Waterproof – Australian Surf Photography Since 1858 by John Ogden

Waterproof – Australian Surf Photography Since 1858 (distributed by Cyclops Productions) features the work of Australia’s leading surf photographers from the first known photograph of the Australian surf zone through to the 20^th century boom in surfing and the contemporary scene. Featured photographers include Richard Daintree, Frank Hurley, Harold Cazneaux, Jack Eden, Bob weeks, John Witzig, Peter Crawford, Ted Grambeau, Joli, Bill Morris, Sean Davey, Tim McKenna, Russell Ord, ‘Rich’ Richards, Stuart Gibson, Leroy Bellet, and Ray Collins, among dozens more.

This anthology focuses on those leading Australian photographers who have been drawn to capture the surf zone in all its moods, from playful moments to times of terror. The surf zone, where the ocean meets the shore, is the in-between place where silent swells become surf, exploding onto shallow reefs or cascading gently onto golden beaches. This interaction is repetitive but never the same, and those enticed by this hypnotising dance are often changed by it forever. Surfers and surf photographers may live on terra firma, but they spend much of their lives immersed in the ocean, surrounded by the creatures that inhabit Planet Ocean, a realm that covers over 70 per cent of the Earth’s surface.

Waterproof is a peer book, dedicated to those who record the moods of the ocean and the peculiarities of its dance with the shore. While there are plenty of images between these covers that portray surf culture and its celebrities, Waterproof aims to acknowledge and celebrate the photographers.

Tom Carroll penned the foreword, and an extract appears below: "Waterproof is not just a homage to the pioneers and leading lights of surf photography. It provides a lineage … a road map to where we are. Influences come from around the surfing world, but this anthology tracks those particularly Australian transitions, putting a few more missing pieces in the jigsaw. Waterproof does not dwell on professional surfing or what sort of equipment certain surfers or photographers use. It looks at surfing through a broad lens, embracing all forms of activity in the surf zone. Surf and Ocean photographers are often viewed as an unusual breed, a sub-culture inhabited by some real characters, some of whom have shuffled off this mortal coil in recent years. It is time to acknowledge them, and to celebrate their skills and dedication in creating images that inspire us."

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