Doo Ron Ron

He's sort of the Ambrose Bierce of surf photographers: At "The Ron Stoner Show," the star surf photographer of the 1960s California scene is on display at his artistic acme. But ten years later, after making Blacks Beach, Hollister Ranch, and other places famous in the pages of Surfer magazine, the prophetically named Stoner had become drugged-out and couldn't find work. Finally, he disappeared completely. What happened? You can't tell by looking at the photos, all of which are calm masterpieces, concerned as much with form as with content and possessed of the attitude of a cool in-crowd letting you in on its secrets. The photos' Technicolor captures expansive horizons, uncrowded breaks, and now-legendary then-teenagers like Dickie Moon slicing through sapphire without a care in the world. No one knows what happened to Stoner, but he left behind some mighty icons.
Aug. 8-Sept. 4, 2008