The Wave: Tales From The impact Zone

Well it’s finally happened . . . My first book, “The Wave: Tales From The Impact Zone”, published by Hachette Australia, will be released at the end of October! This large format feast is the culmination of around 30 years of photography, travel, and assignment work for Tracks, Rip Curl and more, plus many other bits and pieces. The book will be a visual feast, but one that can be picked at randomly, almost like a smorgasboard. At 255 pages, “The Wave” features hundreds of images and 83 stories about places, experiences, people and just quirky little flights of fancy that pop out of my tweaked brain here and there.

Brian Toth, Nias.

I’ve evolved my niche and made my name by creating story/photo features, and have always been passionate about combining the two arts – one has never dominated the other, but rather each has enhanced the other. The idea of this book then is that a photograph, rather than being worth a thousand words, deserves a thousand words! The two run in concert, and hopefully they are mutually complimentary. You can just pick “The Wave” up and flip it open anywhere, and there will be a story to read. You could read couple before bed, a couple on the throne, even a couple on the phone if the person on the other end is waffling on too much – tune ’em out and let me waffle instead!

Blueys Beach.

The photography is the best of my extensive portfolio, most of it never before published and ranging from my trademark “Meniscus” split shot stuff, to cutting edge water photography, hardcore surf action, travel photography, portraits, line-ups, and other tasty morsels. The writing is all new, and is my own mix of humour, autobiography, travel writing, character sketches, and the odd trippy philosophical musing.
Kelly, Hoyo, Mick Fanning, Steph Gilmore, Parko, Pancho, Owen Wright, Rasta, as well as the many islands of Hawaii and Indonesia, plus Tonga, Solomons, Chile, PNG, South Africa, Marshall Islands and Australia are just some of the people and places portrayed in the book.

Pipeline, fisheye.

Tom Curren, who also features in the book, has written the foreword, something for which I am forever in his debt. At 46, he is still an incredible surfer to watch, his flow is as silky as ever and his sense of humour as drily Australian as ever (amazing really, since he is an American!)
“The Wave” will be available wherever good books are sold, and will retail for $39.95. For a surfer’s Chrissy present, or for anyone who is fascinated by the ocean, travel, and interesting people, I reckon it is a special. But then, I am biased aren’t I?

Striped dolphins.

Perfect peak.