name of a 19th-century poet than the storm-swigging, indecisive, rambunctious landscaper who tore roofs off homes, rattled windows, turned powerlines into electric whipping eels, and renovated the south-eastern coastline into scantily-sanded shores. Mother Nature’s reprimand makes human ego recoil, remembering how speck-like we are in comparison. And the reminder of death’s inevitability summons our primal yowl. Without power for days—weeks—meant no doomscrolling or show bingeing, eating camp-style-cooked meals, and “gulp” asking strangers for help. Yet, natural disasters summon us to step up in soul-stirring triumph. Community spirit and generosity are resuscitated, and local rebels are celebrated on land…

From film cameras to digital, what do you see as the next significant evolution in photography? The most recent evolution in cameras was the hybrid. Nearly every camera now comes standard for use as either a pro-quality video camera or a stills camera. They seem to be able to fit more and more tech into tiny devices now, too, like iPhones, etc. The next big evolution, though, might be in processing/editing in post, rather than in image-capturing equipment. AI has a bad name now in terms of (extreme) image altering/manipulation, but if people start to embrace it in the future, that will result in some big changes and will probably mean learning and becoming familiar with that technology as standard. At present, the rule of thumb for me is that…

Sumbawa is like an overlooked “middle” child—third in line after Bali and Lombok in the Lesser Sunda Islands chain of Indonesia. It’s less crowded, and the mountainous terrain has long roads that weave through dense jungles to coastlines that cradle kaleidoscopic reefs. The island’s seascape is vivid and alluring—a band of turquoise water disappears into the deep sapphire drop-off. Sumbawa’s landscape doesn’t have the same flamboyant fashion style as its extraverted bang (older bro), Bali. During May to October (the dry season), the middle isle-child dresses in earthier colours, and surf sojourners reset their circadian rhythm to Sumbawa’s tidal timekeeper. A gentle tempo where small villages nestle amongst the jungle, and friendly residents sit in the shade of warungs, waving at locals and visitors who pass by. A surfboard can…

The charts light up before the coastline does. Far offshore, a warm core low tightens, wind fields breathe outward, and somewhere between coral shelves and sand points, a set is on the way. Glued to our phones, checking charts, refreshing wind maps, and watching the buoy readings climb, we gather along the dunes, call our mates, and the chatter over morning brews circles around the same questions: when will it hit, how big will it get, and what’s the wind doing? Cyclone. Hurricane. Typhoon. Three words, one storm. These are the regional names for the same phenomenon: warm-core tropical storms that spin up over heated seas and drive immense wind fields across the ocean’s surface. Hurricanes prowl the Atlantic and eastern North Pacific, typhoons rule the western North Pacific, and…

Hauling heavy, awkward board coffins through airports across continents tests your commitment—equal parts dragging endurance sport, comedy of errors, and logistical nightmare. From the suspense of a broken board while waiting at oversized collection to schmoozing taxis into wrestling your precious cargo, it’s a grind that wears the shine off travel before it begins. Some things we can’t control. A travel disaster awaits when transporting five or more boards. Board-hoarding is not the way to go. What if there was a solution—the “travel trifecta” solution—that could simplify the decision-making process to select sleds that are specifically designed for travel? TEST PILOT When it comes to travel, twenty-eight-year-old Chris “Zaf ” Zaffis has filled his share of passports, competing on the QS Tour for just shy of a decade. If anyone…

Telo is also known as the Batu Islands. Batu means “rock” in Bahasa Indonesia. Telo is dotted with beautiful, small tropical islands, but typically the islands live up to the “rock” moniker, with only small sandy beaches restricted to the leeward sides. This island, however, is surrounded by a beautiful sandy beach. It is home to a new resort called Tanah Mympi. In May, I spent three weeks there, shooting some promotional content for the resort. It’s still in the building phase, and I was privileged to spend time there before it opens in 2026. And, like most islands on the western side of the chain, it also has quality waves. I flew the drone whenever we had light winds (and weren’t out chasing surf ), and the drone’s angle…

The ocean is the pulse of our planet. Coastal communities across the globe connect to this blue-tinted energy. But beyond the surface, another force brews: surf culture. Its boundaries are fluid—limitless. When it comes to surf culture, does the most potent force become its strongest influence? Or is it about who controls the narrative? There is a global shift in surfing culture. Decolonisation trigger warning: to the members of Old money, second (or third)-gen surfing trustafarians, colonial-conditioned misogynists, surfing’s boys’ club and/or neo-Nazis/White Supremacists ... Until there are writers (and editors, publishers, shapers, surf brand owners, etc.) who are female, Indigenous, or identify as being part of minority groups—every surf story will glorify the Caucasian, male surfer. As surf media (mags, books, films and documentaries) debunk colonial surf stories, surfers—not…

The waves haven’t changed, but who rides them has. So has the rapid pace of surf progression: from power-hacking the face and lip to high-octane aerials that demonstrate strength, and athletic authority. Mix in surf style—balance and flow—the energy of the surfer in sync with the ocean, an ease of connection and confident fluidity. Celebrating Surfing Life’s 40th anniversary year, we refocus on a series of flashbacks and extract 40 manoeuvres from SL’s time machine. Surf photojournalism is the visual storytelling of an event or moment, capturing a surfer’s eclectic mix of adrenaline, acrobatics and aggressive athleticism with poetic style, grace and poised peak performance. Surf photojournalism is an art and a science, sealed in a spray of euphoria. The commitment to the craft from surfers, shapers, coaches, photographers, and…