rick thornsley

ola vista phtography was born on the sands of riviera beach , san clemente, california...I used to ride my bike up and down ola vista which was the street that accessed all my favorite local surfspots...Thats how I began using OLA VISTA PHTOGRAPHY as the moniker of my photography. Since then there have been imitators and kooks of all types trying to steal and use this name but dont be fooled, Rick Thornsley is the origianl OLA VISTA PHOTOGRAPHY! Since San Clemente was the home of the worlds original surfing magazines. I developed an interest in surfing photography since 1983 when I first travelled alone to Puerto Escondido , Mexico I have been travelling and shooting surfing and culture photos around the world...currently I am living on a small island of Mindanao in the Southern Philippines where I am able to explore and document remote unexplored surf here and throughout Southeast Asia...my work has been published in both Surfer and Surfing Magazine, I worked as a stint with BoB(the founder of beach happy) as photo editor and wrote monthly travel logs and photo essays. I live off the grid here on this remote island and market my prints and creations through my company OLA VISTA OCEAN DESIGNS check us out at www.olavistasurf.com