"I could’ve just stayed in one spot in the water the whole time, but it was more fun trying to capture it differently. One thing I really wanted was to get the wave from behind — with the crowd and the Stab High Hollywood lettering all in the frame. It turned out to be trickier than I thought. The exact spot I needed to be in was right where that little tuft of the section comes through, and I kept thinking, fuck, if I’m in the way of that, I’m gonna ruin the section. Eventually I figured out that if I went to the bottom as it started to pitch, and watched it rise over me, I could time it — shoot straight up from underneath, housing pointed just right — and get the height of the air, the crowd, and the lettering all together." -- Ryan Heywood.
“We Sat On These Concrete Expansion Joints Right Under The Air Section — But For Rasta Robb We Needed A New Marker”
Bill Morris + Ryan Heywood tell the story behind 19 unseen frames from the Stab High Sydney finals.
Words by Ethan Davis
Reading Time: 8minutes
Bill Morris and Ryan Heywood are two masters of their craft. When it came time to staff Stab High Sydney, there wasn’t a debate — Bill and Heywood were the stills team. Action, lifestyle, portraits, odd little moments between — they do all of it. The only difference with live is files need to be turned around fast enough to colour, push, and publish by the end of day.
And a huge kudos must go out to Eden Hannon’s super-sorting and tasteful photo editing at pace.
Live events are an orchestra. There’s a million potential points of failure. But, when everything plays in time, you get that strange magical resonancy — the kind that has you still feeling high (pardon the pun) a week later. Indeed, both Bill and Heywood were still humming when we spoke.
“It was like an orchestra. Dyl Roberts on the big moto-gimbal, Gus Kidman jumping in on the side, Todd Barnes in the water — pointing the microwave link back from the pool and seeing it on the big screen seconds later. Open the broadcast room and Vaughan, Mitch and Taj are calling all the action. Upstairs, Shinya’s punching graphics in real time while Danny Johnson and Chris Smith direct traffic from the truck. It’s a proper symphony,” said Heywood.
Talking Heads: Tomo, Vaughan and Taj. — Bill Morris
Twenty-one years ago, Bill shot Stab’s first-ever cover — and tens more after, back when we were still slinging print. When we needed a stills lead for Sydney, he was the obvious call. He said yes, even with a frozen shoulder from a surf injury (which meant no water angle this time).
Enter Ryan Heywood — long Willie Nelson locks, a born reporter with a camera. He can do it all: flash, long lens, short lens, water, film. And always with a magnetic and disarming grin.
If you’re already fatigued by wavepool imagery, fair. But hearing how two lifers actually build these frames — the angles, the gambles, the timing — adds layers you’d otherwise miss. They’re also privvy to information no one else is, being in their position. The context they add is valuable and surprising sometimes.
Without further waffle: here’s 19 unseen frames from Finals Day at Stab High Sydney — with the stories, solves, and seat-of-the-pants decisions from the people who made them.
“Some of the men were hanging out in the showers, watching the final waves go down, which I thought was really cool. So I asked the Ladybirds to stick around and do the same — just gather around and watch the countdown happen. They’d shown such genuine camaraderie throughout the event, and I wanted to capture that feeling. It gave the whole thing a sense of scale. The pool’s big, but not so big that you can’t see everything unfold. Watching how sweet they all were together was just a really nice moment.” — Ryan Heywood
(Some) faces of the SHS judging panel. (Left to right) Ozzy Wright, Parker Coffin, Creed McTaggart and Dion Agius. — Ryan Heywood
“I was semi-submerged the whole day — shoulder to shoulder with Todd [Barnes] on a few shots. When you’re down low at water level, they’re going right over the engine, which looks absolutely insane. The height of the airs was just bonkers. For pretty much every surfer, we lined it up with these concrete expansion joints right under the air section — and it worked for everyone except Rasta Robb, who needed a new marker because he was projecting so much further out. I was honestly shitting myself thinking I was going to get landed on.” — Ryan Heywood
“I think chairing someone up is such a unique part of surfing. I don’t know if it happens in any other sport, but I just thought it was such a cool, classic moment. It’s funny, with beach comps you usually know exactly where everyone’s going — there’s a set line to the podium, a stage, something formal. But here, there was no podium. It was just: get to the biggest part of the crowd. It was total chaos, but in the best way possible. I think it was his sister and brother who chaired him up too. They went right into the pool — got completely drenched going out to him. I was half expecting security to step in, like, “You can’t go in the pool without a waiver!” But it just happened so naturally. Such a quality moment.” — Ryan Heywood
