RelentlessEnergyShortStoriesDarkSideLensMickeySmith.jpg

Visionary, poet, songwriter, troubadour, waterman and genius are a few of the words that have described surf photographer Mickey Smith - creator of the first in a quartet of mini movies for Relentless Energy's first film making competition, Short Stories.

Yet the Penzance-born, Ireland-based multimedia artist is one of the most genuinely humble chaps you'll ever meet, with a passion for waves running deep through his veins; a mastery of capturing his otherwordly, oceanic office via photography and cinematography, a constant sparkle in his eye....
It's his raw talent that is captured in his semi-autobiographical short-film (or should that be visual poem?) Dark Side of the Lens - the first to be released as part of Relentless Energy's Short Stories, a contest inviting young film makers from across the globe to create a mini masterpiece to capture the brand's mantra of 'No Half Measures.'

Captured in 16mm and groundbreaking HD, Dark Side... has been garnering immense praise from across the net - from global surf tomes such as Stab, Surfer, Surfer's Journal, Surfers Path, Carve, Surf Europe and more, to the most personally curated blogs.

Some have even dubbed it 'best surf film' with comparisons to the likes of Taylor Steel, saying Mr Smith, alongside Allan Wilson of the Astray Collective, has created in five minutes what the surf cinema legend has been striving for his whole career...

Grand, controversial statements indeed, but one thing for certain is that the film's one of pure, unadulterated passion: the product of a man completely focused on his life's calling.

Both as a photographer travelling to the world's coldest, heaviest, largest swells and via this intimiately personal film project, Mickey's work captures the ocean at it's most terrifying, hostile and monstrous - but also celebrates this magical otherworld, erupting with incredible waves: nature at her most jaw dropping and captivating.

Enjoy and be inspired:



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