A Seven-Mile Revival, The Pipeline Gallery

At the end of winter the North Shore hype turns to rust. In the mist of the “Miracle” hangover it’s easy to become desensitised to land and water shots of the famed jagged reef. So, when the opportunity presented itself to cover the late season, big WNW swell of the past few days, we found it suitable to present something that doesn’t take up space in our inbox often. The way the lines up the face wash and how offshore breeze brushes white noise off the lip in these speed blurs creates a sense of oil slick water and motion that’s lost in your typical still. Here’s an alternative to the traditional Pipeline gallery.

“Over the past two days this selection was shot,” photography Jon Vlasach tells Stab. “During the first day there were some second reef sets in the mix. The following day the swell started to fade, making Pipe look tame at times, but there were still some bombs running through. The swell was super west and Pipe was the call, but as the swell faded, Backdoor started to come alive. The usual suspects were out: Mason Ho, Jamie O’Brien, Nathan Florence, Landon McNamara, Kalani Chapman, I’m sure there were more but it’s hard to make out faces when panning on a 200mm lens.”