LeRoy Grannis: 1917-2011
Grannis CollectionLeRoy Grannis and his lenses in his prime.
"The Grannis family wanted to let you all know that LeRoy Frank Grannis passed away peacefully today," posted Grannis's daughter Lisa Pontrelli Grannis yesterday on Facebook. "He was 93 and had a wonderful life. Rest in Peace, Granny. Your family and friends love you and we'll all miss you so very much."
From his early work around California's South Bay to his monumental shots from places like Pipeline and Makaha, Grannis skillfully and artfully composed some of the most memorable and indelible images the sport has ever seen.
"In 1960, LeRoy Grannis took up surf photography as a hobby at the suggestion of his family doctor," wrote Brad Barrett in the introduction to his 1998 book "Photo: Grannis." "He'd developed an ulcer due to stress on the job and the doc figured a hobby would help him unwind and get his mind off the tension at work. So Grannis bought a 35mm camera along with a 400mm lens and got himself a hobby. He fiddled around for a couple of months acquainting himself with his new equipment and started shooting surf photos. No fanfare, no big deal, no drive to create art, just a man looking for a way to let off steam ..."
Born in Hermosa Beach on Aug. 12, 1917, when he was 14, Grannis was already well on his way to a life in surfing. At 23, he took a job as a hired man for Standard Oil in El Segundo, then joined the U.S. military in 1943. After the war, with a young family in tow, Grannis took a job for Pacific Bell Telephone, where he worked in management and eventually retired from in 1977. But as noted, it was in 1960 that he first picked up a long lens and began to produce the images that he's famous for today.
RIP Leroy
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