Beauty in chaos
Sooner or later every photographer captures an image that is not only a great photograph in its own right, but that also somehow points mysteriously into the future. These are the pictures that whisper in the photographer’s ear, “There is more here than just this. You’ve found a path, now keep exploring…”
In Luke Shadbolt’s story, the harbinger arrived at a pivotal moment on a Brazilian beach.
A few years earlier Luke had taken on a job as art director for an independent bodyboarding magazine. It was a dream job for a young surfer from North Avoca with a freshly minted degree in graphic design. Ace surf photographer Phil Gallagher was the magazine’s editor and Luke, who’d just bought his first DSLR, was keen to learn from the master.
In the early 2000s, the internet had not yet made itself felt in the specialised world of surfing magazines. Around the world there were dozens of titles catering just to those who rode waves on bodyboards. Competition was fierce to find new
