Reef Draining - Teahupo’o Tahiti

This is my Award Winning image of Teahupo’o better known as 'Reef Draining'.  It was shot from a small boat during one of the ASP World Professional Surfing contests and I was lucky to have the right lens on my camera at the right time. As this wave came into break it was almost as though Mother Nature had pulled the plug and the surrounding water seemed to be disappearing into the trough of the wave. I was able to squeeze off six frames as the wave formed and broke. This image has been described as the 'defining image' of Teahupo’o, Tahiti and came 2nd behind the famous Michael Peterson cutback at Kirra in a Tracks Surfing Magazine Reader Poll for the Most Influential Surfing Photo Of All Time.