Februry 5, 2010 - Leroy Grannis aka "Granny", a pioneer in photographing surfing and the beach culture that surrounded it, died in a Southern California nursing home last Thursday at the age of 93. Grannis had started surfing as a teen, but came to surf photography relatively late in life at the age of 42. It was 1959 and a doctor had instructed him to find a relaxing hobby to escape the stress from his job with the telephone company.

"I started chasing good surf, and what was a hobby became a lot more," Grannis told The LA Times in 2005. "Surfing was becoming immensely popular. The 'Gidget' movie had struck a chord... Suddenly everyone wanted to surf, or at least look like surfers."

His first professional photographs were sold for $5 apiece in 1960 to Reef, an early but short-lived surf magazine. In 1962, he became head photographer of Surfing Illustrated, and two years later co-founded International Surfing, now known as Surfing magazine.

Grannis actively shot surf photos during a 12 year period between 1959 and 1971, a time that coincided with surfing's "golden era." His pictures were so ubiquitous during the 60's that it seemed that every great surfing photo, regardless of magazine, was his. In 1971 he became involved in hang gliding and worked briefly as a photographer for Hang Gliding magazine. Several injuries, including a badly fractured leg in 1981, caused him to find a new outlet. This time it was windsurfing. Until the late '80s, Grannis both engaged in and photographed the sport.

Here's more from Valerie J. Nelson at LATimes.