"We're off southeastern Australia's Croajingolong National Park, sort of where the Tasman Sea and Indian Ocean meet. There are islands there called the Skerries—seal breeding spots with thousands of seal pups. Which, when you're in that part of the world, also means there are lots of great white sharks.

"Tom had been there a few weeks earlier and had run into a couple characters that sea-kayak in that area. So we hooked up with them. They were paddling on to a fairly substantial break, about three meters [ten feet] high, en route to the Skerries. I wanted to get some shots where I could sort of stack up the sea."

—Mark Gamba, photographer

Photo Facts

Camera: Nikon F5
Film: Fuji Velvia 50
Lens: Nikon 300mm
Lighting: Natural, no filter
Time of Day: Late afternoon

Talking Shop
"Metering was tricky in this situation. As Cameron McKenzie (front) and Colin Russon were paddling, they literally crossed the axis of the sun, going from side-lit to sparkly backlit to side-lit.

"You've got people out there in big waves. You can't really take your time playing with meters. You kind of have to go for it, so I was just opening up a stop as they left the sun area on either side."

Photograph by Mark Gamba