Todd Glaser has been a SURFER Magazine staff photographer for the past ten years. He has traveled the globe photographing the world’s best surfers in incredible waves, and has a knack for getting the invite to go on trips with remote destinations.

I asked Todd to share his five best images and their stories for the “Behind the Photo” video series. In this opening episode, Glaser shares the photo that was his first SURFER Magazine cover shot. Back in 2009, Glaser showed me a few images from a trip he shot with Greg Long. After seeing his selects, I asked to see all his photos from the trip with the hope of finding something unique and special in the batch. When I saw this shot I immediately knew it was going straight on the next cover.

Stay tuned for another one of Glaser’s favorite images in the next “Behind the Photo” episode.