John Florence In “View From A Blue Wall”

The view through the back of a wave is like a piece of old, stained glass. The water has defects, ripples and the peripherals blur. But, when a lens cuts through the brine by a single outstretched arm with a finger on the trigger, the result is abstract surf photography that comes with time spent in the impact zone – something our dear friend Laser has a PHD in.

“I had a severe case Pipeline FOMO that has caused me to miss pretty much every Pe’ahi swell and even a strike mission to P-Pass,” photog, Brandon “Laserwolf” Campbell tells Stab. “It usually pays off but Oahu really got the shit end of the stick this time. The swell didn’t have much west in it but I still thought with the size and predicted winds that we would see a proper opening day at Pipe. But nope,” he laughs. “While Peahi was perfect and sunny all day Saturday, we had wind and rain and victory at sea here on Oahu. Sunday, wasn’t as ugly, however, it also wasn’t anything you’d bring home to Mama. I swam out to Pipe anyway and saw John make his way down to Off The Wall so I followed. It was heavy and shifty but at least the sun was shining. In two hours, he got two good ones, broke his board and I got absolutely smoked by a 6-8 footer (Hawaiian scale) that rolled me all over the reef and sent me to the beach.”