The first Rohloff picture I ever owned was a black and white handbill of Lance Carson caught in mid cross-step, creeping toward the nose of his long-board, arms outstretched gracefully like a seagull in flight. It was this magical tradition of long boarding that Grant Rohloff was able to capture in his surf films and still photography that earned him both the respect of his peers and a legendary status as a visual historian of the ancient art of surfing.

Grant Rohloff was born in Hollywood, California in 1935 to Henry and Eleanor Rohloff. Grant attended Hollywood High school in the early 1950‚s, and it was on a routine visit to the Dean's office where he first met the infamous Miki Dora, also no stranger to the long arm of the Hollywood High administration. While awaiting punishment together one day in the Dean's receiving area, Miki turned to Grant and asked him if he surfed, to which Grant replied, "I think there‚s a south swell in." The two agreed that Malibu was probably "firing" that day and the rest is history.

As a surfer, Grant was so fascinated by merely watching surfing that after apprenticing for the renowned John Severson for a short period of time, he embarked upon his own filmmaking odyssey. Grant's first project, titled appropriately "The Wonderful World of Surfing" was released in 1960 and was followed by 12 other surf movies including the highly acclaimed "Men Who Ride Mountains" and the popular "Wet and Wild." Grant, assisted by wife Judy, debuted his films to capacity crowds throughout Hawaii and California, showcasing them at the Hollywood Palladium, The Santa Monica Civic and numerous high school auditoriums around the Golden State. The posters Grant used for promoting these movies were commonly the stills that had been shot with a Pentex 35mm during actual filming sessions.

In 1989, after fighting a yearlong battle with lymphoma cancer, Grant passed away in the quiet seaside canyon of Topanga Lane at the age of 54. Sometime thereafter, Grant's son Chris accidentally stumbled upon an old, brown bag, which gave forth a treasure trove of long-forgotten surf-slides. It was from these rare and nearly lost photographs that this collection became possible. We invite you to discover the beauty and simplicity of these moments of captured grace in the spirit of Grant Rohloff's love and respect for Mother Nature and the sport of surfing.

-Justin Valdivia