Still Life

I think our relationship with “the photographic image” is forever compromised. Hell, it's hard to even trust that an image we’re seeing is real and it's just as easy to scroll past something sublime without feeling a damn thing. We’re starving for imagery and drowning in them at the same time.

Earlier this week I entered the sacred place that is the confines of a surf magazine. Deep dive. In the name of research I immersed myself — which is not easy. The immediacy of the RIGHT NOW demands we do anything but be off our phone. But somehow, my body and mind resisted the temptation and I immersed in the mags for a few hours and something happened. Instead of feeling gross and depressed after this imagery binge, I felt good. Inspired. Euphoric. Buzzed. Like I’d just finished two pints of beer sitting inside a dark bar on a Friday afternoon in a foreign city. The possibility of life was infinite. I was thrilled to know that the moments I’d just seen were frozen forever for my enjoyment and I was ready to go. Anywhere and everywhere.

It got me thinking about a few surfing images that I carry with me wherever I go to this day. I don’t know if I’ll go as far as saying these are my definitive Top 5 of All-Time because I’ve probably seen more surf images in my day than most of humanity due to my profession and I just haven’t taken the time to make that proclamation, but I do know that these ones were special the moment I saw them and retain that feeling today. These are the ones I store in the master bedroom of my mind palace — away from all the clutter, suds and bubbles of the day-to-day.

I don’t think I need to wax on about why they’re special to me here or what you should get out of them. I think it defeats the purpose. Just look at them real close…feel that? Yeah, that’s the good Immortal surf photo stuff. The why we do this sorta thing stuff.—Travis Ferré

Andy Irons at Log Cabins by Jeff Divine.

A 17-year-old Benji Weatherley at Pipeline by Steve Sherman.

Tom Curren at Backdoor by Ted Grambeau.

Cory Lopez at Teahupoo by Tom Servais.

Noa Deane in Indo by Nate Lawrence.