“So much love. Miss your sense of humour brother.”
The triple world champ Mick Fanning has led a chorus of tributes to the Finnish surf photographer Timo Jarvinen who died May 12, aged just sixty, from thyroid cancer.
“Oh my. Heartbroken to see this. So much love Timo. Miss your sense of humour brother,” wrote Fanning.
Stephanie Gilmore, Leonardo Fioravanti, Tom Carroll and Sean Doherty all praised the late, great shooter.
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Timo Jarvinen’s work, which was mostly wide-angle water, at least in surf, was all about snatching peak moments and steering away from what might be called a complete narrative.
Back at the turn of the century when I launched a new surf mag called Surf Europe in Hossegor, I had a Timo file. It was brief, maybe one sheet of slides, but, brother, he got in there.
Timo was born in Helsinki, far from surfing’s epicentres, but his passion for photography and quickly developed skills led him to become one of Europe’s most respected water photographers.
Influenced by his daddy and grandaddy, both skilled darkroom technicians, he developed a deep curiosity for the craft.
Timo’s career took off as Quiksilver’s staff photographer, where he shot iconic images of surfers like Kelly Slater and Clay Marzo. His work in the impact zone at La Graviere, Mundaka, and Teahupoo, demonstrated an ability to capture peak action amid the chaos.
Initially resistant to digital photography, he later embraced it, noting how it revolutionised water photography by allowing longer shoots with instant previews.
Timo thrived in extreme environments, from neck-deep in the water to gut-deep snow. His philosophy emphasised delivering under pressure, even when plans failed, a testament to his resilience.
Beyond surfing, he explored diverse subjects, rejecting the label of “just a surf photographer” to pursue broader action and lifestyle imagery.
In 2020, he critiqued Instagram’s shift toward stylised, static surf shots, advocating for dynamic, high-action imagery.
