Surf Photography & Filmmaking with Michael Allen

Film Release: A Long Road To Tao

Long time Santa Cruz resident Michael Allen explores the depths of surfing, environment, relationships and social movements in his book Tao of Surfing; Finding Depth at Low Tide, and new feature length film A Long Road To Tao debuting this year at the Las Cruces International Film Festival.

Michael’s inspiration stems from his time surfing and photographing the California coast, and the community that is committed to it. He grew up by the ocean and started surfing at a young age. Then when he was 12, Michael picked up a camera and started carrying it with him into the waves. His education, from college and into his graduate work in philosophy, took him to China and focused on studying East West Comparative Philosophy and Asian Studies. He connected the lessons of the Tao in his own life to reflect what he saw in his time spent in California, surfing and photographing the ocean.

Tao: an ancient Chinese philosophy meaning “The Way” or “The Path” that emphasizes balance, flow and interconnectedness. Similarly, finding a wave takes patience and a sense of surrender to the ocean. You don’t know what’s coming your way and you have to trust and let it happen. Another central teaching in the Tao is non-attachment. Much like surfing, you can’t control a wave, and in surfing you often learn to value the process rather than a specific outcome. This teaching has been a guiding force in Michael’s life.

“In surfing you can’t separate yourself from the waves.”

His book was published 20 years ago, and he’s spent time since then making the film become a reality. Working with a dedicated team including Director and Co-Screenwriter Alex Carig and Director of Photography Sherwin Lau, Michael used his skills as a water photographer/cinematographer to create stunning images for the film along the Santa Cruz coast where a portion of the dramatic story takes place.

Inspired by a deep connection with a friend, Tao of Surfing is based on that relationship and how surfing and the ocean shaped them both through struggles, loss and grief amidst the AIDS pandemic in the 1980s. The book is a personal memoir, and philosophical journey. Michael says that with both the book and film, “they will take you into the deepest recesses of your soul.”

Michael was drawn to surf photography from an early age, in part due to the significance that the ocean has in his life. You’re entirely immersed in the elements and capturing that split second of a wave enables the viewer to see the unseen and gain a new perspective of it. Similarly with his book and film, the underlying Taoist theme is seeing the unseen, uncovering the truth that lies below the surface.

“The beauty of shooting wave photography is that each wave is entirely unique, and in a thousandth of a second, you capture what will never be seen again.” 

Michael is also involved in his local community through educational programs for youth, connecting them to the ocean and ensuring proper safety techniques when being out in the water. He uses his experience that he obtained as the West Coast Director of the Surfers Medical Association as well as his certification as a NOLS Wilderness First Responder to inform what he teaches in the program. Knowledge of the tides and reefs, swell direction and swell height and proper etiquette for scouting and approaching a break – are all part of the program he and his team teach. “Every time I go out with the kids, we look up at the sky, at the wind direction, they’re looking at what type of clouds there are,” reports Michael. It’s the 15th year of Pleasure Point Surf Club under the umbrella of the Boys & Girls Club of Santa Cruz County teaching fifth through eighth graders. The experiences that they’ve had in the program continue to shape the way they look at surfing and the ocean throughout their lives.

 

He values the meditative experience of surfing and passes that along to the surf children knowing that there needs to be a focus on wellness and mental health. 

Now with a fine art surf and wave photography business, Michael is taking on clients not only to help enhance your living environment with healing Shibui art, but also for shooting fine art surf photography for those that want to hire a personal water photographer. His fine art work can be found on his website.