Surfing Monument Beach, Australia

Surfing Monument Beach, Australia

Photograph by Andrew Shield

“This moment was pure joy,” says surfer Dion Atkinson of getting in the barrel of the popular Monument wave break located along the Great Australian Bight in South Australia. “This wave is a very dangerous,
heaving barrel very close to the cliff and on an extremely shallow reef. I was extremely focused at coming out of the other end!” This unique wave
should only be surfed by expert surfers. “I have spent a lot of time here, and it is not for the faint-hearted when the wave starts to get some size,” say Atkinson, whose main goal is to qualify for the ASP World Tour.
"There almost isn't a day that goes by over here when you don't get to share a few waves with a seal or a pod of dolphins,” says the 19-year-old Aussie who lives in Adelaide and has been surfing for a decade. “I love it when they are around—especially when the dolphins surf the waves with you and jump all around you.”
And, in Australia, marine life is followed by its apex predator—sharks. “The region is known for sharks, and there have been a few fatal attacks in the area in the past 10 to 15 years. But I always tell myself I have more to worry about on the drive over than a shark in the water bothering me,” says Atkinson.
Getting the Shot
“In South Australia the thought of sharks is nearly always present,” says photographer Andrew Shield. “This coastline is famous because of the great white shark documentaries filmed here. This day the swell was as big as the wave can handle and was beyond the skill of average surfers, but these are the conditions that pro surfers, like Dion, crave."
To get a photo that captured the wave, surfer, and coastline, Shield went wide. “I chose to shoot this session with a 10.5mm fish-eye lens to try to get inside the barrel with Dion and also to include all of the rock formation,” he says.
“I was feeling good and fairly confident of having shot some decent images when a huge seal popped up next to me. After getting over my initial shock, I felt relief that the huge grey shape was not a shark! This was short lived, as the seal started swimming at me and barking at me!” recalls a surprised Shield.
Shield photographed with a Nikon D300 and a Nikon 10.5mm, f/2.8 lens.