Surf photography retro 80s by simone reddingius

My surf photography started in 1976, when I moved to Santa Barbara and lived near Rincon beach (the quality of the images was pretty bad so I won't post them). I loved to surf there, so after surfing or if it was too big for me, I would set up my tripod near the rocks and shoot whoever looked good on a wave.
In the early 80s, I started working at camera stores so I was able to buy better equipment. I even bought a used Scott Preiss water housing from a friend and experimented with water shots. One of them was eventually published in Surfing Magazine.
I would take pictures of my favorite surfers, they included Tommy Curren, Kim Mearig, Shaun Tomson and Andy Neumann.

I will never forget this wave, Tommy Curren got covered up on the take-off and he just wiggled out of it and did a big bottom turn and then hit the lip. 

Andy Neumann was (and still is) the stylemaster on a longboard. This was taken during a Surf 'N' Wear  Rincon Classic surf contest.

Shaun Tomson. This was black and white film that got damaged over the years of storage. Taken with the Scott Preiss waterhousing on a gray day.

Kim Mearig was always fun to shoot and watch. She was the most stylish woman surfer anywhere.

This is one of my favorite shots and it got published in Surfing Magazine, almost a center spread.
This is Tim Smally who was one of the hot young rippers at Rincon.