Bobby Grieser - the sailing photog who barked - dies at 70 + Images
by Sail-World.com NZ on 2 Feb 2017
One of his favourite shots, Bobby G aboard his camera boat in San Diego Paul Todd
www.outsideimages.com
Robert Grieser, a legendary marine photographer, passed away on January 31 in San Diego, Calif., after a four month long series of illnesses and other health issues. He was 70 years “young.”
A former newspaper photographer, Bobby Grieser was perhaps best known for his America's Cup images, beginning with the Big Boat Challenge in 1988 and continuing for the next six Cups until the last in San Francisco.
Between times he covered a myriad of series and regattas including the America's Cup World Series and Louis Vuitton Cups and Series in the period 2007-2010 when the racing was suspended; World Match Racing Tour; every Heineken Regatta in St. Maarten from 1983 until his last one in 2014; and many many more. He was a photographer on assignment for Louis Vuitton from 1999-2013.
“Bobby G,” as he was known to all, grew up on the Chesapeake Bay loving the outdoor life. He was a photographer at the Washington Star newspaper in Washington, DC, for 15 years and on call for the Associated Press before moving west to work for the Los Angeles Times, where he oversaw the picture desk for 18 years. During those years Grieser covered riots, war zones in Somalia and White House events. Bobby G’s ability to mimic a dog’s bark often made people jump out of their shoes and he would use it to get a subject to look his way, including President Nixon in the early 1970s.
In 1998 Grieser’s passion for life, people and sailing led him to pursue a freelance career focusing on yachting, adventure, and travel and leisure, and he helped found the OutsideImages.com photo library.
Grieser had saltwater in his veins and he would take any excuse to get on the water. “I’m off to make a picture,” he would always say. Grieser’s presence, his smile and humour were fixtures in the press room of the America’s Cup since the mid-1990s.
He loved shooting out of a helicopter, whether it was over an America’s Cup racecourse in California, Australia or New Zealand, or in Saint Martin with the blue Caribbean Sea under his feet. His final assignment gives him the best aerial view of his life and allows him to keep an eye on his many beloved friends and oceans around the world.
Grieser leaves behind his loving wife Georgia and an infinite number of friends he made along the way.
A selection of Bobby G's favourite images, selected by his long time business partner, Paul Todd of OutsideImages.com is presented below:
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