A sign on the 130-year-old pier at Saltburn-by-the-Sea warns people not to jump off it. On a big surf day surfers make their way to the end of the sturdy 206 metre structure and jump like lemmings into the cold, murky North Sea. Words: Simon Palmer Photos: Ian Forsyth

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

When it comes to surfcraft there's a newcomer making waves. Drift discovers the new world of handplaning with Cornwall's finest craftsmen. Words: Clare Howdle

When his career as a pro surfer was ended by cancer, Richie Lovett forged a new career in the manufacturing industry. Now he's singing the praises of machine-shaping technology. Words: Chris Preston Photos: Jamie Bott

Rebel wave riders on a mission to enlighten the Western world to the true culture of the Middle East, blakkbox redefine the notion of surfers as beach bums who only care about the next wave. Photos: Cole Estrada & Anthony Allen

Ireland's fierce and unpredictable breaks have been valued by its home-grown big wave riders for some years now, but competition has been a long time coming. All that changed with the inaugral Mullaghmore Tow Session 2011. Conn Osborne got in harm's way to steal a photo essay.


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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