Photographer’s Life Cut Short, but Photos Live On

Rick Malmin’s photography runs the gamut from artistic nudes from his early days as a student at Orange Coast College to environmental portraits of Newport Beach’s elite to documentary work in Africa to commercial work.

But, at 41, a freak accident stopped Malmin from sharing his view of the world. He died in February while photographing an Irvine yacht-building company. He was electrocuted when his legs touched two electrical conductors on a crane above the boat he was photographing.

Malmin’s work will be exhibited in a one-day show Sunday in Newport Beach. Malmin started his career as an assistant at Tom Jones Photography portrait studio in Newport Beach in 1967. He refined his skills shooting environmental portraits and eventually bought the studio in 1969.

Growing tired of shooting portraits, he moved to documentary travel pictures, including trips to Tahiti and Africa. He followed that with more traditional commercial work for his advertising clients.

“No matter what his life experience was, he had a fresh outlook and an outlook that had optimism and innocence,” said his friend Susan Fleming, one of the organizers of the exhibit and owner of the Black & White Lab in Santa Ana.

“The thing that I remember the most about Rick is his work with people. He was a humanitarian. He saw people with real compassion; he would bring out joy in them.”

According to Fleming, the show is a retrospective of his work. “The way we have organized the work, it will show where he began and how he matured. It will show his vision.”

An unusual aspect of the show is that it will include 30 photographs by Rick’s father--John Malmin, a former Times photographer. John Malmin’s work includes 15 black-and white photos from his more than 40 years at The Times and 15 color shots from the book “Los Angeles 200, A Bicentennial Celebration.”

“After Rick died, John had mentioned that he and Rick had always wanted to do a show together because their work was real different,” Fleming said.

“It was a typical father-son relationship. He really admired his father and loved to listen to his stories about his work. I’m sure he learned a lot from his father.

“I think that’s particularly hard for John now because they had so much in common. They both loved their work. They talked about it every time they saw each other. They even went on photograph trips with each other.”

John Malmin’s work as a newspaper photographer was exceptional. His photographs tell a story in a documentary style. Examples include a dramatic photo of National Guardsmen standing by after the Watts riots and a Paiute Indian women who was about to be evicted from her land.

Rick Malmin’s work seems to take on a more romantic side, such as a reflective environmental photograph of a young girl blowing bubbles or a group of children from a small village in Africa. His images reflect a fresh angle and optimistic view of the world.

“He had a great rapport with people--more than I had,” John Malmin said. “He always gave 100% for his clients. That’s what happened when he died.”

It is especially sad when you hear John Malmin talk about the plans he once made for an exhibit with his son. After his son’s death, he never thought the show would come about--until now.

Photography by Rick Malmin and John Malmin will be on display Sunday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at 522 N. Newport Blvd. in Newport Beach (formerly the Susan Spiritus Gallery). For information, call Tom Grogg at (714) 642-7911. Admission is free.