John Ogden Media Creative

John Ogden is a creative photographer, filmmaker, writer, and publisher based in Avalon, Sydney.

John Ogden is a photographer, filmmaker, author, publisher, and educator based in Sydney, Australia. Ogden started surfing in the mid-1960s and his career in media began as a
photojournalist in Southeast Asia during the Vietnam War. In the late 1970s he worked as the West Coast correspondent for Tracks magazine while completing a degree in literature,
anthropology and filmmaking. Over the next three decades he worked as a Director of Photography in multiple genres of filmmaking and is an accredited member of the ACS. His
many music video credits range from winning a Logie for the John Farnham clip ‘Burn For You’, to working with INXS, Max Q, and The Artist Formerly Known as Prince. Some of his
photographs and 16mm footage appeared in the surf documentary Sea of Darkness.

After losing his right eye in a surfing accident in 1998, Ogden established Cyclops Press, an independent publishing company dedicated to telling Australian stories. This year, 2024,
marks the 25th anniversary of the company. Apart from publishing the work of others, he is the author of nine books. The Cycops Press ‘Surf Series’ of books include:
Waterproof – Australian Surf Photography Since 1858
Grajagan – Surfing in the Tiger’s Lair, by Mike Ritter and Jack McCoy
Cactus – Surfing Journals from Solitude
Whitewash
Unearthed (a memoir by Stephen Cooney)
The Saltwater People companion books