‘Dark Side of the Lens’ film
“Dark side of the lens” is a short film from surf photographer Mickey Smith.
The film takes a look on the west coast of Ireland and is a part of the Relentless Energy’s Short Stories Contest in which 4 young UK sport filmmakers were given £4000 to create a short five minute movie starring one of the brand’s athletes and to evoke their slogan of ‘No Half Measures’.
“Originally I planned for the film to be more anonymous, rather than biographical, an all encompassing piece, to represent the photographers keeping the surfing machine afloat”, explains Smith.
Something that offers insight into what it takes to grind out a living as a water-based photographer in the surfing industry: a short experimental glimpse at a life lived in the shadow of obsessive photographic pursuits.”
“It also gave me the chance to ask myself a few questions, like, if you’re always observing and documenting what you see and experience, are you ever truly present? Questions like that where I could step back think and then see what the answers were”, Smith says.
The winner of this contest is being decided in December and will win a further £4000.
