As 2023 draws to a close I have been browsing through photos of waves which I have taken over the last 5-6 years. This post and the two following posts contain some of my favourites from my large library of wave photos. Some of the selected images have been published on this blog and on Instagram around the time they were taken, and some have never been shared until now.
This post contains photos of surfers (mostly on Vic west coast, with a few from NSW and SA), and unrideable barrels fleetingly present on large waves breaking over Little Henty Reef (located a few kms south of Apollo Bay township).
The second post will contain photos of a variety of waves breaking on Apollo Bay beaches and on Little Henty Reef. Regular readers of my blog will be aware that Little Henty Reef is the mother lode for many of the wave photos I have published over the last six years.
The third post will include a handful of photos of large clean swell in perfect conditions, and also of wild storm-surf sending white water above cliff tops on the Victorian west coast.
In this series of three posts I have decided to publish the images largely without words. It is said that a picture is worth a thousand words – no point doubling up with a thousand actual words.
SURFERS
Winter Swell at Gibson Steps
West coast point break
A medium-sized wave breaking on a reef of consequence.
Point Addis (Victoria)
Camel Rock (Bermagui, NSW) at dawn
Winki Pop and the Bowl at Bells Beach
Two Mile on two very different days
The solitary surfer who paddled out on a borrowed 9 foot board in these seas at Two Mile can be seen in both the above photos. It was his first time out at this break.
West coast of the Eyre Peninsula, South Australia
Surfers’ dogs keeping an eye on their people in the lineup on the right of the image just behind the white water.
Josiah Schmucker (13 May 2023)
BARRELS
All these waves with unrideable barrels were breaking on Little Henty Reef, a few kms south of the town of Apollo Bay. Wave colour, texture size and shape vary according to tide, swell direction and size, wind direction and strength and the nature of the light at the time the photo was taken.
South 
The ones from Gibson’s step when you 1st posted way back mesmerised me Sent from my Galaxy
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Great shots John. Obviously a bit of tow-in going on and quite a few goofy-footers. I think big waves are out of my league these days.
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Yes, the Two Mile surfer was being towed on to those waves, but the Gibson Steps surfer paddled out alone for his epic session. The surfer getting the long barrel rides on the west coast of the Eyre Peninsula was being towed, but there were a dozen or so other locals who had paddled out and were doing well. But the fellow being towed was taking off way inside where the other surfers were catching their waves.
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Sensational photos, John. You really have captured these waves breaking wonderfully.
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Thanks for your kind comments. I’m pleased to hear there are some readers out there who share my interest in ocean waves.
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