Kelly Slater Remembers Legendary Surf Photographer, Mike Moir

Legendary surf photographer, Mike Moir, has died.

Hailing from Newport Beach, CA, Moir’s photography was first published in SURFER magazine in 1967; he was a pioneer in surf photography with close-up action shots.

Kelly Slater, who was photographed by Moir as a young grom, offered this remembrance:

“Just head of Mike Moir’s passing. This pic was on the post but I don’t know whether Mike took this or not though from my memory, this was for the local paper, The Sun News in Florida, and I’d be surprised and stoked if Mike did take it.

“As young kids growing up, reading every magazine, Mike became a legendary name I minds with the likes of Art Brewer, Flame, Peter Brouillet, Tome Servais, Aaron Chang, Dan Merkel, Don King, Third Eye Thoughts, Tom Dugan, Meza Pixels, and many other photographic legends that spring to mind from our early years in the magazines. Condolences to Mike’s friends and family and a shout-out to all the photogs that spring to mind capturing this amazing lifestyle all these years.”

From Matt Warshaw’s Encyclopedia of Surfing, here’s a bit more about Moir’s career:

“Moir returned to surf photography in 1972, this time with the intention of making it a career. Unlike virtually all his peers, the quiet and genial Moir avoided the annual winter surf carnival on the North Shore in Oahu, Hawaii, preferring to stick close to home, or go on off-the-beaten path trips. In 1999, Moir photographed the first surf trip to Russia; the results were published the following year in Surfer and the Surfer's Journal. Moir awed and baffled the surfers he worked with over the years by never wearing a wetsuit when he shot from the water, even in the dead of winter.”

RIP to this surf photography legend.

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