When Tony ‘Harro’ Harrington told me he was dropping a copy of his new book, Defining Moments, in the mail for me in October, he warned me that I wouldn’t be prepared for what was about to arrive on my doorstep.
It’s a photo book, I thought. What could be so hard to comprehend?
But indeed, what showed up was not so much a photobook as a hefty tome that chronicles the Australian's life as a surf and snow photographer. The 1,352-page book (yes you read that right) is monstrous, no doubt. But according to Harro, it’s “actually pretty pared down.”
If he hadn’t spent the last 40 years chasing waves and snow, I might have disagreed. But Harrington has amassed a collection of images that’s hard to wrap your head around.
“Countless people said I should do two books,” says Harrington. “Split out surf and snow, or maybe pare it back. But that’s not who I am. The fact I have made a life of exploring the world to chase both snow and surf and have built the career I have in both realms is who I am, and the book represents that.”
"Jeremy Nobis (RIP) was never one to hold back. He was full throttle on every aspect of his life. This shot here was taken in Greenland circa 1997 on a TGR shoot." Photo: Tony Harrington
"Not satisfied with the rush they got from conquering big lines on a daily basis in the Points North Heli terrain around Cordova, AK, Kevin Quinn and Jason Kelley would often bail out a perfectly safe helicopters at 10,000 ft for a B.A.S.E. jump for a late afternoon rush. Circa 1999." Photo: Tony Harrington
Defining Moments begins where Harrington’s life begins—on the Central Coast of New South Wales. The first half chronicles his career as a surf photographer, with chapters from the Gold Coast, Fiji, Indonesia, Mexico, California, Hawai’i, Alaska, Nazare, and more.
As the page count may suggest, Defining Moments isn’t just a highlight of Harrington’s greatest hits. Sure, there are big, beautiful spreads of deep pow turns in BC and Alaskan spines. But Defining Moments is also chock full of the subtle moments in between. The moments and people that Harrington says again and again, are really what made him commit to decades on the road chasing waves and powder. While there are plenty of household names, there are just as many skiers who the world has never heard of. And notes that Harrington has written along the way—both while putting together the book, and bits and pieces that he jotted down in the field. “I shoot because I love it, I work with people who I want to, not have to,” adds Harrington. “This book represents an immense respect for life and the people who I ride with.”
We all know that the Euros are some of the craziest skiers on the planet, but how’s this shot of Peter Bauer and Jan Lesak on one pair of skis with two sets of bindings sending it down the Flying Kilometre course in Les Arc in excess of 200 kmh?
The World Heli Challenge brought the likes of Kent Kreitler and Chris Davenport down to New Zealand. After the competition, the athletes swarmed all across NZ seeking out nooks and crannies to ski, snowboard and be photographed and filmed. This shot is taken in the McKerrow Range in the upper reaches of Lake Wanaka circa 1998.
TGR, early days in Haines, AK, circa 2004. Athletes Jeremy Nobis, Sage Cattabriga-Alosa, Victoria Jealouse and Jeremy Jones put it all on the line for filmers Cary Gavitt and Todd Jones, with Adam Clarke and myself on stills and Jim “The Sarge” Conway as lead guide.
A book this large isn’t designed to be read in one sitting. The approach I’ve taken is to leave it on my coffee table and open it to a page at random whenever I walk by. It’s been nearly two months, and I still haven’t read the same page twice. Open up to the Alaska chapter and get an inside look at the gritty early days at the Tsaina Lodge with the Jones brothers in Valdez. Cliff hucks in neon jackets at Palisades Tahoe are a plenty, as well as dreamy turns at Alta, UT, debauchery from the Jackson Hole Air Force and the birth of the World Heli Challenge in Wanaka. Harrington has chronicled not only his own defining moments, but many of the big turning points in the industry as well.
“It became apparent fairly early on in the design phase that I couldn’t limit the book to a certain number of people or locations,” says Harrington. “I could have just had a few ‘big' names like Kai Lenny, Jeremy Jones, Chris Davenport and other well-known athletes in the book. But by [publishing Defining Moments] independently I was able to honour the spirit of the project, which has always been to share all the key moments that have been ‘defining’ for me, including plenty of underground and grassroots people I’ve connected with along the road.”
Books about skiing are special. This one especially so. It’s not a coffee table book that will go out of style next year. It’s something designed to live in a ski cabin, office or living room for decades to come.
Harrington is currently on tour in the US, with an upcoming book signing on Saturday, December 15, at the Sierra Vista Lodge at Sugar Bowl, CA, at 5 p.m. Defining Moments is sold on Harrington’s website for $295.
Chris Davenport, after winning World Extreme Skiing Championships in Valdez, AK, and the World Heli Challenge in New Zealand, but before his sponsorship with Red Bull and the mandatory wearing of helmets. Shot here in New Zealand circa 1998.
Inside Defining Moments is 1,352 pages of Harrington's career chasing surf and snow across the globe. Photo: Lily Krass Ritter