Western Australian photographer Russell Ord recently ditched the Aussie winter to spend a week in Tahiti. With high-season flights to pay for and an uphill exchange rate it was always going to be an expensive and risky mission. Would the swell come? Will it be big? And will it coincide with good conditions?

Fortunately for Russ all those boxes were ticked and he caught the best swell of the season so far at Teahupoo. On the other side of the lens were Teahupoo stalwarts Raimana van Bastolaer and Hira Teriinatoofa, young upcomer Tikanui Smith, and even visiting Irishman, Fergal Smith, who charged like a local.

To see more of Russell's photographic work visit his blog.