On February 3, 2011, legendary surf photographer LeRoy Grannis passed away at 93.
Born August 12, 1917 in Hermosa Beach, California, Grannis spent his teenage years surfing Hermosa Beach Pier and was a charter member of the Palos Verdes Surf Club.
Grannis first picked up a camera as a hobby while working for Pacific Bell in 1959. He quickly became one surfing’s great photographers – documenting legendary watermen like Greg Knoll, Miki Dora, and Dewey Weber during a rich period of growth for surf culture. Grannis captured the essence of surfing’s roots as a rebellious subculture before and during its transition towards mainstream acceptance.
In 1964, Grannis founded the publication International Surfing, which later became Surfing Magazine. Just seven years later, however, Grannis left surf photography behind. “I didn’t like the way the magazines were going,” Grannis told the London Daily Telegraph in 2003. “They were making heroes out of druggies and guys with big mouths, so I bailed out.”
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Grannis was inducted into the International Surfing Hall of Fame in 1991 and later included in the Huntington Beach Surfing Walk of Fame. Grannis continued to surf as his health permitted, and according to Matt Warshaw’s The Encyclopedia of Surfing, he was still surfing regularly in 2002. Grannis leaves behind a rich legacy of imagery that reflects the beginnings of documented surf culture – in and out of the ocean.
“I’ve never known a kinder, gentler man,” iconic photographer and peer, Steve Wilkings wrote in a tribute on The Surfer’s Journal website. “Like so many ‘artists’ LeRoy had a passion for his work, and the surfing world is richer today because of his dedication and passion. LeRoy has left behind a treasure trove of surfing images for which each and every one of us should be thankful.”
A paddleout in Grannis’ honor will take place in June in Palos Verdes, CA.
Read the full article at: https://www.theinertia.com/surf/leroy-grannis-dies-1917-2011/
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