“Makaha (No. 62)” – Photo by LeRoy Grannis.
LeRoy Grannis, a celebrated surf photographer whose images are often credited with helping to bring surf culture to the mainstream during the ’60s and ’70s, has died. He was 93 years-old.
Dubbed the “Godfather of Surf Photography” by the New York Times, Grannis played a pivotal role in popularizing the sport of surfing, and make up some of the most iconic images of the 1960s. A passionate surfer himself, Grannis captured a surf culture that few people outside California’s small coastal communities knew about. He also co-founded International Surfer, which later became Surfer magazine.
“His photos captured the real thing, providing a bridge between the world of Beach Boy lyrics and the reality of the Southern California beach scene,” wrote biographer Steve Barilotti.
Born in Hermosa Beach in 1917, Grannis was already body-surfing at the age of 5, and by 14 had fashioned himself a kneeboard from a flat piece of pine wood. After serving in the Army during World War II, Grannis got serious about photography as a hobby, traveling between California and Hawaii to capture the world’s best surfers riding the world’s biggest waves.
Grannis, who was elected to the International Surfing Hall of Fame in 1966, would go on to photograph and engage in various other sports like hang gliding and wind-surfing, but it’s his enduring images of the golden age of surfing during the 1960s for which he will always be remembered.
“There’s surfing royalty, and he was one of the kings,” his son John Grannis said. “He inspired so many big-name photographers that consider him their mentor.”
Friends, fans and family are planning a group paddle-out in LeRoy’s memory in Palos Verdes Cove in June.
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