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Jeremy Flores, bluetooth tunnel, Tahiti

Day one of the Billabong Pro, Tahiti started off “cloudy and sinister with strong south-east winds that made the wave less than desirable,” says local photog Dom Mosqueira (who shot this). “But, luckily by 9am the winds backed-off enough and the waves started to clean up to create some of what everyone looks to Teahupoo for – barrels. They were tough to make, but it showed the skill of the crew threading them and making it out the other end.”

One of those men was Jeremy Flores, pictured here. He stroked into a west bowl, took off behind the peak and doggy-doored for a 9.57. But, this ain’t it pictured. The wave you see here was a deep, bigger set that Jeremy raced through hands-free, before being swallowed whole and scoring 2.13 for an uncompleted ride. His only other wave was a 1.33. But, he did enough to beat CJ Hobgood and Freddy Patacchia. Cliched as it may be, it’s a real fine line between glory and bust when Chopes ain’t working mechanically.

Photographer profile

Domenic Mosqueira

Domenic Mosqueira is 34 years old. If you ask him what the best non-surf photo he’s ever shot is, he’ll tell you it was one taken in a womens prison. If you ask him what the best surf photo he’s ever shot is, he’ll tell you it was the cover of Stab, which featured Bruce Irons storming through a Chopes cave – blindfolded. Why? It was his first surf cover. And, because Chopes is his favourite place to shoot. His favourite-ever shot is a war portrait taken by James Nachtwey. He likes James Nachtwey, Diane Arbus, Dan Eldon, Richard Avedon, Irving Penn and, for water, Russo. He wishes Scott Aichner was still in the game. His speciality is water photography. But the thing that drives Mr Mosqueira more than anything, is to capture an image that makes the viewer want to keep looking. A task he succeeds at, repeatedly.

More photos from Domenic Mosqueira