TENS of thousands of surf photos were sitting on Terri Sharpe’s computer until she decided to do something with them last year.
The Margaret River resident put out a call to all amateur surf photographers like herself, asking them if they wanted to have their own images printed in a book.
Ms Sharpe was thrilled when more than 20 locals contacted her with enthusiasm and sent their favourite shots from the region.
Anyone who loves surf photography knows how difficult it is to get your work seen.
- Terri Sharpe, Surfing Margaret River
Together with her own work, the photos now make up the Surfing Margaret River Cape to Cape Guide, published last month.
“I had so many photos with very little opportunity to publish them,” Ms Sharpe told the Mail.
“Anyone who loves surf photography knows how difficult it is to get your work seen.”
Helping as many photographers as possible became the main motivation for the guide, which features local surfers such as Creed McTaggart and Taj Burrow, more than 50 surf breaks and the best tide, wind and swell conditions for each spot.
“We had a great response,” Ms Sharpe said.
“The guide wouldn’t be half as good without the input of those people.”
She also did locals a favour by keeping the secret spots under wraps.
“It deliberately leaves lesser-known spots out, so there's still plenty of coastline to explore and other spots to be found,” she said.
"The only reference I have to a 'secret spot' is at the end of the book where I have a pic by Nicolas Risch, titled 'Yours for the finding'."
The guide is available at select book shops, surf shops and other venues in Margaret River, or online at surfingmargaretriver.com.
