Seminal Frames From The Twenty-Five Year Career Of Dave ‘Nelly’ Nelson

There are certain names which have have achieved legendary status in the world of surf photography and 49 year-old Dave ‘Nelly’ Nelson is most certainly one of them.

Brought up in Santa Cruz skating and surfing, Nelly was surrounded by inspiring figures of the day including skaters Keith Meek and Steve Caballero as well as surfer, skateboarder and lensmen Tony Roberts, whom he cites has his main inspiration to first pick up a camera.

Photography has been a life saving outlet for me. Keeping life fun and exciting.

After spending much of his youth surfing, skating and partying,  Nelly decided photography would be his main focus in life, and soon began documenting the burgeoning scene and talent pool in Santa Cruz and selling shots to the mags.

Nelly has spent the 25 years since travelling the world, shooting for brands including O’Neil and Vans as well as working as a senior photographer at Transworld Surf Magazine for 17 years.

“Photography has been a life saving outlet for me. Keeping life fun and exciting and close to nature. It has truly been a gift in my life.” he said.

Whilst Nelly has held true to his tried and tested style and approach, he has noticed the industry changing rapidly around him.

“We are a dying breed I’m afraid.” he laments of surf photographers “Everyone wants the shots-nobody wants to pay. The rates continue to go down and the magazines are dying. Hopefully things turn around before it’s too late.”

“I want my daughter to skate in front of a surf shop and not order her wetsuits online. Figure it out people.” he continues “There’s no culture in online shopping… and you can’t look someone in the eye, if you’re always staring at your phone! Haha”.

We asked Nelly to select some of his favourite images from his extensive archive and tell us the stories behind them, and what he came back with serves as a unique and concise chronicle of surf culture and its major players over the last 25 years.

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The West swell filled in fast. After a dawn patrol swim and a good pounding I decided to hike up the mountain to get a different perspective of Pipeline cracking off. I remember being stoked as I had a few really good hookups that morning!A special time in The Monterey Bay. For some reason 100s of Humpbacks came to our Bay a few years ago and hung out making for some of my favorite shots I've ever taken and some of the most magic experiences I've ever had. Some of these mornings it was just me, surrounded by whales spouting. I could smell their breathe they were so close.One of the best trips of my life was this one to P-Pass w Dusty, Gavin and Eric Geiselman. Dusty was on the fence, and I had to talk him into it. The swell came in fast and we scored some of the best waves I've ever seen. 12 hour sessions of craziness. Sunburned eyeballs and big smiles. Most of these shots have never been seen. I first met John John in Cabo at Shipwrecks. I was down there w Bruce Irons, Ozzie Wright and Randy Bonds and John was like 7 or 8. He was ripping and we were all like "That kid has something special" and it wasn't just his surfing. He was so aware and focused. Old soul style. Over the next 10 years I got to travel a lot with John and his family. Epic times.Griffin and I drove from Santa Cruz to Los Angeles trying to score some pics for a Surfing Magazine profile. The weather was bad in SC and I suggested we head south for the big swell coming. It turned out to be the best call ever, as we scored everywhere we went. Covers, spreads and big barrels. This kids the real deal. When Pipeline goes off Joel Tudor sits on it like a Lion waiting to pounce. He finds his window and usually scores some epic ones. A true Surf/Skate legend.One of my favorite spots in Santa Cruz, The Harbormouth grinding. Reef always made a batch of coffee for the boys. I spent a lot of time with all these guys over the years. Classic characters. Reef, Merle, Ian Walsh, Steph, Tudor, Healey. Pipeline PosseOne of my best friends Timmy Reyes on what Robbie Crawford called the wave of the year at Cylinders in Newport Beach.Tia Blanco in Nicaragua. She won the ISA woman's division and was all smiles. 16. One of my best friends Timmy Reyes on what Robbie Crawford called the wave of the year at Cylinders in Newport Beach.Another one of my favorite kids Kalani David. We did an epic surf/skate trip to Mexico w Kyle Thiermann and Cam Richards. This was from Tecoman Skatepark. Kadin Panesi (shown here) and his brother Brogie are 2 of my favorite kids ever. Positive vibes always pouring out of these kids and some of the best surfing ever out of Half Moon Bay Area.I went down to work w Dane Reynolds for a week in Ventura area. This portrait was taken at Rincon.Nic Lamb at Mavericks. In my opinion one of the most underrated surfers in the world, Nic can rip anything. Recently picked up by Buell wetsuits Nic finally has some backing to do what he does best. This is from the same trip with Griffin Colapinto and Colt Ward and Kyle Buthman. We stopped at Seth De Roulets house and stayed the night. We all went and shot the next day and I forgot my housing. Seth (coolest guy ever) leant me his housing and he shot land. This shot made the cover of Surfing Mag. Thanks Seth! I shot this portrait of Kelly at the Oakley house one night. It was a cool night out and we talked about rad shit. Kelly always has an opinion on stuff and isn't afraid to voice it. I love that about him, and I always look forward to a good golf battle ever year on the North Shore w him and Timmy Reyes.Hands down the craziest wave I've ever seen ridden was this one of Koa Rothman at Teahupoo in Tahiti. The thing was fricken Black it was so big as it was approaching the reef. I saw Laird whip it on the ski and was like Holy Shit, Is that Koa? He rode that wave as perfect as it could've been ridden. Driving through the biggest square st barrel I've ever seen. But it still wasn't enough and towards the end it sucked him up the face and over the falls. It was like a tidal wave and after it rolled through he didn't pop up. Laird was driving back and forth and weaving all over the reef looking for Koa. It was so heavy! He finally popped up like 400 yards inside and we all breathed a sigh of relief. I shot this portrait of Andy right after he won the Pipe Masters in one of the best Pipe finals I've seen. It was a crazy battle w Kelly, Machado and Cory Lopez in perfect Pipe. Andy was on Fire afterwards and this is one of my favorite portraits I ever shot cause You can feel his energy in the shot.This was shot this last year at The Wave Warriors shoot by Laserwolf. These are some of the Photogs who have spent their lives capturing the surf culture on the North Shore. Thanks For The Shot Laser!Brogie Panesi finds a perfect barrel somewhere near Santa Cruz.

See more of Nelly’s work on his instagram here and his websitehere.