I first met Mickey Smith around 8 years ago in Margaret River. He was one of the most genuine people i’ve ever come across. He left his beloved guitar with my good friend as he wanted to learn how to play it. This is the sort of person Mickey is.On Land or Water he is an amazing man. Check out his new project.

Smith worked with Allan Wilson (director of photography) from the Astray Collective to present a side to surfing that few of us, as observers or surfers, will glimpse: the life of the photographer. What drives him to spend countless hours in cold and hostile waters in search of a single shot?

“I wanted to create that something that would give insight into what it takes to grind out a living as a water-based photographer in the surfing industry,” Smith explains, “to provide a short, experimental glimpse into life lived in the shadow of what is, for me, an obsessive pursuit.”

There is an interesting sub-text to the film, too. If your life is spent simply observing and documenting what you see, are you ever really present? It’s this willingness to go unnoticed, to hide in the shadows and sacrifice personal notoriety for the sake of one’s art, that remains a hallmark of the very best ‘watermen’. Mickey Smith is no exception.

3 Responses

1. Carlos - 25 Aug 2010 |

   Awesome stuff

2. Dane - 27 Aug 2010 |

   I have seen this already but I can not get enough of it!!!

   Amazing!!!

3. R. Petrini - 28 Aug 2010 |

   Amazing images!!!

   congratulations!!!

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