Capturing an idyllic moment comes from Ross Long’s blend of passion and lived experience. Meet the photographer behind our dazzling Long Boarder print.

For Ross Long, the ocean is a way of life. In his work as a photographer and in his personal life, water is ever present. Having grown up in the surf culture of Cornwall in southern England, Ross was attracted to long board surfing early on. It’s slower pace, its disinterest in speed or tricks, longboarding was a pure way to connect with the water and the world. “The way that you ride a wave, you feel kind of connected with it…It’s a mindfulness thing. It’s definitely a meditation... There’s no bad feeling when you are out in the morning at sunrise and you’re the first one out there and you’re just sat on your board before you even catch a wave and you just let your mind kind of wander, staring at the sunrise… you’ve got the dolphins jumping around you, the whales coming 50 metres to shore, it’s also the people…it’s just something I’ve always loved doing.”

Ross began his photography journey when he moved to Sydney in 2016 and it quickly went from being a hobby to being intrinsic to who he is. Starting out initially shooting landscapes to share with family and friends back home, he quickly began to focus on his true passions, which are in his own words: “anything ocean related”. At the beginning of the COVID19 pandemic Ross relocated to Byron Bay. Getting out of Sydney and moving to a slower paced, smaller community, centred on the ocean and creativity, met Ross where he was artistically: “When I [moved to] Byron I was at my peak creativeness, because it was the people I was surrounded by. It made a huge difference to my mentality...I’m not a sport photographer, so when it comes to shooting surfers, I’m not really looking to get someone doing the best cut back…[in Byron Bay] you get all these really unique people with unique features...when they’re on the longboards, just the way they manoeuvre... perfect silhouettes with the sun in the back, it just looks incredible…”

A deep sense of contentment and authentic connection comes through powerfully in Ross’ work, and is what attracted Stonemen to the image now utilised on our Long Boarder print, created in collaboration with Ross: “...what I aim to do with my photography is... try to pick up that person, put them in that place, and consider their relationship with nature and the environment and everything that’s around them. When you look at that image… you look at it and you could imagine yourself as that surfer… you could think to yourself: Oh I’ve had nights like that… you’re on the longboard, that perfect golden light comes out, with the sunset over Mt Warning, and the mountains out there…”

It’s the level of care that Ross applies to his work and to his interaction with the world around him that shows Ross was always meant to be part of the Stonemen family. We admire his commitment to living authentically and humbly, and his reverence for the natural world. There aren’t many people who can capture an image of a surfer on a longboard and make you feel like you’re riding the wave yourself. But Ross Long does, and it’s pretty inspiring.

Want more info on our Long Boarder print? You can find it here. Get the Long Boarder print here.

You can find Ross Long’s work at www.rosslongphoto.com