{"id":125743,"date":"2026-03-26T04:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-03-25T17:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/tracksmag.com.au\/?p=125743"},"modified":"2026-03-25T13:18:50","modified_gmt":"2026-03-25T02:18:50","slug":"bells-beach-and-beyond-the-photographic-archives-of-steve-ryan","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tracksmag.com.au\/bells-beach-and-beyond-the-photographic-archives-of-steve-ryan","title":{"rendered":"Bells Beach and beyond – The photographic archives of Steve Ryan"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

As the CT rolls back into Bells over the Easter weekend, one man guaranteed to be in position when it all unfolds is Victorian lensman Steve Ryan. Decades spent shooting along the Surf Coast have given him a front-row seat to the world\u2019s best and a deep archive to match.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With that in mind, we\u2019re taking a dive into Stevie\u2019s catalogue and the stories behind it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He reflects on his early days behind the camera, alongside a run of standout moments and encounters on the Victorian coast, featuring the likes of Kelly Slater and Shane Dorian. Check it out below.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
80s fluoro-clad fun for the snow-bound Rip Curl crew.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Speaking from his cosy home in a Jan Juc culdersac, just down the road from Bells, Stephen Ryan recalls being a seventeen- year-old apprentice printer, working in the gritty inner-city fringes of Melbourne, in the early 70s. His fingers were permanently ink-stained and typically the only lines stacked in front of him were on something mind-numbing like a bundle of blank withdrawal forms. \u201cI used to get a sore cheekbone from leaning on the machine watching the sheets and double-checking,\u201d explains Steve. \u201cIt was really boring sort of stuff\u2026 I was just day dreaming about surfing the whole time, I was hooked.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Born in Bendigo, Steve moved to Melbourne with his mum and five siblings when he was seven. Exposure to Victoria\u2019s rapidly evolving surf scene came courtesy of his girlfriend\u2019s mother and friends\u2019 parents who were happy to make the drive out to the east or west coast.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For a kid from a single-parent home in Footscray, the first sight of Winki Pop on a good day was some kind of wonderful. \u201cIt was low tide and it was about four-five foot flawless. When I looked at it, I was just going \u2018Wow\u2019. There were no stairs and I remember you had to slide down the hill from bush to bush in those days, down over this little cave and then across the rocks\u2026 it was low tide and I remember looking at all the weeds on the reef and the waves are just peeling down. I couldn\u2019t believe it. I fell in love.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With the printing apprenticeship completed, Steve moved down to the Torquay coast and ran with a crew who danced to the beat of southern ocean swells. They were more bohemian times and if Bells and Winki weren\u2019t on, they\u2019d roam the Victorian coast, snuffing out its broken water mysteries and camping out. \u201cBack then we used to light a fire in a beachside clearing, jerry-rig a home speaker to the car\u2019s cassette player and listen to Steely Dan and Neil Young.\u201d Somewhere along the way Steve picked up a camera. It began as a hobby; the lens frequently pointed at his eclectic group of friends in an instinctive attempt to capture the halcyon days of their surfing youth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Greg Brown tossing spray and golden-locks as he torques his way through a top-turn.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Eventually Steve met a Torquay girl, who was working the register at Walker\u2019s local supermarket. Steve and Michele were a working team from early on in the relationship and after a stint running the Torquay golf club kitchen together they took on the lease for a Jan Juc milk bar, renamed it, and set about making ‘The Bird Rock Caf\u00e9’ a local institution. The venue catered for coast-hugging regulars and hungry surfers looking to refuel between frigid sessions. From the caf\u00e9 you could stroll across the road, stand on top of the imperious sandstone cliffs and watch the tail end of the Winki Pop lines bend around the coast, tapering towards three or four of the less celebrated spots just below. Proximity to quality waves was certainly a fringe benefit. If the swell was on Steve could always duck out to take photos of Bells and Winki and he\u2019s quick to show his gratitude to Michele for indulging his more capricious approach to caf\u00e9 ownership. \u201cShe always was a good worker and could easily handle the caf\u00e9 on her own if I nipped out.