© Dwight Okumoto

Scorching molten lava flows into and boils the incoming surf on the Big Island, Hawai’i. More images by Dwight Okumoto can be seen in The Great Outdoors 2010 online gallery.

Crystal Thornburg surfing in Central California.

Surf trips come up rapidly, as quick as the swells that show up on surf maps, and the photographers and editors who cover them very seldom have a lot of time to plan their work. Grant Ellis has been the photo editor for Surfer Magazine for almost seven years. He started as a surf photographer and followed professional surfers around the world for three years, having surfed from the age of 8. Surfer works with a large number of photographers and surfers to find and produce the stunning images in the magazine.

Ellis says that he can track the swell as it moves across the Pacific or Indian oceans through the emails from his photographers around the world. And if big waves are the greatest thrill in surfing, getting an image in Surfer’s Big issue is the ambition of most surf photographers.

Because surf images reflect the many nuances of light and water, editors at Surfer do rounds and rounds of color proofing to make certain each image is just right. The wave comes through, and they do their best to catch it.

Pictured here is a selection from Surfer’s Big issue.

© Allen Hughes.

An anonymous Santa Cruz surfer takes a chance in hopes of scoring at The Lane.

© Edwin Morales.

Keala Kennelly, one of the most passionate big wave surfers set a record in 2005 at Teahupoo, riding the biggest tow in wave by a woman. She has appeared in Blue Crush, Step Into Liquid, and co-starred in the HBO series John from Cincinnati.

© Andrew Chisolm.

Kelly Slater, nine times world champ and the greatest surfer ever, surfing at Shipsterns Bluff in Tasmania.

© Jason Childs.

Pepen Hendrik, driving deep into yet another new discovery, as fellow Balinese surfer Lee Wilson screams himself hoarse on the way back out after his. Toad Rock, Java. The only two guys in the water all day.

Participant in the annual Victorian Extravaganza carnival – Llandudno, Wales, 2007.

Pete Kelly’s latest show evokes memory through strong associative, emotional and surreal imagery – stretching reality toward a timeless fantasia – with subject matter ranging from distant landmarks to ethereal landscapes to historic horse races in Tuscany. The solo show opens on September 22nd at The Robin Rice Gallery in New York and will be on view through October 31, 2010.

This image is part of Aislinn Leggett’s series Lost Faces in which she creates fictitious moments using forgotten or discarded images of her ancestors and strangers. See more of her work here.

Buzludia was one of the countless monuments erected in central Bulgaria glorifying the socialist ideology. This photograph is part of an upcoming book by Linda Ferrari Socialist Monuments in Bulgaria 1944-89: A Visual Introduction. See more of her work here.

Pictured here is Abdullahi Mohammed with Gumu, Ogere – Remo, Nigeria, 2007. This first exhibition of Pieter Hugo’s work in Belgium brings together his most important internationally well known series. A product of the young post-Aparthied generation, Pieter Hugo captures his country and the African continent with novelty and commitment. His unusual subjects are filled with questioning: be it South-African albinos, Botswana judges in white wigs, Ghanaese wild honey collectors, Liberian boy scouts, trainers of wild animals, or actors from Nollywood (Nigerian popular cinema) – each tells a challenging story. The exhibition, Pieter Hugo “On Reality and Other Stories”, opens at Forest, centre culturel – at the BRASS in Brussels until November 26, 2010. ]]> http://www.pdnphotooftheday.com/2010/08/6321/feed 1 http://www.pdnphotooftheday.com/2010/08/6327 http://www.pdnphotooftheday.com/2010/08/6327#comments Wed, 25 Aug 2010 16:00:42 +0000 Danny Tsui http://www.pdnphotooftheday.com/?p=6327 © Jim Wright / Men’s Journal

A perturbed Bruce Willis, star of the Die Hard films, photographed by Jim Wright for Men’s Journal. More images from Wright’s series can be seen in the PDN Faces 2010 online gallery.

This photograph is part of Joseph Rodriguez’s book East Side Stories: Gang Life in East L.A. He has been documenting the American domestic environment for many years. See more of his work here.