Conor lives to capture barrel rides like this. Photos: Conor Flanagan
There’s something eerie and illustrious about a cold water, mysto break. Plop that spot into the ice cold waters of The Emerald Isle, sprinkle in a heavy water slab, and you’ve got a surfing image that everyone wants to see, but few want to surf. Too cold, too shallow, too heavy — excuses of the sort. It takes a special kind of surfer to brave the gnarly surf in Ireland, and an even more dedicated photographer to get the shot.
But Irish surf photographer Conor Flanagan is cut from the right mold. He’s created a life out of Ireland’s incredible waves – waves that can also be incredibly dangerous to navigate, let alone shoot photos in. But Flanagan has certainly proven adept at both.
“I’m from a little seaside village on the northwest coast called Standhill,” says Flanagan. “I first got a taste for surf photography when I got my hands on a GoPro.” It’s nothing special in terms of photography gear, but it was a good entry point for getting in the water and shooting, he says. “I was able to shoot video and photos at the same time. It helped me stick to it for so long until I could get a proper setup.”
Mind-surf that one, why don’t ya? Photo: CF
Ten years later, and Conor has his process dialed, despite the drastically changing seasons in Ireland. “In the summer we can have anywhere from 16-to-18 hours of sunlight, but winter is as short as eight,” he says. “In the winter I’m up before sunrise and tracking the swell, depending on what the tides are doing can, (it can) dictate where I’ll need to be.” This could mean driving anywhere from 30 minutes to three hours. “It’s a long swim out to the spot, then usually I shoot for a couple hours and head back in. If the waves are still good, I’ll refuel en route to the next spot and get back in.”
When it comes to people and places, Flanagan has a hard time picking his favorite. “There’s that old saying that a stranger is just a friend you haven’t met yet,” says Flanagan. And it’s true. “Some of the best people I’ve met I just randomly bumped into in the water. All that being said, nothing really compares to spending all winter chasing swell after swell with friends, hoping this will be the swell they catch the bomb of their life and that you’re lucky enough to capture it on film.”
Speaking of winter swell, one spot does stick out. “Ireland has such a vibrant surf scene,” he says. “Places like The Cliffs or many of the surf towns around the country. But I’m really drawn to Mullaghmore because I like to feel the energy. Being right on the edge of what’s possible to swim or surf and capture it is really what intrigues me. Standouts are Conor Maguire, Gearoid McDaid, Noah Lane, and Tom Lowe.”
View this post on Instagram
And as a slab shooter, Flanagan often finds himself truly grounded to the energy of the swell. “In Ireland, a lot of the shallower slabs might mean you’re standing in knee- to waist-deep water which means that catching a set on the head can lead to serious consequences.” It’s all fun and games until you’re standing on the ledge in knee deep water at 10-foot Riley’s — an iconic, psycho slab — with nowhere to go. Case in point, his gnarliest experience.
“I was swimming a hectic slab years ago,” he told me. “It was about 6-to-8 feet but as dry as it can get. A 10-foot rogue set came out of nowhere. On this occasion the slab dried out, leaving me standing in about a foot of water. I started running in my fins but only made it 10 feet, then a God-awful thud sent me hurtling through the air. Luckily I landed in the whitewash and protected my housing from getting smashed.”
But the beatings, the cold feet, and the windblown eyes are all worth it. Flanagan loves the ocean, and his attitude is one we could all learn from. “If you’re angry in the ocean you’ve already lost,” he says. “From my experience, most surfers don’t mind anyone swimming (to shoot photos) because they understand it’s just someone enjoying the ocean. It’s a mutual appreciation.”
