Photo opens new page for ex-Tracks boss

Alex de Vos
Seeing a photo of a man surfing in Hawaii against a solar eclipse was inspirational for Sean Dohety, the former editor of iconic Australian surf magazine Tracks.
“The photo is amazing – the photographer had a couple of minutes to capture the shot and he nailed it in the first frame,” Mr Doherty said.
“You’d have to wait a long time to get another shot like that.”
The unique photo is one of many featured in the new Torquay resident’s latest surfing book, The Moment, which he released earlier this month.
“When I was working at Tracks hundreds of photos used to come across my desk and I decided to put them all together,” Mr Doherty said.
“I picked not only amazing photos but also photos that had a bit of a story behind them.”
The book showcases a variety of local and international photographers capturing surfers from around the world.
“It’s a mix of a lot of stuff, but skewed more towards Australia,” he said.
“I’ve got pictures of pro surfers including Joel Parkinson and Mick Fanning, taken by professional and backyard photographers.”
Mr Doherty spent 10 years working for Tracks before turning to freelance writing.
The keen surfer moved to Torquay from Sydney with his wife, earlier this year.
“Having grown up in the country, I wasn’t really comfortable living in Sydney,” he said.
“I wanted to be somewhere a bit more peaceful.”