hellwoman
03-03-2007, 04:09 AM
Heavy water, high reward for Scott
03.03.2007
By KELLY EXELBY
Guru international surf photographer Cory Scott gets to see it all - massive swells, idyllic beaches, horrific wipeouts and even the occasional brush with sharks at some of the planet's most beautiful locations.
But it was one of the bleakest days of last year that gave the 32-year-old his pot of gold, the photographic evidence of which has just won him recognition from his peers at a big-wave contest across the Tasman.
The Mount Maunganui-based photo editor for Kiwi Surf magazine has walked away with the Oakley/Australia's Surfing Life Big Wave photography award for a picture of Raglan's Daniel Kereopa riding a 42-foot (13m) monster last June at a notorious surf break in the Catlins known as Papatowai.
Kereopa won the award for the biggest paddle-in (non jet-ski assisted) wave, with West Australian Damon Eastough winning the overall title after being towed into the biggest wave ever ridden (15m) in West Australia.
The year-long competition saw surfers from all over Australia and New Zealand chasing storms and raw ocean swells.
Scott - who won the national sports media photo of the year award three years ago - and Kereopa picked up their gongs at a ceremony at Sydney's Bondi Beach.
For a guy who makes a living putting himself in the path of some of the biggest waves on the planet, Scott said June 15, 2006, at the Catlins would take some beating.
"It was an incredible day - by far the best day's shooting I've had there. It was world-class and as good as [Hawaii's] Waimea Bay when it's been pumping," Scott said.
He and Kereopa battled the elements, with the water temperature in the deep south 8C, snow on the surrounding hills and massive seas.
"We'd got word that the surf was going off so DK and I dropped everything and went, making the flight in Auckland with three minutes to spare. The check-in staff were spewing with all the surfboards and equipment we arrived with."
Scott was greeted in Dunedin by sleet and hail, with the weather no better on the three-hour pre-dawn drive south to the Catlins.
Scott usually wears just a wetsuit and flippers but the hypothermic Southern Ocean and size of the waves meant he donned a 5mm wetsuit, hood, booties, gloves, spray jacket and buoyancy vest . . . and still almost froze.
Scott shot Kereopa sitting on the back of a jet-ski using a 70mm-200mm lens - smaller than usual to capture the full extent of the wave. "It was also the first time I'd used my digital camera in a new waterproof housing I'd built, which let me stay out for hours instead of having to come back in after 36 shots."
He was never threatened by the mountainous seas. "A couple of times the [jet-ski] tow teams got into trouble and you put yourself at risk going to help them. When others stuff up that creates the element of danger."
Kereopa, who spent seven hours wrestling with the biggest waves ever ridden in New Zealand, was stoked Scott was there to capture his endeavours. "Surviving the wave and being able to ride Papatowai again on such an amazing day and to get the shot - to say I did it - that's the true reward."
http://www.bayofplentytimes.co.nz/localsport/storydisplay.cfm?storyid=3724318&thesection=localsport&thesubsection=&thesecondsubsection=
03.03.2007
By KELLY EXELBY
Guru international surf photographer Cory Scott gets to see it all - massive swells, idyllic beaches, horrific wipeouts and even the occasional brush with sharks at some of the planet's most beautiful locations.
But it was one of the bleakest days of last year that gave the 32-year-old his pot of gold, the photographic evidence of which has just won him recognition from his peers at a big-wave contest across the Tasman.
The Mount Maunganui-based photo editor for Kiwi Surf magazine has walked away with the Oakley/Australia's Surfing Life Big Wave photography award for a picture of Raglan's Daniel Kereopa riding a 42-foot (13m) monster last June at a notorious surf break in the Catlins known as Papatowai.
Kereopa won the award for the biggest paddle-in (non jet-ski assisted) wave, with West Australian Damon Eastough winning the overall title after being towed into the biggest wave ever ridden (15m) in West Australia.
The year-long competition saw surfers from all over Australia and New Zealand chasing storms and raw ocean swells.
Scott - who won the national sports media photo of the year award three years ago - and Kereopa picked up their gongs at a ceremony at Sydney's Bondi Beach.
For a guy who makes a living putting himself in the path of some of the biggest waves on the planet, Scott said June 15, 2006, at the Catlins would take some beating.
"It was an incredible day - by far the best day's shooting I've had there. It was world-class and as good as [Hawaii's] Waimea Bay when it's been pumping," Scott said.
He and Kereopa battled the elements, with the water temperature in the deep south 8C, snow on the surrounding hills and massive seas.
"We'd got word that the surf was going off so DK and I dropped everything and went, making the flight in Auckland with three minutes to spare. The check-in staff were spewing with all the surfboards and equipment we arrived with."
Scott was greeted in Dunedin by sleet and hail, with the weather no better on the three-hour pre-dawn drive south to the Catlins.
Scott usually wears just a wetsuit and flippers but the hypothermic Southern Ocean and size of the waves meant he donned a 5mm wetsuit, hood, booties, gloves, spray jacket and buoyancy vest . . . and still almost froze.
Scott shot Kereopa sitting on the back of a jet-ski using a 70mm-200mm lens - smaller than usual to capture the full extent of the wave. "It was also the first time I'd used my digital camera in a new waterproof housing I'd built, which let me stay out for hours instead of having to come back in after 36 shots."
He was never threatened by the mountainous seas. "A couple of times the [jet-ski] tow teams got into trouble and you put yourself at risk going to help them. When others stuff up that creates the element of danger."
Kereopa, who spent seven hours wrestling with the biggest waves ever ridden in New Zealand, was stoked Scott was there to capture his endeavours. "Surviving the wave and being able to ride Papatowai again on such an amazing day and to get the shot - to say I did it - that's the true reward."
http://www.bayofplentytimes.co.nz/localsport/storydisplay.cfm?storyid=3724318&thesection=localsport&thesubsection=&thesecondsubsection=