Teahupo’o, Tahiti

Surrounded by jungled mountains, the village of Teahupo’o on Tahiti’s southeastern coast is home to one of the most feared surf breaks in the world — the Wall of Skulls. In 2023, a year before the Paris Olympics, I spent 10 days there shooting the Tahiti Pro surf competition, which doubled as a test event for the championship to come. Here, Australian surfer Olivia Ottaway duck dives beneath one of the break’s powerful waves towards a bed of sharp coral — a reminder that it demands respect despi...