“This was Joel’s winner. I just love the expressions of everyone in the crowd. You can just see them in disbelief.Then in the next shot, everyone’s arms are up and they’re just cheering. I think everyone knew then and there, that was the winner.” — Bill Morris
“That was the moment Skai won and they were all congratulating her, and it was just so wholesome and sweet. She’s almost got her hands on her heart — and it’s just such genuine raw emotion. Just an awesome moment of camaraderie I’ve never seen before at a surf contest.” — Ryan Heywood
“Yago couldn’t walk more than a couple of meters without someone stopping him for a photo or a T-shirt signing. He just kept smiling, giving everyone his time. It was pretty crazy to watch. I guess that’s what comes with being world champ — but he’s definitely one of the cooler ones. Sometime he’d get a bit flustered, but he handled the whole three days really well. That shot was just him cruising back from the left to the right in the final. Dooma stopped him for a quick interview, then a grom jumped in for a photo. Every two meters he’d be stopped again. He’s lucky he even made it to his heat, honestly. He seemed like a really cool guy, genuinely happy the whole time. Everyone thought he would take the win — but yeah, he kind of fell apart in the final.” — Bill Morris
“That’s Ryji [Masuda] in the finals after trying to stick six acid drops in a row. I thought after the lefts he might just try to paddle in and get a score on the board. But you can tell he’s got that skateboarder’s brain, where you just keep trying something until you get it. His board gave up before he did.” — Bill Morris
“That’s Grayson Hinrichs from Bondi. He’s a sparky by trade, and he had his company sticker on his board, which was hilarious. Dooma gave it a shoutout on the broadcast because Grayson’s boss said he’d him he’d pay $3K if it got a plug. For the rest of the event Dooma kept saying, “Remember my 10%, bru.” So good. I just love how determined the grab is, and the height… holy demon. Way bigger than anything I’d seen. Some surfers were so focused on technical rotations or grabs, but some guys were just rocketing as high as humanly possible. I don’t normally shoot into the sun — it’s kind of a no-no — but I remember looking at that one and just thinking, wow. Fucking incredible.” — Ryan Heywood
“All the competitors just had this natural joy about ’em — total larrikins. Seeing them all hanging out, not storming off with their boards after a loss, was so cool. No one wanted to leave because it was just that captivating. And Eithan… he’s such a hilarious, amazing guy. I love everything he does. I think he ran into the water to grab a hat or something — just absolutely unreal. The whole field was unreal, honestly. Some of the coolest people in surfing. They really know how to enjoy life, and I think that’s super important.” — Ryan Heywood
Secret: BYO picketing line and you’ll go higher.“Joel was the only one with his own signs and an actual cheer squad — his brother, mates, the whole lot. They were bouncing between sides with those ‘Yeah, Joel’ boards all day. Kinda perfect that he pulled it off in front of them.” — Bill Morris
“The crowd, the amenities, the booze, the merch — it felt like a proper sporting arena. Controlled environment, like baseball. Most surf events are the opposite: scattered, far away, coaches nowhere near the action. Here you’re right in it. I was buzzing.” — Ryan Heywood
“Zeke. Holy… wow. What a character. Love that he’s in the mix — we need more people like him. It’s so outrageous. I love it. It was so refreshing to see him talking smack, jumping over everyone’s heads, and not getting reprimanded for it. In most professional leagues, if someone did that, they’d miss a few games and cop a massive fine. But this? No one gave a damn.” — Ryan Heywood
“I was just cruising past to grab my small lens, and I just saw them both standing there and went click. I don’t know Molly, never spoken to her before, but that morning I was down by the pier shooting and I ended up standing next to her mum. She started chatting, and before I knew it we’d been talking for half an hour or more. She was really cool. Speaks very differently to Molly, who’s a Central Coast girl — that down-to-earth, no-nonsense vibe. Her mum was lovely, her dad was there too, and at one point she just said, “I’m Molly’s mum,” and I was like, oh wow, no way. We talked about her world title, how things had settled down since the win — just a really nice, genuine chat.” — Bill Morris
“You could see the crowd, all the affiliates, and the energy was unreal. That was the thing for me — it felt like a proper sporting arena. Legit. Every other surf event is so far removed from that. I always think it’s weird how, in the AFL, the coach is up in a booth wearing a headset, nowhere near the players. Surfing’s the opposite — you’re right there in it. And this had proper Grand Final energy.” — Bill Morris
“Zeke and Joel have a rivalry that dates back to Stab Highway Europe. And there was a bit of tension between them, and it was kinda hard to tell how friendly vs serious it was. Joel was super unimpressed when he acid dropped over Yago. But, he’s just such a steamboat you can’t stop him from doing whatever he wants to”— Bill Morris
