Raised in Bantham, South Devon, Alex Williams has been taking pictures of waves, windsurfing and surfing since the early 70’s. From Hawaii to Holland, France to Fiji, his work has taken him across every continent on the planet.
There are few who have escaped the lens of Mr Williams. Capturing the gods of surfing, Kelly Slater, Mick Fanning and Gerry Lopez right through to the best of British, Russell Winter, Sam Lamiroy, Carwyn Williams and Gabriel Davies.
Alex first picked up a camera at the age of 10 in his native village of Bantham to take pictures of the local wildlife. However, he soon turned towards the ocean where many of his contemporaries had taken up the growing sport of surfing during the 70’s.
This passion for the waves and surfing led Alex towards Plymouth’s College for Art and Design in 1974 to study photography. Four years later, Alex had the cover shot on the first issue of ‘Atlantic Surfer’. The first Colour surfing magazine in the U.K
The 80’s saw the growth of windsurfing and Alex established himself as chief photographer for the Pro Windsurfing Association, contributing to over 30 windsurfing magazines around the world.
He was also co-editing ‘Surf Scene’ with Peter Cade in the early 80’s, contributing to ‘Carve’ magazine from the early 90’s and later helped establish ‘Surfers Path’ in 1997. His pictures have also appeared in dozens of international magazines in Europe, Asia, America, South America and South Africa.
Still living in Bantham, Alex maintains a close relationship with the industry and helped put together the ‘Endless Summer’ Exhibitions at Plymouth City Museum and The Royal Cornwall Museum, Truro, about the UK’s surfing history. He has also recently produced a book called ‘Surfing Files, the stories of South Devon’. He continues to be inspired by the water and waves and those who ride them.