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Julian Wilson, frontside release, Reunion Island

“Wow did I make a bad decision with this photo angle,” says photog Ryan Miller. “I wanted to mix it up a bit and went way out on this jetty behind the wave. Then I was stuck there all day shooting some crap angle while the boys went mad.”

The ‘boys’, in this case are Julian Wilson (pictured) and Jordy Smith. The jetty Miller shot from is in Reunion Island. And the purpose of the trip? Stab, Surfing and Red Bull are on the isle to capture Jules and Jordy pushing the limits of innovative surfing on the righthander made famous in Modern Collective.

The wind, which blows incessantly into the wave, has almost been too good. “The favourable air wind we came for has actually been a bit too intense so far,” continues Miller. “It blows salt spray into every orifice while you’re sitting on the beach.” But it’s made frontside hits like this one the norm, or standard, during extensive surfs. Between the salt-whippings and the gut rash Jules and Jordy have been scooping after hours in the brine, it’s been a fine line between pleasure and pain in Reunion so far. Stay tuned for more.

Photographer profile

Ryan Miller

Ryan Miller, 33 years old, does not know how to write a bad email. Your pals at Stab have learnt to live vicariously through Miller’s red wine-fuelled letters from the road. His travels take him to some dreamy locales and, in those places, he scores all-time photos: “My favourite photo I’ve shot was of Benny Bourgeois in the Caribbean, with a fisheye. Often I just take photos, but rarely do I get to make one.” In an age of tail-highs and released fins, Ryan still most likes to shoot someone who can lay-down a big backside turn. Namely: Jordy Smith, Dane Reynolds, Gabe Kling, Kekoa Bacalso, Damien Hobgood and Peter Mendia. Like most photogs, Miller misses Scott Aichner’s work. But, as far as contemporary inspiration? “Trying to see things through my daughter’s eyes. It’s wild to think about someone experiencing something totally new on almost a daily basis when, as adults, we rarely get to experience something truly new.”

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