Is surfing sport or art? It’s an existential question that has fired up many a surf-related comment sections, but never actually led to a clear answer.
For some, it’s a way to exert dominance in competition. For others, a means of self expression. The real answer, unfortunately for hardliners, is really just somewhere in between.
For big wave videographer Tim Bonython, though, his experience of surfing has tipped further into art over the years. In the caption of his latest video, titled “The Chase Part 1,” he explains exactly how.
“For me, filming the ocean has never really been about simply shooting the biggest wave,” he writes. “Yes, I love big waves. I’ve spent a lifetime chasing them. But as the years have gone by, my relationship with the ocean — and the way I choose to film it — has changed.
“I’m more interested now in the cinematography of surfing. The light. The wind and the texture. The movement of the ocean. The landscape surrounding it. The anticipation before a set arrives. And, of course, the relationship between a surfer and a wave that is far more powerful than anything we can control.”
Of course, the waves are still pretty damn big. Over the course of 18 minutes, Bonython’s lens captures Darian Cheffers, Zac McCartney and Salvador Couto dancing across glittering monsters in the late afternoon light.
Looks like art to me.
