Carve Magazine Issue 223

That’s all it takes. Focussed on the right subject at the right time, a gentle squeeze of the trigger can capture an image that might set your world alight. In just a split second. It could be a line-up. It could be a non-surfing shot with an enticing wave in the background. Whether it’s an image on Google Earth or a shot in a mag, 1/1000th of a second has changed peoples’ lives. Sent them off searching, created careers and fulfilled ambitions. In this issue we celebrate the best work by British and Irish surf photographers. They’re a hardy bunch, capturing our unique, sometimes less-than-perfect waves. What is a perfect wave, anyway? In some places, it might just be one that actually turns up (hello summer 2024). We’re proud to display some of the best surf photos in this issue, one of which will be rewarded handsomely with gear and a trip.

Al Mackinnon is one of, if not the best, UK surf travel journalist. What he knows could fill a book, but he won’t divulge all in public as he’s sworn to secrecy. Imagine empty perfect waves, some warm, some cold, some far away, some very close to home. It’s hard to achieve a balance in chasing stories and reflecting our cultural wanderlust without giving the game away. But Al does it really well, and the resulting products of his life and travels are well worth an interview and portfolio. We also interview Lara Waves from Leeds who inspired by photographers like Al, gave up everything to live in a van and try and make her living from surf photography.

We’re stoked to say she is winning and you can read her story in Shoot First. Lukas Skinner’s shot on the cover epitomises a moment in time with the young gun who is flying high right now; a two times under 16 World Champion with numerous other accolades already to his name. We tasked Mark Vaughan, lover of stats, live heats and servant of Welsh surfing to (try) and catch up with Lukas about everything that’s going on as he chases a dream. Surfers have dreamt of big barrels at HT’s since the early rumours and photos first began to surface when it was called Lance’s Right in the 1990s. But the shots underplay how heavy and fickle the wave actually is at size. In June a motley crew of Cornish surfers and an Irishman saw a perfect chart and headed off on a last-minute swell chase. What they arrived to was one of the best, and heaviest, swells witnessed there.

There’s more, lots more inside, but you get the gist! Hopefully one of the gems in these pages will resonate with you and send you off on adventures to chase your own dreams. Or maybe it will just inspire you to take a moment to sit back, pause, and ponder how lucky you are to have found surfing. Enjoy!

Steve