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If Michele was the kitchen maestro, the caf\u00e9 became the unlikely launchpad for Steve\u2019s career in surf photography and a flourish of mid-80s-style self-marketing was the catalyst. Steve would showcase his best photographic work on the caf\u00e9 walls. \u201cI even used to spray them with a laquer because we had chips and burgers and all that greasy kind of stuff,\u201d chuckles Steve, who\u2019d sell the odd image off the wall to complement the burger sales.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It was a slow-burn transition into surf photography, but there was always a steady stream of good surfers to shoot. The pros would descend every Easter for the annual Rip Curl Bells contest and a clutch of dedicated locals had the whole coast dialed. Steve is conscious he may have missed important names but suggests the likes of Mick and Tony Ray, Mark Phipps, Greg Brown, Glen Casey, Andrew Flitton and Andrew Egan were all major players in the 80s and 90s scene, while Wayne Lynch was still the proverbial snow leopard of Victorian surfing. \u201cHe was around but was pretty elusive,\u201d insists Steve.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Jeff Rowley grabbing rail on a hefty, southern ocean left that readily lends itself to comparisons with Teahupo\u2019o<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The surf magazines were also in full stride and eventually one of the photo editors wandered into the Bird Rock Caf\u00e9 and asked Steve if he wanted to start submitting images. He was more than happy to oblige and so began a long-standing relationship with the surf media. \u201cThe first shot I remember being run that I was happy with was of a goofy-footer, Brian Curry,\u201d indicates Steve. \u201cJust a good bottom-turn on six-foot day at Winki Pop.\u201d Pre 2000, publication like Tracks were still in black and white, so it didn\u2019t matter if you shot Winkipop on a cloudy day. So long as those steel-cut lines cut across an image with hypnotic definition the shot could run in the mag. Eventually Steve and Michele sold the caf\u00e9. The long winters were pretty quiet compared to current times, and they figured they could do better out of catering gigs and Steve\u2019s photos. Meanwhile, they fell hard for the rugged, untamed coast of Victoria\u2019s western districts they\u2019d spent their youth roaming. Steve loved to surf the lonely beachbreaks in the region and they purchased a plot of land in Port Campbell, eventually relocating an old soldier-settler\u2019s house onto the empty block. However, as they raised their two, young kids, Mathew and Ali, the Jan Juc home in Torquay remained their base. Torquay may have maintained the veneer of a sleepy, surf village, but it was still the engine room for a global surf industry. Living around the corner from Rip Curl and Quiksilver\u2019s head quarters ensured Steve also got tossed the occasional industry assignment. For a number of years Michele and Steve were the ultimate double act at the Rip Curl Pro Bells contest. Michele would handle the catering for event staff or a corporate grandstand, while Steve captured the contest action. \u201cWe were busy,\u201d insists Steve. \u201cI\u2019d be carrying crates of food out to Bells in the morning and then shooting the contest all day. Mind you, the other photographers used to get pretty jealous when Michele would walk down the stairs and hand-deliver a plate loaded with good food.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The defining, early career moment for Steve came on a blue-sky day in 1991. It was mid-way through the Bells event and several of the surfers who didn\u2019t have heats took one glance at the small swell and bolted down the coast. As luck would have it, Steve was already at his second home and got the tip off that a car-full of celebrated pros were making a cannonball run for a big, offshore right that had a rep\u2019 for snatching thick southern ocean swells and bending them into reeling, fifteen-foot barrels. Steve had never shot the wave before but by the time he had his Nikon 600ml lens set up on the cliffs, Martin Potter was tossing him his keys to mind and paddling out alongside Derek Ho, Tom Carroll and Ross Clarke-Jones into a 12-15 foot lineup with the odd 20 foot set.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Maurice Cole with a fin tint to match his tongue.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt was unexpected,\u201d reflects Steve. \u201cI was the only photographer there and yeah, it was big and there were world champions out there.\u201d Steve\u2019s images revealed sun-dappled, ruler-edged giants that roared down the line, the allure of perfection goading would-be challengers into a drag race with a lip that savagely conveyed the full force of the southern ocean.