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Bright, tireless, hard-edged surf photographer and boardmaker from Cocoa Beach, Florida; often called the "Father of East Coast Surf Photography," and best known for presenting Sebastian Inlet to the rest of the surf word as mainland America's most progressive surfing hotspot during late '60s and '70s. "Larry, by himself, visually established the place," fellow photographer Dick Meseroll said in 2009. "His photos told the world that we had great waves and great surfers"

Pope was born (1948) in Washington DC, the son of a United States Air Force Colonel, and grew up on military bases in Tennessee, Japan, New York, and Missouri. At age 10, Pope and his family settled in Cocoa Beach; in 1964, Larry began surfing. At newly-opened Cocoa Beach High School, Pope met and befriended Claude Codgen, Mike Tabeling, and Gary Propper—all of whom would become internationally-known surf figures. Pope got his first camera, a hand-me-down from his father, in 1965, and over the next two years saved money from washing cars to buy a new 400mm lens.

In early 1969, after the Army Corps of Engineers finished a jetty-extension project, Sebastian Inlet became the best, most consistent wave on the Eastern Seaboard. Pope and his surf friends—including new recruits Jeff Crawford and Greg Loehr—were on it immediately, and made the 45-minute drive south from Cocoa Beach often to ride and shoot.

Sebastian's compact surf zone, along with it's off-the-grid location, helped make it one of the world's most vicious lineups, and Pope was perhaps the most Alpha surfer there. "Larry was famous for breaking the antennae off of out-of-towners' cars," Tabeling later recalled. But if the Inlet vibe was tense, the surfing there was more progressive than that being done at any break in America, not counting Hawaii, and Pope was there to capture it all. Occasionally he would pull back for a broader view, but Pope's images were by and large no-frills tight-focus action shots.

SURFER hired Pope in 1970, and the following year he scored his first cover shot. But there was no serious money in surf photography, and Pope began moonlighting at Dick Catri's surfboard factory, where he excelled. Pope's reputation was founded not just in the high quality of his work, but his ferocious speed: at full throttle, he was able to sand 64 boards a day. In 1977, Pope became the East Coast distributor for Clark Foam. Although his photo time had been trailing off, it was nonetheless a shock in 1980 when Pope all at once sold his boards and camera gear in order to put all his energies into Clark Foam. In 1987, after his relationship with Clark came undone, Pope went into business for himself, with a boarding factory called LP Glassing.

In 2004, Pope was inducted to the East Coast Surfing Hall of Fame, and the following year he made a brief but productive return to surf photography.

Pope, Larry

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Encyclopedia of Surfing

History of Surfing

Interviews

The Sunday Joint

Encyclopedia of Surfing

History of Surfing

Interviews

The Sunday Joint