by Ed Grant

Nathan Fletcher, surfer. Photo courtesy of Tony Canadas.

Mavericks is awe-inspiring, and this exhibit — running from Jan. 14 through Feb. 29, 2102 at the Coastal Arts League Gallery in Half Moon Bay— will bring all of that awe-inspiring energy into the gallery.

Mavericks: Everest of the Seas was launched in the fall of 2009 with the idea of bringing together the most memorable photos from Mavericks best sessions. Large and enthusiastic crowds have been in attendance from its debut at the Coastal Arts League Gallery. The exhibit has also enjoyed successful runs in the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, the California Academy of Sciences and the Longboard Winery in Healdsburg, Calif. (Read the article about the Longboard Winery in CoastViews Magazine’s October issue.)

Continuing last year’s special feature, members of the public are invited to share a favorite Mavericks photo or piece of art of their own. Space in the Coastside gallery will be provided for the pieces to be displayed. This is a great opportunity for people to show off the work they’re proud of, and inspire others. Pieces must be dropped off at the Coastal Arts League on Wednesday, Jan. 11, or Thursday, Jan. 12, between noon and 5 p.m. There is no fee.

Zach Wormhoudt, surfer. Photo courtesy of Seth Migdail.

To add to the party atmosphere, Half Moon Bay’s La Nebbia Winery will be hosting a champagne and wine-tasting reception at the gallery on Saturday, Jan. 21, from 5–8 p.m. The lineup of surfers, photographers and artists who will be on hand at the reception to meet and welcome visitors includes Jeff Clark, Grant Washburn, Eric W. Nelson, Tony Canadas, Ed Grant, Seth Migdail, Art Gimbel, Tom Rissacher and Sue Pemberton. A raffle will be held to help support the Half Moon Bay High School Surf Club.

Biographies of Surfers, Photographers and Artists

Jeff Clark is one of the most noteworthy and respected big-wave surfers in the world. Clark is famous for surfing the giant waves of Mavericks alone for 15 years before it was widely discovered by the big-wave surfing community. Clark is the only active ambidextrous big-wave surfer in the world, and one of the few in history.

Wikipedia says: “A natural goofyfooter, Clark spent years learning to ride regularfoot with equal confidence and skill. This allowed him to ride frontside (facing the wave) when he started taking on the more dangerous right-breaking waves at Maverick’s.”

Jeff Clark. Photo by Cassandra Clark.

“Labeled one of the world’s best big-wave riders by Surfer magazine in 1994, Clark, along with Maverick’s and the Half Moon Bay surf scene, has been featured in such films as Riding Giants and Adventures in Wild California.”

Clark founded the annual Mavericks surf contest. The invitational surf contest brings the best and boldest big-wave surfers from all over the world to Half Moon Bay.

Grant Washburnis a leading spokesman on Mavericks and has surfed it more often than anyone over the past 18 years. He has competed in all of the Mavericks surfing contests, reaching the semi-finals five times and the finals three; he received the Jay Moriarity Award in 2004. Washburn has also been an invitee to all of the events at Dungeons in South Africa, where he has three times won the Biggest Wave award. He’s also the co-author of the best-selling book Inside Maverick’s: Portrait of a Monster Wave. He is the founder of Grant Washburn Productions as well as being, as his website says, a high surf consultant, writer, producer, director and talking head.

Surfer Grant Washburn © 2011 Ed Grant.

Fred Pompermayer’s photo of Derek Dunfee at Mavericks won the Monster Paddle Award at the 2009 Billabong XXL.

As his profile on The Shot says: “From a very young age he was fascinated with the power of the ocean. While studying architecture in university he took a photography class where he found an instant fulfillment. After graduating with a degree in architecture, he boldly decided to combine his two passions of surfing and photography, abandoned his major, and set out to become a surf photographer!”

“He has very creative and unique way of shooting moments because he is always looking for something new and exciting to capture. He has the ability to build his own water housings for his cameras, flashes and even camera board enabling him to bring his ideas to fruition.”

Eric W. Nelson shot the first video images of Mavericks in February 1990. On that sunny day Jeff Clark paddled out with Dave Schmidt and Tom Powers. Eric was shooting for his community access television show “Powerlines Surf-Spots.” This would be the genesis of the Powerlines Productions company that showcases big wave surfing around the world.

Nelson’s first film was High Noon at Low Tide. In 1998 he produced another big wave documentary, Twenty Feet Under. As Wikipedia says: “On December 11, 1998, during a big Northwest open ocean swell reaching 20-25 feet, Curt Myers was shooting from the water and Nelson was shooting from land. On this memorable swell they joined forces and produced the mini-documentary twelveleven.” On that day Powerlines Productions was born.

Art Gimbal's Maverick's.

Tony Canadas is a local Coastside photographer. As his website says, he “uses light, color and intensity to create memorable images for advertising, print media, and fine art photography. … His lifelong affinity for adventure and the outdoors has led him to becoming an international publicized magazine photographer. His passion for travel has led him to countless locations around the world. … It is the breathtaking beauty of the Northern California Coastline where he finds constant inspiration for his photography and where he makes his home.”

Ed Grant and his camera, a Nikon D300, have traveled together for almost four decades, about the same amount of time he spent as a high school classroom teacher. Since retiring in 2002, he has photographed Mavericks, capturing images of the men and women who surf the monster wave. A pictorial he shot of legendary big-wave surfer Jeff Clark, shaping a big wave gun, was featured in a window display at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art. Grant’s skills as a photographer have landed him magazine cover shots and features in books, publications and television broadcasts as well as the Editor’s Choice of a Nikon photo contest. Grant is the curator of this exhibit.

Seth Migdail is a San Francisco-based photographer. Migdail’s surf photography, from Mavericks and elsewhere, has been published both in the U.S. and internationally. His photos of Grant “Twiggy” Baker and Nathan Fletcher were nominated in the Monster Paddle category in the 2009 Billabong XXL competition. Born and raised in New York, Migdail journeyed to California in the mid-1990s where he discovered his passion for surfing while living on the Central Coast. Combining his BFA in photography and his love for the ocean, Migdail explores the human limits and big-wave surfing with his work out at Mavericks.

Sue Pemberton is a curatorial assistant at the California Academy of Sciences. Pemberton’s passion for photography began at the age of 12, when she began snapping shots of her neighborhood friends. Her childhood hobby soon grew into a full-fledged love for the art. With a personal goal of expanding her knowledge of photography, she shoots most anything and everything in the quest for that special image.

Art Gimbel is a San Francisco native who draws his inspiration from California’s coast and mountains where he has spent most of his life. The Discovery Channel, Playboy and National Geographic have featured his photography and film. He currently can be found writing mobile travel guides and seeking inspiration in nature at home or abroad.

Tom Rissacher’s website says: “Since 1990 I have been living and painting in Sonoma County in northern California. … I am originally from New York and my early artistic development was influenced by many hours spent at the Met and other museums where he was enchanted by the works of Vermeer, Rembrandt and the Hudson River painters. It was the beginning of a life-long fascination with the world of realist oil painting.”

His passion for surfing and diving eventually led him to Hawaii. During this 15-year period he studied art at the University of Hawaii and continued to develop his painting skills. “My love of the ocean was translated into a series of very large, photo-realistic wave portraits,” his website says.

The site continues: “Although I do quite a bit of landscape painting these days, the ocean continues to be my subject of choice. … My work has been featured on several television programs and can be found in many private and corporate collections.