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Photos, story and captions by Tom Dugan @tomduganphotos

A single surfer has made his choice and it’s time to go. PHOTO : @tomduganphotos

I started taking photos in 1980 on the pretense that I could take as good a photo as what I was seeing in the magazines. Boy oh boy, was I wrong.

This day had very strong offshore winds with a few really nice sets. Chauncey Robinson turns into a clean overhead wave. PHOTO : @tomduganphotos

Pre-digital revolution, equipment was a real challenge with film cameras lenses that had to be focused manually and nothing like today’s space age-like digital bodies with insta PHD’s ( press here dummy ) in photography aided greatly by precision auto focus computer chipped, AI auto everything.

You know it’s a bit cold in Florida waters when the locals are wearing hoods and boots to go surfing. Water temp this day around 55, air with windchill factored in 30 f. No, it’s not the Antarctic but still lipping cold no matter where you come from. Chauncey Robinson bearing the cold in Central Florida. PHOTO : @tomduganphotos

To learn and master pulling focus and do it well and consistently was a very hard starting out and separated the pro’s from the want to be’s but with todays lenses worrying about getting a tack sharp frame is a thing of the past.

Sebastian Peters banks one off the lip on a beautiful Florida wave filled day. PHOTO : @tomduganphotos

Then there was also a huge learning curve on what the surf pubs wanted and what they did not.

Another great woman surfer from Cocoa Beach, Kylie Pulcini tags a lip frontside. PHOTO : @tomduganphotos

There was only two very competative magazines, Surfer and Surfing at the time I was trying to break in and they wanted about the same thing- killer action, technical excellence, great story telling peripherals and that you had a creative eye.

Tylah Maresh (far left) recoils as the cold water shock hits her and her friends, but it wasn’t that cold yet in January How do we know? Just look at what the three have on. PHOTO : @tomduganphotos

But hey also wanted something different too – especially feature story exclusives the other did not have –  to separate themselves from each other and stand out on the mag racks or surf shop counters to entice you into putting your money down.

Figuring out what to send each one and building relationships with the photo editors was key and  I figured it out enough to make the senior staff mastheads of both mags at different times as my career evolved leading me to star tup my own mag that lasted for over 27 years.

This unidentified surfer is showing off his 100% aggression on this backside wave. We say push the boundaries whenever possible. PHOTO : @tomduganphotos

When we started EASTERN SURF MAGAZINE, I had photography pretty much under control and now had a viable outlet to publish photos and stories on a consistent basis. I got to travel with the best surfers to locations around the world and that gives you opportunities to hone your craft.

Some days the waves are so good everyone can’t help but have fun and get a few waves to remember. Ponce Inlet local Charlie Cummings drove an hour south to get warmer water and some clean waves with offshore winds. As you can see, he was not disappointed with the choices he made this day. PHOTO : @tomduganphotos

What I learned from working with both mags and ESM is what I liked to shoot and what surfing photos I liked to see and take.

First one in, last one out. Mini-grom Atticus Starke surfs almost every day. He’s young and small in stature, so the waves are overhead for him just about every day. Backside run on a dreamy one. PHOTO : @tomduganphotos

I always liked a bottom turn, an air, an off the lip, cutbacks, empty waves, peripherals, portraits, sequences, and a few bikini shots too or, basically all the pictures you see when you look at surfing websites.

Surf check, Beckham McCart……. Should I stay or should I go? ( The Clash ) PHOTO : @tomduganphotos

Capturing those type images and being consistently good at it takes years of the Three P’s – practice, patience, persistence – and, after decades and literally tens of thousand and thousand of shutter clicks and photos taken, I think I’ve gotten the hang of things but always with an eye out ( pun intended ) to improve my skills.

Definitely stay! Beckham McCart with a clean backside top turn. PHOTO : @tomduganphotos

The images shown here in my third and final 2025-26 Winter Photo Gallery were taken here in Central Florida and cover all the bases I enjoy when shooting photos and are yet another several thousand clicks of the shutter on my long and continuing journey as a surf photographer.

A long way from home but well worth the trip, South Carolinian AJ Jackson blows the roof off of a clean left during his stay in Brevard County, Florida. PHOTO : @tomduganphotos

Thanks for taking a look and I hope my work somehow inspires you to go surfing.   – Tom Dugan –

Perennial grom CT Taylor hits hard in the pocket. This guy will never grow old and his surfing shows it. PHOTO : @tomduganphotos

A wild ocean in all its beauty. PHOTO : @tomduganphotos

Austin Clouse took a quick drive down from Jacksonville to Central Florida for better winds and warmer water. He was stoked to also get a bit of a swell to boot. PHOTO : @tomduganphotos

Another fellow surfer who drove the three hours to surf a bit warmer water on a long period swell day. Jay Weyer smacks one in the shore break. PHOTO : @tomduganphotos

Nothing like a set to get the blood moving. PHOTO : @tomduganphotos

Florida locals grabbing some lunch at the beach. PHOTO :@tomduganphotos

Ian Honda surfs everyday the waves are happening and has one of the cleanest turns in the game. Top turn, Central Florida racetrack. PHOTO : @tomduganphotos

Every surfer pauses for a few minutes before they paddle out to check the waves and timing between sets. When you’re only eight years old and the waves are pushing over six feet you take a bit more time to plan your path out to the surf. Beau Behrens in deep concentration where the waves meet the shore. PHOTO : @tomduganphotos

Beckham McCart with a clean backside top turn. PHOTO : @tomduganphotos

How long has East Coast Hall Of Famer and ESM ( now www.easternsurf.com ) co-founder Tom Dugan been standing behind the lens – or swimming with a water housing in hand – capturing some of surfings most iconic images ? Long enough to intimately know his way around surf photography and surf mags like few ever could. “Tooter” posted up with his 1970’s style, Century Cine Optics F 6.8 manual focus 650 mm lens with a depth of field measured in inches when coupled with the uber slow speed film stock of the times. You were either on or way off with this demanding, antique-type set up and this guy was ( is ) on. PHOTO: Mez @mezapixels