The competition-winning image of high seas at Belmore Basin. Picture: WARREN KEELAN
Taking his wife Michelle on a holiday for their 10th anniversary was just as much of a surprise for Warren Keelan as it was for her.
This weekend, Mr and Mrs Keelan headed up to the Gold Coast to see the Quiksilver Pro as part of the first prize in a photography contest he entered after he saw it on Facebook.
"I thought, I'll give it a go," Mr Keelan said.
"I uploaded a photo in each of the categories and kind of forgot about it after that, so I was quite surprised to get a call this week.
"I pretty much got to take my wife on a trip for our 10-year anniversary. Our anniversary was last week and it was quite a surprise to get to take my wife on a holiday."
Mr Keelan has been taking photos for three years and, what started out as a hobby, has now become a "semi-professional venture".
His prize-winning photo was taken at Belmore Basin during some recent stormy weather.
"I was standing in the rain with an umbrella," he said. "The seas were pretty big, they were hitting the breakwall. There would have been about a dozen people out on the breakwall all hanging onto the barrier with their wetsuits on.
"I think they call it 'Bernie's tube' - they're just taking the waves head-on as they break over the breakwall."
As you can see from the photo, it wasn't a pleasant day to be out taking pictures but Mr Keelan said he finds beauty everywhere.
"Weather plays a huge part in photography and it's not always the beautiful blue skies that make a great photograph," he said.
"You get a lot of mood and feeling from something as big and wild as these storms."