Dorian's Camera Angle

Shane Dorian’s penchant for near-death surfing experiences has always been sublimated; not something he brags, boasts or even talks about. But when we heard that the colorful mass hovering in the face of Andy Irons’ wave of the year at Teahupoo was psycho-boy Dorian, we rang him immediately to find out what the hell he was doing there. Under heavy prodding, he finally talked.

- Ross Garrett

SURFER Magazine: Shane, why?

Shane Dorian: Why wasn’t I surfing? I was taking pictures of my friends.

Is this something you do often?

Usually when I go somewhere where the waves are going to be really good, I’ll take one of those little water cameras with me. Especially somewhere where you’re on a boat because you can just paddle back and grab a camera. It’s funny because the waves were supposed to be really big for the whole week and I only had a couple boards. I wanted to save them, so I figured I’d just shoot photos. Then they started the contest and the swell dropped a little, so…

So, did you get any cover shots?

I don’t know about cover shots but I got a few good ones. A couple real good shots of Bruce Irons, Mark Healey and Mike Parsons.

At what point did you decide to put down the camera and go surfing?

Actually it was the other way around, I put down my surfboard to take photos. Once you’ve gotten a couple sick ones at Teahupoo you feel satisfied. You don’t really need any more.