By Zak Noyle
It was early season on the North Shore. I had just moved into the RVCA house the day before, which is directly in front of Off The Wall, my favorite wave to shoot in the world. The waves in the morning were not great, but the size was there and it was just missing something to really turn on. I shot in the morning and got out, as the wind wasn’t ideal then.
I ate lunch and watched as the water emptied. The conditions were getting worse. I sat on the deck eating and watching the ocean, when suddenly everything started to click. It was getting good, really good. I grabbed my gear and rushed out. I ended up shooting solo for three hours of the best Off The Wall I saw all winter. Just the boys out surfing and no other photogs. A true dream session.
Tothy (Brian Toth) is always a standout at OTW, mainly because he is one of only a handful of surfers that go on the OTW lefts… giant peaks that are surely going to close out. At least with the rights there is a chance you can make it. He was dropping in on these giant lefts. It was crazy to watch.
A lot of times I’ll see an image in my head after seeing the conditions or waves present and I will try to create it. This is one of those moments. The view is from deep behind him, inside of the lip. There is not a lot of room for error in this critical situation. But this view is just mesmerizing.
pau