Simon ‘Swilly’ Williams Photographer

Simon was born in Falmouth, Cornwall, in the UK.

He first became interested in surf photography during a trip to Sri Lanka when he was 17, with a group of the UK’s best surfers and a photographer.  He quickly decided he was more comfortable behind the lens than in front of it and studied for a degree course in photography.

Soon after, Simon immigrated to Australia, met his wife and settled on the Gold Coast. As fate would have it, Simon began training his lens on the spectacular Coolangatta surf just as three stunning talents burst on to the scene – Mick Fanning, Joel Parkinson and Dean Morrison, the so-called Cooly Kids. Swilly, as Simon became known, soon formed a close working friendship with the talented trio and documented their rise. Since then, Simon has earned a reputation as one of the world’s top surf photographers, working with the likes of Kelly Slater, Stephanie Gilmore, Dave Rastovich and Ry Craike. His photography has taken him across the globe from his base on the Gold Coast through Indonesia,  Micronesia, PNG, Maldives and the Australian coastline.

Equally adept on land, in the water, or shooting from the back of a jet-ski, Simon’s images have featured on countless magazine covers and editorial features over the past 20 years.