Printed using photographic process on Fuji Crystal Archival paper, specifically chosen for its ability to reproduce the nuances of water.

42 inches on the long side

Mounted on ¼-inch Sintra with cleats

Comes with a signed and embossed certificate of authenticity

Available for a limited time only.

Copyright Notice: © John Severson—All images on surfersjournal.com are copyright of the photographers and may not be reproduced whole or in part by any means without prior written consent of the photographer. No permission is granted or implied to use the images for any other purpose than purchase as a single-image print. No ownership interest or copyright in any image shall pass to you by the purchasing of this image.

John Severson produced the first issue of The Surfer in 1960 as a promotional still photo booklet for his surf movie. Part of the process was to hand wind the raw film, frame by frame through a viewer, choosing exact instants of action to photograph (“frame grabs”) and use in marketing his movies.  Often, the exact frame was actually cut out of the original film and used for reproduction. The proofed images were then pasted to paper sheets and stored three-ring binders. Grease pencils were used to identify favorites and to indicate cropping strategies to be used in the dark room.  Many of his frame grabs are now considered to be historical classics. In this proof sheet, the “Little Man on Wheels,” Dewey Weber, is seen whip turning at Malibu. The Mickey Muñoz squat-pose comes from a session of multiple poses filmed at Secos. Rick Grigg is making the drop at Waimea two years after it was first ridden. Joey Cabell’s on the tip at Trestles. Mike Doyle’s flamboyantly ripping Makaha and Sam Buell’s about to shoot the Huntington Pier pilings. All capture the raw excitement of that era’s surfers exploring the possibilities. —Jeff Divine

John Severson spent his teenage years in bucolic San Clemente, California where he began surfing and taking stills, then 8mm movies of his friend’s rides. Soon he was charging a quarter to show them at local parties (the $.25 went for beer). John became an accomplished and stylish surfer, lifeguard, and devotee of the romantic beach culture. He graduated in fine art from Long Beach State College and from the mid-1950s-on, the first artist that surfed to paint surfing. In 1959 he released his surf film “Surf Safari”, and for his second, “Surf Fever” he published a booklet of his surf doodles and frame grabs from the film, along with a few ads from early surfboard makers. Over the next few years, it grew into to Surfer magazine, “the bible of the sport”. In 1970, after selling Surfer and producing his “swansong” surf film “Pacific Vibrations”, now a cult classic, John moved his family to Hawaii where to this day, he lives the surfer lifestyle he largely defined and continues his distinctive fine art.

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