I'm originally from San Diego, California. I graduated from the University of Arizona, bear down. Moved to Newport, CA to 2013 and have been bodysurfing since I first stepped into the ocean.
I shoot with a Sony A6300. In the water, I primarily use the Sony 16mm, Sony lens with Sony Fisheye adapter, in an Aquatech housing. I will also be using my new Zeiss Touit 12mm in the water when it arrives. From land I shoot with a Sony 55-210mm zoom lens. I also have a GoPro Hero4 black mounted to the house recording video.
I work as a technical recruiter for Amazon Web Services, Amazon's cloud computing arm.
I truly feel there is no way better to wake up than with cold water and a beautiful sunrise. The adrenaline and sense of clarity you get from trying to navigate your camera settings, swimmers, surfers, and set waves is something that is nearly indescribable.
It's that feeling, that level of focus that keeps me out there an waking up early. There is also a unrivaled sense of community between the people out in the water, especially amongst photographers and riders. Swimming over to someone and show them a great shot you just got can sometimes make a lifetime friendship.
I started taking pictures for photography class my senior year of high school, I only wanted to shoot the ocean and ended up getting a B for that reason. Once I moved to Newport I started swimming at 13th street, Wedge, and Cylinders and recording POV bodysurfing videos, that's when I really developed my love for big waves and barrels.
The Wedge, the pure power and mechanics of the wedge are something that are meant to be photographed, even on a small day it can be perfectly picturesque. It also is a place where everyone tries to go all in - so you have a bunch of good riders going big on every wave and end up with some pretty epic pictures.
On October 4th 2014, I was swimming at Cylinders at sunrise by myself taking POV GoPro videos. I caught 2nd second wave of the set in and tried to turn around quickly to swim back out to get another ride. The very next wave landed directly on my back in a foot of water; breaking 10 bones in my back, 10 ribs, puncturing both my lungs, rupturing an eardrum, and separating my right shoulder as I went over the falls.
I came up super disoriented and floating in the middle of the impact zone; luckily I was able to ride the backwash in and clutch to the sand on shore. I pulled myself up, thinking I had only gotten the wind knocked out of myself and only until I was home and taken to the hospital by my amazing girlfriend did we really know the extent of the damage. It was a day I will never forget and learned a few lessons about the ocean I now have ingrained in my mind forever.
Wakeup roughly 1.5 hours before sunrise, drink a few glasses of water while prepping any of the gear not all set from the night before. Check camera, batteries, settings, housing, ports, everything - worst thing is showing up to the water with a dead battery or a full memory card (that's happened). Then I typically eat a banana and some sort of granola, something light so I don't sink but still have energy. This entire time is always mixed with stretching in every possible spare moment!
I bodysurfed the Tuesday of Hurricane Marie in 2014 - that was about 12-15+ and there was around 1000 people on shore and only 8 of us in the water at noon.
This angle is super difficult to get and almost always ends up with going over the falls!
I'm originally from San Diego, California. I graduated from the University of Arizona, bear down. Moved to Newport, CA to 2013 and have been bodysurfing since I first stepped into the ocean.
I shoot with a Sony A6300. In the water, I primarily use the Sony 16mm, Sony lens with Sony Fisheye adapter, in an Aquatech housing. I will also be using my new Zeiss Touit 12mm in the water when it arrives. From land I shoot with a Sony 55-210mm zoom lens. I also have a GoPro Hero4 black mounted to the house recording video.
I work as a technical recruiter for Amazon Web Services, Amazon's cloud computing arm.
I truly feel there is no way better to wake up than with cold water and a beautiful sunrise. The adrenaline and sense of clarity you get from trying to navigate your camera settings, swimmers, surfers, and set waves is something that is nearly indescribable.
It's that feeling, that level of focus that keeps me out there an waking up early. There is also a unrivaled sense of community between the people out in the water, especially amongst photographers and riders. Swimming over to someone and show them a great shot you just got can sometimes make a lifetime friendship.
I started taking pictures for photography class my senior year of high school, I only wanted to shoot the ocean and ended up getting a B for that reason. Once I moved to Newport I started swimming at 13th street, Wedge, and Cylinders and recording POV bodysurfing videos, that's when I really developed my love for big waves and barrels.
The Wedge, the pure power and mechanics of the wedge are something that are meant to be photographed, even on a small day it can be perfectly picturesque. It also is a place where everyone tries to go all in - so you have a bunch of good riders going big on every wave and end up with some pretty epic pictures.
On October 4th 2014, I was swimming at Cylinders at sunrise by myself taking POV GoPro videos. I caught 2nd second wave of the set in and tried to turn around quickly to swim back out to get another ride. The very next wave landed directly on my back in a foot of water; breaking 10 bones in my back, 10 ribs, puncturing both my lungs, rupturing an eardrum, and separating my right shoulder as I went over the falls.
I came up super disoriented and floating in the middle of the impact zone; luckily I was able to ride the backwash in and clutch to the sand on shore. I pulled myself up, thinking I had only gotten the wind knocked out of myself and only until I was home and taken to the hospital by my amazing girlfriend did we really know the extent of the damage. It was a day I will never forget and learned a few lessons about the ocean I now have ingrained in my mind forever.
Wakeup roughly 1.5 hours before sunrise, drink a few glasses of water while prepping any of the gear not all set from the night before. Check camera, batteries, settings, housing, ports, everything - worst thing is showing up to the water with a dead battery or a full memory card (that's happened). Then I typically eat a banana and some sort of granola, something light so I don't sink but still have energy. This entire time is always mixed with stretching in every possible spare moment!
I bodysurfed the Tuesday of Hurricane Marie in 2014 - that was about 12-15+ and there was around 1000 people on shore and only 8 of us in the water at noon.
This angle is super difficult to get and almost always ends up with going over the falls!
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Michelle Michalak
Author
Michelle's diploma reads BA Psychology with a minor in English, and her license plate reads #CaliforniaDreaming4Life. She begin her career in the NYC fashion industry working with fashion and internet pioneer, Bluefly.com However, due the constant "nagging" of her entrepreneurial spirit, her crush on surfing, and hardcore love for the ocean, she chosen to call San Diego home for the past 10 years. On the west coast she 's chased waves & enlightenment working alongside "Gurus" in the online marketing & personal development industries. It in May 2012 she found her true Zen & Stoke, and joined the Slyde Handboards Team.