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LATEST: CENTURY<br />
David Brandon - 2007<br />
FROM HUMBLE<br />
BEGINNINGS<br />
You’re not the first. And you<br />
certainly won’t be the last.<br />
In fact, this surfing thing has<br />
been on the boil a lot longer<br />
than most of us know. Sure,<br />
we’ve all heard about the Duke<br />
formally introducing surfing at<br />
Freshwater and we’ve recently<br />
seen the Tommy Walker<br />
photograph that officially<br />
gazumped him as the first man<br />
on a board in our waters, but<br />
to take stock of the constant<br />
and growing popularity of our<br />
favourite addiction through the<br />
eyes of 75-odd photographers<br />
is something special indeed.<br />
Where better to hold this<br />
exhibition than in Yamba – the<br />
beautiful backdrop for the shot<br />
that started it all...<br />
Hardworking journo, surf<br />
history devotee and an active<br />
member of the Yamba surfing<br />
community, Deb Novak, has<br />
brought together a body of<br />
work that marks and celebrates<br />
the centenary of Australian<br />
surfing photography - and what<br />
a journey it takes you on.<br />
The exhibition honours the<br />
pioneer of surfing photography,<br />
18-year-old Maclean<br />
photographer Osric Notley<br />
who captured Australia’s first<br />
surfing photo at Main Beach<br />
Yamba in late 1911. Osric was<br />
a member of the newly formed<br />
Yamba Surf Life Saving Brigade<br />
and photographed his friend<br />
and Manly surf club member,<br />
Tommy Walker.<br />
It’s interesting to note that<br />
only seven years before this<br />
historical photo was taken<br />
it was against the law to<br />
swim during daylight - hard<br />
to fathom when you consider<br />
that there are around 2 million<br />
Australians that surf today.<br />
Back in the early days,<br />
swimming was only permitted<br />
at dusk and dawn, but things<br />
changed dramatically when a<br />
man - the editor of the Manly<br />
Daily - openly defied this law<br />
by taking a midday dip. He<br />
was promptly arrested, but no<br />
charges were laid and soon<br />
after the laws were changed.<br />
Around the same time that<br />
people were stripping down<br />
and standing up to silly laws,<br />
and while Australian surf<br />
culture was in its infancy, a<br />
new range of photographic<br />
equipment was about to<br />
enable the masses to<br />
create, capture and record<br />
the world around them.<br />
In 1888 Kodak launched<br />
a new camera with the<br />
slogan, “You press the<br />
button, we do the rest” and<br />
then three short years later<br />
launched its first daylightloading<br />
camera. In 1900 the<br />
famous Brownie cameras<br />
were introduced, selling<br />
for $1 and costing 15 cents<br />
to run. This opened the<br />
floodgates for photographic<br />
hobbyists all over.<br />
The legacy of Osric<br />
Notley’s first surfing<br />
photograph is absolutely<br />
mirrored 100 years later,<br />
as technological advances<br />
have again given the wider<br />
community an opportunity<br />
to pick up a camera - or<br />
even a mobile phone -and<br />
take a decent photo, many<br />
of which are well worthy<br />
of print.<br />
This leveling of the<br />
playing field is evident in<br />
the 100 years of Surfing<br />
Photography exhibition<br />
where, in the true spirit<br />
of surfing, legends of the<br />
lens like John Witzig,<br />
Albe Falzon, Jack McCoy<br />
and Christo Reid are hung<br />
36 jan/feb <strong>2012</strong>
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