master of the craft

Master of the craft: Ron Stoner 

February 11th, 2013

Master of the craft: Ron Stoner

Ron Stoner is widely considered to be one of the original masters of surf photography, cited by many photographers today as a great influence in their work. Stoner led the way during the late 1960s, where he landed many covers of Surfer magazine, shooting numerous iconic photos. His photos were colourful, beautifully framed and really captured the Californian surf & beach culture of the late 60s, in and out of the water.
Sadly Ron’s personal life eventually overtook his career. The story goes that he was a schizophrenic and battled with a drug problem too. He mysteriously disappeared in the early 70s, filed as a ‘missing person’ in 1977 and declared dead in 1996.

Ron Stoner didn’t invent color surf photography, but he was the first real master of the craft.
Matt Warshaw

Miki "Da Cat" Dora at Rincon, California

Iconic surf photo by Ron Stoner

Matty Welsh at La Jolla, California

Blacks Beach, La Jolla, California

The North Shore, Hawaii

David Nuuhiwa at Pipeline, Hawaii

‘Scrambling for the shoulder’ at Pipeline, Hawaii (1966)

Dickie Moon at La Jolla, California (1965)

Dickie Moon at Black’s Beach, California (1965)

Somewhere in Mexico (1966)