Editor’s Note: Spot Snapshot is a series that highlights an image and explains what you’d might not know by simply looking at it. As the cliché goes, “a picture is worth 1000 words.” Here, a featured photographer brings you both.
Photo: Joel Coleman
Yes, this is real. And yes, it was insane. But it seemed to be the right decision at the time. A friend of mine invited me to join him on a trip to Indonesia, and I’ve never been one to say no to a trip to Indo, so of course I said yes. At the time, I had no idea the location we were heading to in Java had some of the craziest, most shallow waves in the world. While this photograph illustrates just how intense this place can be with the dry reef protruding right in front of the breaking wave, it also goes to show the immense commitment of surfers, who continually risk being dragged across razor sharp reef in order to get their fix. Despite the warm water, surfers were wearing full wetsuits, boots, and helmets to protect themselves. A lot of limes were harmed in the making of this photograph.
See more from Joel Coleman at Saltmotion.com, follow him on Instagram, and like him on Facebook
