Behind the Shot
Duck diving is a technique used by surfers to submerge their board under an oncoming breaking wave—a dive similar to one a duck makes when hunting for dinner. It helps the surfer avoid being swept up in the surge and stay on track for paddling into the lineup.
Ryan Borne was underwater in the South Pacific Ocean with the swell breaking open as he shot this photograph of duck-diving surfers—friends of his from the French Polynesian island of Moorea. He used a fast shutter speed on his Canon 1DX Mark II to capture the sharp action.
“I love this shot!” he says. “There’s so much happening at the same time: the surfer in the vortex of the crashing wave in the foreground, and the second surfer paddling and diving under the wave in the background.”
The breaker in this print resembles billow clouds—a stunning phenomenon that looks like rolling ocean waves in the sky. Just as dramatic were the “clouds” Ryan viewed through his underwater camera lens on this September day in 2021.
Note: This artist’s photo editing style may result in some mild graininess in all print sizes.