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It was certainly no playground for exuberant amateurs but the images proved Australia could lay claim to a wave that might rival Maui\u2019s Honolua Bay or Kauai\u2019s Hanalei Bay for big-wave quality. In an era long before the Instagram spoilers reduced the genuinely epic to an underwhelming match-box-size scroll, Steve\u2019s shots of Victoria\u2019s big wave jewel received top billing in surf mags in Australia and abroad. Despite the serendipitous sequence of events that gave Steve his pay dirt moment, he still has a few regrets. \u201cWhen Martin Potter and Derek Ho came out of the water, I still had their keys and they wanted to go and surf another wave, so I tagged along. But the big right was sunny and pumping all day. I probably should never have left. I would have got heaps more shots.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Ross Clark-Jones looks back and contemplates a lane change as Tom Carroll comes roaring through the barrel. Decades later, this session down the coast is still talked about.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Getting the Jump on Kelly<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Back in 2003, Kelly Slater was making his return to professional surfing, goaded back to the competitive arena by the wrecking-ball impact of Andy Irons. Despite the all-consuming rivalry with Andy, Kelly was still hungry for free- surfing diversions. In the lead up to Bells, he was exploring the waves on Victoria\u2019s southwest coast with filmers Chris Bryan and Tim Bonython. Steve had spent half a lifetime roaming the region and was happy to tag along, driving down muddy tracks and scaling cliffs with Kelly to shoot him surf. However, by the time the Rip Curl Pro kicked off, one softly whispered wave still had Kelly intrigued. When the contest relocated to Johanna, Kelly and Shane Dorian reached out to Steve again, and professed their desire to surf the mysto left slab that was known to break like a kind of scar-faced Teahupo\u2019o. Kelly had done his homework and knew Steve had a place down the coast. When he asked if he and Shane could stay there overnight and check the left the following morning, Steve was obliging but hastily explained that it wasn\u2019t exactly The Hilton. \u201cHe said, \u2018Don\u2019t worry Steve, I\u2019ve slept on floors all around the world\u2019.\u201d Steve vividly recalls the inauspicious drive back from the contest with Kelly and Shane in tow that night. \u201cThe hills were ablaze because they were back-burning. Then I almost hit a big kangaroo that leapt out in front of me and Kelly was driving so close he almost rear-ended me when I hit the brakes.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

En route to Steve\u2019s place, they stopped off at Port Campbell where Kelly shouted dinner at Nico\u2019s, a regulation pizza joint. While they ate, Kelly made it apparent Bells was far from his favourite wave. Steve tried to highlight the wave\u2019s virtues but Kelly wasn\u2019t buying it. Steve drops into a classic Kelly take-off as he recreates the conversation. \u201cI remember him saying, \u2018Come on Steve, you know it never gets any good\u2019.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Overnight, Kelly received the news that he was in the first heat at Johanna and unfortunately this put the kibosh on plans to surf the heavy left. The next morning a low fog hung over the bush as Kelly raced off with Shane riding shotgun. Meanwhile, Steve went to check the left slab. \u201cIt was pumping,\u201d he says with conviction. \u201cAbout eight foot and just sheet glass with spitting barrels.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

About fifteen minutes after Kelly and Shane had left, Steve pulled up to the austere corner shop at nearby Laver\u2019s Hill. There he found his two, overnight houseguests looking rattled as they stood over a small Nissan 4wd with the bonnet caved in and the headlights bent sideways. \u201cIt was just smashed,\u201d explains Steve. They explained that shortly after leaving Steve\u2019s place Kelly had collided with a kangaroo. Steve laughs as he recalls Dorian\u2019s wide- eyed response when he asked him about what exactly transpired. \u201cHe said, \u2018I don\u2019t know Steve, I just saw this big blur go over the windscreen\u2019.\u201d Dressed in his fur trimmed jacket (probably faux-fur) and shorts, Kelly was good enough to pose for a photo with his beaten up ride. In the background you can see the fog hovering low over the setting. Well aware that Kelly was still rattled by the Kangaroo incident, Steve declined to tell him the left was all-time. \u201cI didn\u2019t want to get in his head before he surfed a heat,\u201d explains Steve.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Kelly Slater with a rare acknowledgement of defeat on a day when a big Ozi boomer got the better of him.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

