A surfer from Noosa's sun drenched shores obsessed with the dark world of gothic horror, Jai Lee's personal struggles and addiction to noseriding have twisted his creativity. Words: Chris Preston Photos: Thomas Robinson (pp 1&3), Andy Staley (pp4)and Dane Peterson

Chris Preston interviews Sydney's Matt Chojnacki. His surfing may be heavily influenced by the glories of the past, but to tag him as just another retro dude is missing the mark. Words: Chris Preston. Photos: Matt Johnson / thesealife.com.au

Mark Sankey and Alexa Poppe discover Autumn's aquatic gifts in a late September road trip spanning France and Spain. Words: Mark Sankey. Photos and Design: Alexa Poppe

Mat Arney hooks up with some old friends to go feral on the Arabian Peninsula and hunt down some truly isolated swell. Words & photos: Mat Arney

Four compadres take a New Zealand road-trip in search of lefts in a volcano's shadow… All aboard the good ship Peterson Threebeard with Dano, Purcho, Mud and Johnny.

Highs and lows in Morocco. Photos and words by Dan Crockett.


Cross pollination

January 27, 2010 | Words By: Angela

john-ryan-openerOur US crew have just published a gorgeous set of photos from NorCal designer/photographer/musician John Ryan. So if you fancy a change of scenery but can’t leave the office, do check it out.

Photographer John Ryan has four decades of surfing under his belt – two years of logging before the shortboard revolution and the rest, as they say, is history. He lives with his wife and dog in a sleepy coastal town “just north of Santa Barbara and just south of Mendocino” and is inclined towards vagaries when pressed for details.

Nevertheless, his surf photography is all about a sense of place. He nestles behind dunes and hangs from rocky crags to catch surfing movements, preferring to go unnoticed by his subjects in the water. In his words, “When surfers know there’s a camera around, the natural dynamic changes. And for me, that pretty much ruins it.”

You wouldn’t know it from these shots, but John’s only been focusing his talents on surfing for about a year. Before that it was the corporate slog; family, death and taxes. Now you can find him amongst the Malumutes that howl at the church bells in a place where new-age masseuses steal smokes out of bathroom windows and fog is a way of life.

john-ryan


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