LeRoy Grannis grew up living beachfront. He was in the water from the young age of 5, swimming and body surfing with his father. Once he was bored with swimming, Grannis made himself a wood bellyboard which he would ride at his mother's house in Florida.
LeRoy started kneeboarding in 1931 with a board he made from a piece of pine. Once he masters the kneeboard, Grannis started borrowing stand up surfboards from mates in Hermosa beach. An avid surfer, Grannis joined the Palos Verdes Surf Club.
As Grannis grew older, it became a challenge from him to balance surfing, working and family life. He was a student at UCLA for a short period, but had to drop out during the depression because he lacked the money for tuition. After quitting school, Grannis took random jobs such as a carpenter, junkyward worker and a brief period at Standard Oil.
Eventually Grannis found himself a job with Pacific Bell, through some surf club member friends of his that worked there. A steady job and income allowed Grannis to develop his photography skills which proved to be the beginnings of a second career.
LeRoy has his first taste of success with photos being published in Doc Ball's book California Surfriders. He was becoming more involved with the surfing coming, surfing in contests in his free time and assisting the United States Surfing Association.
Leroy was working too hard at his job and eventually found himself with an ulcer. His doctor recommended that he take a break in order to recuperate. Durring LeRoy's time away from work he began photographing more and ended up getting his work published in magazines such as Surfer, Reef, and Surfing Illustrated.
Grannis became one of the most important photographers of his time because of the amount of surfing culture that he documented. What made Grannis more successful than other photographers of his time was his invention that allowed him to change film while in the water. This saved him a lot of time, and allowed for more great shots.
Grannis's photography career took off and he spent 10 years photographing the world's best surfers in Hawaii and California. His command over surfing photography resulted in him becoming the photo editor to Surfing Illustrated and a c-founder of International Surfing.
Grannis's work has not gone unnoticed. He was awarded best photographer of 1966 by the International Surfing Hall of Fame, in 2002 awarded a lifetime achievement award, and also had an article featured on him in Surfer's Journal.
Recently Grannis's photos have been featured in surf films such as Riding Giants and in a limited edition book titled LeRoy Grannis: Birth of a Culture.
Title: Makaha, Waimea, Honolua Artist: Leroy Grannis
Title: Surfing in the 60's Artist: Leroy Grannis - 17943
LeRoy started kneeboarding in 1931 with a board he made from a piece of pine. Once he masters the kneeboard, Grannis started borrowing stand up surfboards from mates in Hermosa beach. An avid surfer, Grannis joined the Palos Verdes Surf Club.
As Grannis grew older, it became a challenge from him to balance surfing, working and family life. He was a student at UCLA for a short period, but had to drop out during the depression because he lacked the money for tuition. After quitting school, Grannis took random jobs such as a carpenter, junkyward worker and a brief period at Standard Oil.
Eventually Grannis found himself a job with Pacific Bell, through some surf club member friends of his that worked there. A steady job and income allowed Grannis to develop his photography skills which proved to be the beginnings of a second career.
LeRoy has his first taste of success with photos being published in Doc Ball's book California Surfriders. He was becoming more involved with the surfing coming, surfing in contests in his free time and assisting the United States Surfing Association.
Leroy was working too hard at his job and eventually found himself with an ulcer. His doctor recommended that he take a break in order to recuperate. Durring LeRoy's time away from work he began photographing more and ended up getting his work published in magazines such as Surfer, Reef, and Surfing Illustrated.
Grannis became one of the most important photographers of his time because of the amount of surfing culture that he documented. What made Grannis more successful than other photographers of his time was his invention that allowed him to change film while in the water. This saved him a lot of time, and allowed for more great shots.
Grannis's photography career took off and he spent 10 years photographing the world's best surfers in Hawaii and California. His command over surfing photography resulted in him becoming the photo editor to Surfing Illustrated and a c-founder of International Surfing.
Grannis's work has not gone unnoticed. He was awarded best photographer of 1966 by the International Surfing Hall of Fame, in 2002 awarded a lifetime achievement award, and also had an article featured on him in Surfer's Journal.
Recently Grannis's photos have been featured in surf films such as Riding Giants and in a limited edition book titled LeRoy Grannis: Birth of a Culture.
Title: Makaha, Waimea, Honolua Artist: Leroy Grannis
Title: Surfing in the 60's Artist: Leroy Grannis - 17943
About the Author:
Shop for Vintage Surf Posters by LeRoy Grannis and Surf Art by other surf artists.
