Ron Church Surfscapes

Born in 1934 in Denver, Colorado, Ron Church lived, surfed and photographed in Southern California and Hawaii from the 1940’s until his untimely death in 1973. He received his early training at the Art Center Photo School and went on to become one of the foremost underwater photographers and exploring divers in the world. He was the only American photographer to accompany Jacques Cousteau on some of his earliest underwater explorations and was a pilot of the famous Cousteau submersibles that were used to bring back history making images from the deep sea.

Ron Church was also an avid surfer and surfing photographer and during this period he created a body of work including over 10,000 surfing images. The current show at Scott Nichols Gallery features these photographs documenting the energy and style of the classic 1960’s era in California and Hawaiian surf culture. Ron Church photographed such legendary surfers as Greg Noll, Phil Edwards, Ricky Grigg, Jeff Hackman, Peter Cole, Dewey Weber and Duke Kahanamoku.

The show also includes photographs that describe the larger culture of which these famous surfers were a part. Ron Church photographed the regular beach goers, unknown surfers, teenagers and families that shared and created the beach lifestyle which has become iconic of California culture from that period. Most importantly Ron Church’s photographs communicate his deep love for the ocean and the interaction of human beings with this great natural force.

His photographs have been widely published and exhibited since the 1950’s. He has been included in the UC Riverside, California Museum of Photography’s show “Ocean View.” His work has been published in National Geographic, Time-Life, Holiday, Industrial Photography, Scientific American, Skin Diver, Surfer Magazine, The Surfer’s Journal and many other publications and books worldwide. The exhibition coincides with the recent publication of “Surf Contest” published by T. Adler Books in Santa Barbara.

Also see, http://www.scottnicholsgallery.com/artists/ron-church/