Overview

The urge to ride a wave, the search for the next perfect swell, is an enduring preoccupation that draws people to coastlines around the world. In recent decades, surfing has grown into a multimillion-dollar industry with over three million surfers in the United States alone and an international competitive circuit that draws top surfers to legendary beaches in Hawaii, California, and Australia. But away from the crowds and the hype, dedicated surfers catch waves in places like the Texas Gulf Coast for the pure pleasure of being in harmony with life, their sport, and the ocean. Kenny Braun knows that primal pleasure, as both a longtime Texas surfer and a fine art photographer who has devoted years to capturing the surf culture on Texas beaches. In Surf Texas, he presents an eloquent photo essay that portrays the enduring fascination of surfing, as well as the singular and sometimes unexpected beauty of the coast. Texas is one of the top six surfing states in America, and Braun uses evocative black-and-white photography to reveal the essence of the surfers' world from Galveston to South Padre. His images catch the drama of shooting the waves, those moments of skill and daring as riders rip across the breaking face, as well as the downtime of bobbing on swells like seabirds and hanging out on the beach with friends. Braun also photographs the place-beaches and dunes, skies and storms, surf shops, motels, and parking lots-with a native's knowing eye for defining details. Elegant and timeless, this vision of the Texas Coast is redolent of sea breezes and salt air and the memories and dreams they evoke. Surfer or not, everyone who feels the primeval attraction of wind and waves will enjoy Surf Texas.

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9780292757707

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Reviews

"""Surf Texas, which boasts a foreword by Stephen Harrigan and design by Pentagram Texas, captures coastal life so vividly you'll start smelling salt in the air."" - Austin Chronicle ""Surf Texas ... showcases the lovingly crafted, black-and-white images of Austin photographer Kenny Braun [...] Braun's photographs are not the typical, high-octane color photographs taken with a long lens that populate most surfer magazines. The book includes action shots for sure but Braun's images of the Texas Gulf coast landscape and the people who make up its rag-tag surfing culture are quieter and decidedly more contemplative. They are ultimately about a place and a state of mind."" - Pentagram ""Surf Texas is ultimately a near 20-year passion project that spans the transition of photography from film to digital; he worked with Hasselbad, Holga and DSLR cameras. In black-and-white, the waves, the coastline, sea grass and surfers, spanning generations, are timeless."" - SA Current ""Instead of searching out wild landscapes in far flung corners of the earth, photographer, Kenny Braun, looked for inspiration closer to home, capturing the unorthodox beauty of his backyard, the Texas Gulf Coast...In the book, Surf Texas, he presents an eloquent photo essay that portrays the enduring fascination of surfing, as well as the singular and sometimes unexpected beauty of the coast."" - Magic Seaweed ""Showcases the lovingly crafted black-and-white images of Austin photographer Kenny Braun. Braun grew up surfing the gulf coast and has been documenting the landscape and culture of Texas beaches for over a decade."" - Communication Arts ""In Kenny Braun's new book, Surf Texas, he applies his photography skills and surfer knowledge to capture the essence of Texas surfers."" - Statesman ""Surf Texas [is] Braun's gorgeous coffee table tribute to the wild outlaw surf."" - Austin Chronicle ""Surf Texas offers a distinctive look into the vibrant surf culture that dominates the coastal towns-from Galveston to South Padre and everywhere in between.[...] As readers pore over the 144-page photo essay, the stunning page designs by Pentagram Design -complete with surf charts correlating to the date of each photo-it is evident that Braun's love of surf is unyielding. From photographs revealing the simple life of coastal cities to riders chasing and catching waves, Braun substantiates the notion that one can find beauty in unexpected places when looking through a passionate lens."" - Surfers Village ""There is a beautiful coffee table book that I have to call out called Surf Texas, by Kenny Braun...He's shot photographs for Texas Monthly and Wired Magazine and a bunch of other places. He's a surfer himself. He really immerses you in the scene there and...some of these photos are shot half in the water and half above it and so you feel like you're right there without having to surf yourself."" - Clay Smith, Kirkus interviewed by the Texas Standard"

Surf Texas, which boasts a foreword by Stephen Harrigan and design by Pentagram Texas, captures coastal life so vividly you'll start smelling salt in the air. - Austin Chronicle Surf Texas ... showcases the lovingly crafted, black-and-white images of Austin photographer Kenny Braun [...] Braun's photographs are not the typical, high-octane color photographs taken with a long lens that populate most surfer magazines. The book includes action shots for sure but Braun's images of the Texas Gulf coast landscape and the people who make up its rag-tag surfing culture are quieter and decidedly more contemplative. They are ultimately about a place and a state of mind. - Pentagram Surf Texas is ultimately a near 20-year passion project that spans the transition of photography from film to digital; he worked with Hasselbad, Holga and DSLR cameras. In black-and-white, the waves, the coastline, sea grass and surfers, spanning generations, are timeless. - SA Current

Author Information

Kenny Braun is best known for his environmental portraiture, landscape, and editorial photography. His work has appeared in Texas Monthly, Texas Highways, Southern Living, Wired, Spirit, and Women’s Health, as well as The Salt Lick Cookbook.

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