At every beach, in every surf community around the country, the high art of surf photography is alive. In some cases they’re big-name surf towns with big-name surf photographers, but in most instances, the surf photographer of today is doing it for the love. They do it to capture the action at their local break. They do it to stoke out their friends. They do it because it’s a hell of a lot of fun. And it’s with that mindset that we’re so excited to announce the launch of the 2026 SURFER Photo Contest powered by SwellCo . The submission window runs from October 1 through October 31. Community voting ends November 15. Winners announced on November 18. All photos submitted must have been shot in 2026, so no mining the archive for gold. And only three photos per entrant can be submitted. This inaugural iteration of the contest is open only to U.S. residents, but that could change in the future. “Surf photography is the heart and soul of surfing.…