It was an old-school shop that didn\u2019t take cards so Kelly asked Steve if he could borrow ten bucks to get some breakfast. \u201cWhen he came back from inside the shop I remember he tried to give me the change and I waved it away,\u201d recalls Steve. The car was still drivable so Shane and Kelly then headed to Johanna with a story to tell the rest of the tour surfers. As it transpired the contest was put on hold because the low-lying mist had obscured the lineup. With the delay, Kelly would have had time to pit his skills against the mysto left, but by the time Steve reached Johanna the sting had gone out of the quest. \u201cIt was a missed opportunity,\u201d laments Steve who at least has the story to recount and the fabled photo of Kelly and the car.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the end Kelly got knocked out, Andy went on to ring the Bell at Johanna (and win the world title) and no one ever found out what happened to the Kangaroo that got the jump on Kelly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Having a fixed address down the coast gave Steve more opportunity to explore the potential of its myriad swell-exposed reefs and coves. Back in the mid 70s he and his friends had stumbled across a fearsome left at the base of a long, hill descent. \u201cA guy we nicknamed gnome wanted to surf it,\u201d explains Steve. \u201cBut we talked him out of it because we were scared he\u2019d get hurt and we\u2019d have to carry him all the way up the hill.\u201d By the time Steve had his place down the coast, over a decade later, a crew of brazen bodyboarders were regularly surfing the wave, which offers a marginal entry point before it folds southern ocean juice into liquid cement. As the \u2018slab\u2019 sub-genre exploded more surfers showed up to have a shot at the near-impossible wave that sometimes resembles Teahupo\u2019os ugly Oz cousin\u2019. According to Steve, Jason Polakow was an early up-taker, and \u2018did really well out there\u2019. Steve was also on hand when noted tube aficionado Anthony Walsh successfully paddled the beastly left.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
The landscape at Bells and Winki wrapped in the kind of silvery ribbons surfers will happily sell their souls for.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

These days Steve still loves the occasional dash down the coast, but you\u2019re more likely to find him elbow-deep in his Jan Juc back garden pulling up the spuds he\u2019s planted, or snatching peaches off the trees before the resident rosellas beat him to it. From the yard he can still keep an eye on the weather, waiting for that moment when all the elements align for the beguiling Bells or Winkipop shot he\u2019s chasing. \u201cI never used to concentrate on all that the scenic stuff as much because there was a lot of other stuff going on, but I\u2019m much better at it now.\u201d Although Steve and others have shot Bells prolifically he still sees scope for improvement. \u201cI can always get a better lineup shot,\u201d he insists. Quizzed about the coalescence of variables required to produce the ideal moment at Bells, Steve ponders for a moment before responding. \u201cA south swell, at about 8-to-10 foot \u2013 super straight \u2013 that\u2019s what I\u2019d like. If you got it on sunset or sunrise with some colour in the sky that would be epic. And no guys dropping in on each other. That\u2019s one of the things that mucks up photos.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The ink-stained teen that surf-dreamed through his apprenticeship has also gone full circle back to printing, although the present-day subject matter is far more engaging than the reams of forms he once churned out in a Collingwood bunker. Steve has two professional-standard, Epson 9900 Stylus Pro printers in the garage and can produce an array of archival standard prints on a grand scale. Classic examples of his own work stretch boldly across the walls of Steve\u2019s home, showcasing his versatility the pastel pyrotechnics of a Jan Juc sunset, roaring Bells in moody black and white and the sentinel twelve apostles drenched in brilliant, lemon light. Steve sells prints via his website and at local flea markets; even hangs a few at a local caf\u00e9, just like he did back at The Bird Rock Caf\u00e9. Now in his late sixties, it\u2019s been a long journey from Bendigo to Bells but it seems he\u2019s finally found his niche. \u201cI really love printing photos and I love printing other people\u2019s photos too,\u201d he enthuses. \u201cEspecially artworks and all sorts of pretty things. I like it. I really like it.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Iconic Victorian Lensman shares some of his best memories from the surf coast.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":110772,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1,20,332,5547],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-125743","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-general","category-news","category-slider-home","category-slider-news"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nBells Beach and beyond - The photographic archives of Steve Ryan - Tracks Magazine<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/tracksmag.com.au\/bells-beach-and-beyond-the-photographic-archives-of-steve-ryan\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Bells Beach and beyond - 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