Watch: Tim Bonython // Dancing With Monsters

Stu Nettle (stunet)
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Last season was a poor one by Nazare standards: no XXL days, plus long periods of bad winds, and yet Tim Bonython, who holes up there each Northern Hemi winter, still managed 25 days of water photography.

Water photography at Nazare has less to do with flippers and channel-hanging and more to do with horsepower and a good driver. Says Tim:

"From my first visit back in 2016, I set up on the hill. There are a million spots to shoot from with a million other cameramen and women doing the same thing. So I wanted something a little more exclusive, and the water angle is it.

"Once you're out there your nerves go into overdrive and you seriously need to trust your jet-ski driver. Dino Carmo is my man. Having being a professional bodyboarder and lived all his life at Nazare, Dino knows the Nazare line up like no other.

"Dino puts me deep inside where the moving mountains unload. He's incredibly focused and at all times constantly reassuring me that we are safe."

In this clip, Tim has distilled those 25 days of water footage into 14 mins of action.

 

Comments

Houli77 Monday, 25 Sep 2023 at 04:45 pm new

I think I've become 100% desensitised to the size of Naz and just find it boring to watch now. No disrespect to Tim who I'm a big fan of, have gone to and paid to watch viewings of his work at local cinema and thoroughly enjoyed, would def go again if he tours around with a new show and also respect to the guys who brave the size and conditions but as far as consuming content when I sit down and crack a beer in front of a screen Naz just doesn't tickle my fancy.... Give me paddle in slabs from oz, indo barrels and zero WSL.. am I alone on this??

pjbyron Monday, 25 Sep 2023 at 05:37 pm new

Agree, a bit monotonous for me, Especially in slow mo.

kang Thursday, 28 Sep 2023 at 08:30 am new

Way too much slow-mo, takes away from the speed. Can appreciate it now and again for critical moments but makes it so boring.

GONAD_MAN Tuesday, 26 Sep 2023 at 10:14 am new

Am with you also. Lasted about 1 min. Boring as Batshit.

Rusty Forest Monday, 25 Sep 2023 at 04:50 pm new

What's with all the ads in these clips? Why do I pay a subscription? Just asking as it is really doing my head in when the clip stops after 30 secs to an ad......

stunet Monday, 25 Sep 2023 at 05:28 pm new

Have they been increasing?

Sorry, might sound obtuse, but I use YouTube premium so don't see any ads. I hadn't even thought about it before embedding the video.

Rusty Forest Monday, 25 Sep 2023 at 05:47 pm new

That might be the thing, I don't have a You Tube account. but yes they are increasing and in every clip I watch. That's why I made the comment.

Yendor Tuesday, 26 Sep 2023 at 07:54 am new

You know Swellnet just host these clips? Think of them as curators of content, filtering out the clips they think their subscribers might be interested in. They don't control any of the ads etc. In this case it's a YouTube clip but they come from all over.

basesix Saturday, 30 Sep 2023 at 04:43 pm new

you want an $80 swellnet subs to somehow include a $140 YT premium voucher within it, rusty... ?

swab Sunday, 1 Oct 2023 at 04:15 pm new

Ah... you're watching the wrong YouTube clips

Sprout Sunday, 1 Oct 2023 at 04:25 pm new

Incredibly so Stu, I only noticed from using the YT app on my TV. Get a free adblock plugin rusty and never see an ad again.

frog Monday, 25 Sep 2023 at 05:44 pm new

Apt title. Some "wow" moments in there due to the water angle.

basesix Monday, 25 Sep 2023 at 05:49 pm new

Yeh, that's real good. His last one too, the groms in tassie. Tim shines when he makes art-ballet-surf-slow-mo as long as there is genuine art footage and reflective space in the music (as there is in this, Koyaanisqatsi syle), or story-telling a la shippies-groms-day-out (pity bout the swearing in that one, woulda sent it to my auntie otherwise, she loves shippies).

Leave the surf-porn well alone, you just get flack about it from east-coast-humpers that can find surf-porn anywhere. Editing/music really, really good, worthy of the footage.

stunet Monday, 25 Sep 2023 at 05:50 pm new

"east-coast-humpers"

Ha ha

basesix Monday, 25 Sep 2023 at 05:59 pm new

errrm.. geographically speaking, of course : )

Standupgoleft Tuesday, 26 Sep 2023 at 04:37 pm new

Good footage! Sketchy place