2016 Vans Triple Crown of Surfing
A photographic series shot on an early 1970’s Nikonos II and 35mm film. because, why not? by Mike Chlala
The Triple Crown is something I look forward to every year. I am a proud part of the Triple Crown media team and the six weeks becomes an all consuming event. Everyone is constantly checking their trusted surf forecasts and speaking with each other in hopes of taming the beast that is swell forecasting.“Are we on tomorrow?” “Oh yah, we’re definitely on tomorrow, 8 to 10 ft and trades!” “No wayyyyy were on tomorrow, north winds, dropping swell, meet you at Breakers?”. Nature calls the shots on whether or not your working for the day. It’s an amazing thing to be a part of. We’re a very lucky crew of people who truly love the sport of surfing enough to work on the some of the best days of the year. The same job that pays us to pay attention to pipeline also allows us a unique perspective into the North Shore’s six week pro surf binge. Here I can take my unassuming film camera, decades away from hashtags and instagratification, in some pretty cool places. You won’t find any pictures of surfing, but what you will find are a few moments that were sometimes thought out and often times impulsive and coincidently captured from a timeless camera strapped over my shoulder. Right - John John at the Hawaiian Pro, which he won leading to a triple crown victory.
Portugal’s Frederico Morias after learning he was in the lead for the Triple Crown at the moment.
Slater Designs in the yard at the Pipe House.
Joel Parkinson spending time with fans after his heat.
Matt Wilkinson after losing his heat when only Backdoor was working and joking that, “if only Pipe was a left!�.
Post heat interviews with Kanoa Igarashi.
Kelly Slater is notorious for his competitive spirit. In this image Kelly was preparing for an extremely important heat during the Pipe Masters. It was just before the semi-final against Kanoa Igarashi, who was a rookie on tour up against Kelly’s veteran experience. Kanoa ended up winning the heat in the final 90 seconds when a heaving Backdoor wave came his way in which pulled into the barrel and came flying out to get the score. The significance of this heat must not be lost to the circumstances on the surface. If Kelly wins the heat, he would not only make the final, he would likely become the Triple Crown champion. However, with Kanoa’s career highlight victory over Kelly in that heat, he not only bumped Hawaiian power surfer Zeke Lau onto the dream tour for 2017, but he also he effectively confirmed John John’s Triple Crown victory in which John would be the first and most likely the only surfer to ever win the Eddie, The World Championship, and the Triple Crown all in the same year. In the moment from his image you could feel the energy he was emitting. Just his face alone as he jams the fins in his board, normally a casual routine, is so intense. He was moving fast and was bouncing off the walls to get in the water. All I could do was stand back out of way and watch this man as he aggressively shoved the fins in his board and ran out into the North Pacific in front of thousands, he was frothing, I was taken back. Notice the warriors on top of the board rack. Notice the smiling face from the fans around. And notice Kimo, the head of security and all around Hawaiian legend keeping a close eye on the champ and not doubt feeding off the same energy. A lot seems to be going on in this split second of a moment. This is my favorite moment from the film series.
The Hawaiian Pro, The World Cup, and The Pipeline masters. as the six weeks pass in the blink of an eye it’s great to be able to capture the little moments that often times go unnoticed while we are busy working, but with the unassuming film camera my eye has a tendency to open wider and nobody seemed to mind a random click here and there. To the left is the final photo I took of the Triple Crown with this camera. It’s the 2016 Pipemasters award ceremony as they crowned several champions in front of Pipe and Backdoor spitting behind the crowd yet in view of all those on stage. That evening the sunset seemed to last forever and we watched perfect waves break from rock piles to sandbars as we cheersed our beers and reflected on the greatness we just witnessed. Another year, another great experience. Thank you to everyone that I was fortunate enough to work with. None of these photos have been edited or color corrected in away way and all are shot on #35mm color or black and white film. Yew! - Mike Chlala