Leroy Grannis, iconic photographer of California's surf culture

Leroy Grannis, iconic photographer of California's surf culture

Categories: History | North America | Sport | Water

Leroy Grannis became an iconic photographer of California's thriving surf culture in the 60s and 70s. According to his pictures, you can literally follow how surfing turned from a fashionable hobby into a popular culture.

He got on the board at the age of fourteen, in the early 1930s. And at forty-two, having succumbed to the persuasions of doctors to abandon a hobby that was harmful to his health, he exchanged catching waves for catching moments in the camera's viewfinder.

Leroy Grannis, iconic photographer of California's surf culture

For a true Californian, the inscription "Photo: Grannis" on a beach photo card means a lot. A lot of things. The photos that the legendary photographer took in the early years of his career turned out to be among the most important for that era.

Leroy Grannis, iconic photographer of California's surf culture

1. 1969. Leroy Grannis and his Calypso camera

He was a key figure in the development of surf photography in the 1960s. The New York Times once called Grannis "the godfather of surf photography."

Leroy Grannis, iconic photographer of California's surf culture

2. 1965, Greg Noll Factory, Hermosa Beach. Two Australian surfers drove this car across Europe.

Leroy Grannis, iconic photographer of California's surf culture

3.

Leroy Grannis, iconic photographer of California's surf culture

4.

Leroy Grannis, iconic photographer of California's surf culture

5. 1967, Aikau Family, Sunset Beach. The family watches the participation of their son Eddie in competitions. Eddie will become the winner 10 years later, in 1977

Leroy Grannis, iconic photographer of California's surf culture

6.

Leroy Grannis, iconic photographer of California's surf culture

7. The beach on the Pipeline. 1965

Grannis had a hand in the creation of the International Surfing Magazine, which later became Surfing Magazine. But in the early 1970s, he stopped working at the magazine.

Leroy Grannis, iconic photographer of California's surf culture

8.

Leroy Grannis, iconic photographer of California's surf culture

9. 1964. The guys are watching the competition, climbing on the roof of their 1933 Ford.

Leroy Grannis, iconic photographer of California's surf culture

10.

Leroy Grannis, iconic photographer of California's surf culture

11.

Leroy Grannis, iconic photographer of California's surf culture

12. 1968. One of the iconic pictures. Pictured: Bernard Shorty Farrelly

Leroy Grannis, iconic photographer of California's surf culture

13.

Leroy Grannis, iconic photographer of California's surf culture

14. 1969, Sunset Beach, finalists of the Duke Classic competition

Leroy Grannis, iconic photographer of California's surf culture

15.

Leroy Grannis, iconic photographer of California's surf culture

16.

Leroy Grannis, iconic photographer of California's surf culture

17.

Leroy Grannis, iconic photographer of California's surf culture

18.

Leroy Grannis, iconic photographer of California's surf culture

19. 1965, the pier on Huntington Beach.

Leroy Grannis, iconic photographer of California's surf culture

20. 1968, Margot Oberg, who was the first female professional in the world, Makaha

Leroy Grannis, iconic photographer of California's surf culture

21. 1975, Makaha

Leroy Grannis, iconic photographer of California's surf culture

22. 1964, Mike Hinson, Hermosa Beach

Leroy Grannis, iconic photographer of California's surf culture

23. 1965, Hermosa Beach, California, Donald Takayama and Bettina Brenna

Leroy Grannis died in 2011 at the age of 93 in the Torrance Nursing Home. 

Keywords: Surfing | Sports | North america | Water | History | Beach | California | Wave | Hobbies | Doctors | Health

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