LeRoy Grannis: Surf Photography Of The 1960s & 1970s (25)

LeRoy Grannis: Surf Photography Of The 1960s & 1970s (25) Review

This is one of the few coffee table books that can give you a rush of adrenalin just by flipping the page.

Leroy Grannis may not have been the sole architect of the late twentieth century surfing culture phenomenon, but he certainly was among the dozen or so people that projected the image of surfing beyond the enthusiasts to almost every nook and cranny of our globe. Kids in Omaha bought surfing-styled duds, listened to surfing music, and went to some really hideous Hollywood surfing movies. Grannis, and the publications that used his photography, took surfing away the beach and showed the landlocked how much fun they were missing.

Whether you lived the lifestyle, emulated the lifestyle, or just want to know how cultural trends can capture the imagination, this is a great book.
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LeRoy Grannis: Surf Photography Of The 1960s & 1970s (25) Overview

Capturing the perfect wave

"Grannis' [...] book has the effect of a time capsule, bringing back an era that continues to resonate for us in shades of Technicolor and black and white." — Los Angeles Times Book Review

At a time when surfing is more popular than ever, it's fitting to look back at the years that brought the sport into the mainstream. Developed by Hawaiian islanders over five centuries ago, surfing began to peak on the mainland in the 1950s—becoming not just a sport, but a way of life, admired and exported across the globe. One of the key image-makers from that period is LeRoy Grannis, a surfer since 1931, who began photographing the scene in California and Hawaii in the longboard era of the early 1960s.

First published in a limited edition, which sold out instantly on publication, this new edition showcases Grannis's most vibrant work—from the bliss of catching the perfect wave at San Onofre to dramatic wipeouts at Oahu's famed North Shore. An innovator in the field, Grannis suction-cupped a waterproof box to his board, enabling him to change film in the water and stay closer to the action than other photographers of the time. He also covered the emerging surf lifestyle, from "surfer stomps" and hoards of fans at surf contests to board-laden woody station wagons along the Pacific Coast Highway. It is in these iconic images that a sport still in its adolescence embodied the free-spirited nature of an era—a time before shortboards and celebrity endorsements, when surfing was at its bronzed best.

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