Photographer John Witzig was at the centre of Australia surf culture as it burst onto the scene in the 60s and 70s. His work features a sweet and nostalgic dose of surfing’s past that does not disappoint. You can get a taste of this as part of a new exhibition currently on display at the City of Coffs Harbour’s Yarrila Arts and Museum. The ‘Swell Chasers: Surf Stories from the Mid North Coast’ exhibition is on display until 2 February 2025 and is completely free.
The exhibition aims to explore the history of surfing in the region and how it has left an everlasting impact on the culture of the area. It includes a selection of boards from the region that date back decades, as well as the work of photographers, writers and artists who have all contributed to surfing on the Coffs Coast through their work.
We caught up with John who was kind enough to share a snapshot of some of his work which is currently on display at the exhibition. However, if you want to see the full thing, you’ll have to go and check it out for yourself.
The best of John’s contribution to the Swell Chasers exhibition centres on proof sheet B39 below, which dates back from May 1973.
JW: It’s unique (for me) because that single role of film provided two Tracks covers, and the first of them, from June that year, wasn’t the best frame by a long way.
JW: This is the shot that we should’ve used.
JW: This was the one we did use.
JW: The second cover was the following month, and we took a neat slice out of what was a landscape-format frame.
JW: This was the best frame on the roll, and made a good cover.
I was shooting with the first model of the Nikonos waterproof camera. It had a fixed 35 mm lens which meant that if you weren’t really close to the subject, you were too far away.
JW: I used to swim because it was the only way to get close enough, and I tethered the camera to my wrist because I’d dropped and lost one in the past. I’d hold the Nikonos out in my right hand, and press the shutter when I guessed it was the right moment. You got just one opportunity per wave.
There was no motor drive, no auto focus… but the Nikkor lens was superbly sharp, and I used to preset the focus from around 2 metres to infinity. In fact, just about everything was in focus… unless there was a drop of water on the front of the lens.
Included in the exhibition are copies of the two issues of Tracks, a largish print of the frame that we didn’t use on the June ’73 cover, a print of the frame we did use the following month, and also the wonderful little Nikonos camera… a sort of GoPro of its day.
In addition, there’s a large print of the proof sheet that I traded with the fine local photographer Duncan Macfarlane for one of his prints.
