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Chips Wilson, a beak in the hand, Puerto Vallarta, Mexico

When this photo bounced onto my screen I immediately placed it as an excellent example of a pretty tired technique – shooting with a remote flash. 

If it wasn’t for a mid-afternoon inertia where I began playing with the colours, upping the blues and stealing away the yellas, I may never have noticed the fingers cupping the beak of the surfboard.

A nose grab! Y’seen one before? I haven’t, though nose grabs and tail grabs sure give me the thrills.

This example was captured at a secret-ish lefthander an hour and a bit’s drive and a 30-minute boat ride away from the resort city of Puerto Vallarta.

“I was going for a lien but my tail was too high and I just grabbed the nose. It felt so weird when I was doing it,” says Chips.

“I’m really surprised no one tries to do those,” says Tom Carey. “Maybe the nose is just a little out of reach, but a tail grab would be so sick.”

“Tail grabs?” says Chips. “Lately, I’ve been trying indys but behind my back leg and they look kinda cool. You could do tail grabs, tuck up like a stalefish and maybe spin with it.”

Ain’t that a cover in the making!

Imagine, says Carey, if Mr Reynolds himself, the greatest living surfer in waves under five foot, nailed a tail-high tail grab.

“Wouldn’t that be the sickest thing ever?”

A rhetorical question requires no answer. – Derek Rielly

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Tom Carey

Tom Carey is, like, 31 years young. Things may change when he’s older, but for now he ain’t shot much he digs: “I get sick of looking at stuff,” he says. “But, I guess the first remote flash shot I had run of Nate Yeomans was pretty epic. People probably wouldn’t remember. But it was a game-changer to me.” That says a lot about Tom. He does things for himself and he’s honest. Just ask him about being ripped off by the industry: “Everyone wants to skim a few dollars off you. Its not coming out of their pockets but it’s sure as hell coming out of ours.” And since he was so thrilled to answer, Stab’s gotta include Tom’s fav retired shooters: “I love this question. No one asks it anymore. Maybe Chris Van Lennep. I don’t know, the list could go on. Tony Roberts f’sure. His shots really inspired me. His angles in the water were so ahead of his time.”

More photos from Tom Carey