Something pointless and elegant - photos
"How strange it was to see men do something beautiful. Something pointless and elegant." - Tim Winton, Breath.
It's one of the best lines written about surfing. Judged so because the more we surf the more we forget how graceful and beautiful surfing can be. Familiarity dulls our appreciation. Yet Pikelet's teenage revelation can also be a revelation to men, and of course women, who've surfed for the greater part of their lives.
God knows surfing is pointless, but elegant? Take a step back and watch a fine surfer, be it shortboarder and longboarder, and admire their form and flow, the subtle changes of balance and movement of limbs.
Even better when the sky provides a fitting backdrop.
Zack Dowd, South Australia. Photos by Che Chorley.
Comments
Pointless to the observer maybe, but not to the participant. Never.
Lovely shots and I'm in total agreeance with TB above. I have never found surfing to be pointless.
Coincidentally, about halfway through 'Breath' as we speak. Loving it from the get-go.
ah Tim Winton is a hipster , pointless for the Hipsters , but what about those pro surfers ??
As stated in Matt Warshaw's Encylopedia of Surfing, Barton Lynch summed it up.
Surfing, he said in a 1989 interview, was nothing more than "another outlet for making yourself feel good,"
Yep, some stunning pics. It also aint easy doing all that stuff on a longboard!
It's my favourite line about surfing Stu. Of course it is pointless, that's the point.
And for some, elegant!