Russell Ord is a highly acclaimed West Australian photographer best known for his striking surf and ocean photography. Ord grew up playing Rugby League, surfing and worked as a Firefighter for 20 years. He began pursuing photography seriously in the early 2000s and quickly made a name for himself with his intense, dramatic images of big-wave surfing and ocean landscapes.
Ord's work is regularly featured in numerous publications, including The Surfer's Journal, Tracks, and Australian Surfing Life, and he has won multiple awards internationally for his photography, including finalist in the International Loupe Awards for excellence in photography.
He is particularly well known for his willingness to take risks in pursuit of the perfect shot, often putting himself in dangerous situations to capture the power and beauty of the ocean. Russell’s unique talents culminated in his documentation of a violent twist of the Indian Ocean known simply as 'The Right'. In pursuit of a unique, career-defining angle, Russell put himself in a situation where the ocean's most potent forces converge. The hard-won image was the focal point for his celebrated documentary, 'One Shot'.
He has worked with organisations such as Surfrider Foundation and is an ambassador for SurfAid, helping to improve the health, well-being and resilience of remote communities connected to us through surfing. While he remains a passionate and astute chronicler of the ocean's moods.
Today, Russell, along with his wife Catherine, work towards providing education, mentoring and training in photography to young people who otherwise would be limited to having no access due to location, financial, social and health disadvantages through the Desert Light Foundation.