Michael Halsband: Surf Book/Movie/Life

Michael Halsband: His Surf Book, Surf Movie, Surf Life

by Teia Maman

"I really only wanted to surf," said photographer and filmmaker Michael Halsband. "It wasn't my intent to film, to put my two passions together. I wanted surf to be my form of expression, not film."
But when a great photographer turns his soul to surfing, his lens will follow, and the result, at least in Halsband's case, is the award-winning film "SURF MOVIE: reels 1-14" and, just released, SURF BOOK : A Portrait of Surfing Legend Joel Tudor through his Influences. "I compare meeting Joel Tudor to meeting Andy Warhol," said Halsband. "They both said, 'Let's have an adventure!'"
His surf adventure began on 9/9/99 when he met Joel Tudor, the longboard surfing champion from San Diego. Joel began talking of wanting to do a book of portraits to document the most influential people in surfing. Halsband, 48, blurted out, "Hey, anything you want to do, I'll do it."
Joel replied, "What about next week?"
Halsband flew to California the next week.
"It was the first time I ever took advantage of the immediate opportunity. We felt this was something special. We sat up late, worked for weeks and months to create a portrait of him through his inferences. When Joel looks back, he sees his life as complete. There's nothing pretentious about him. I mean, he's 23 and he's been a legend since 12. He just wanted to give recognition to all the people who influenced him and his surfing – his heroes, you could say. And he wanted someone who wasn't really in the circle, someone who could be more objective."
"So I went on adventures with him, spent time and got to know him."
Halsband's face lit up, and his thin, fine hands, which move continually as he speaks, rested a moment. "I saw how they all opened up to Joel, so I insisted he be at every shoot. We really got to the essence…that spontaneous bonding that describes human emotion."
Halsband shot the 51 portraits, and Tudor wrote the text. From his earliest years in California, Tudor said he tried to meet as many surfers as he could, to learn from them and listen to their stories. He befriended champions like Kelly Slater, shapers like Dick Brewer, cult figures like Nat Young.
"We're like brothers," Halsband said about Tudor. "In a way, we're incredible friends too." Even before they met, he said he noticed the similarity in their surfing. "I felt that his surfing and mine are spiritual; we get a sense of power that is so special, really personal. He and I are similar, we both say, 'We'll see, we'll feel our way through it.'"
Another outcome of Halsband's self-described 'surf journey' is "Surf Movie: reels 1-14" released in 2002.
"So many surf movies seem the same," he said. "This film is different. I made it without thinking of making a film – it's all sentiment and feeling. It's raw; its pacing is determined by the ocean's movements; there's no master plan or plot, just a beautiful story and a beautiful concept."
There is, of course, plenty of material for gasping, like Slater's awesome rides at Pipeline.
"It was in Hawaii during the Pipe Masters in 2000 that I caught the spirit of the film. It's all about how surfers love their sport -- how it's more than a sport."
He filmed the movie in Super 8, spliced together "straight out of the can." This gives it a continuity and flow unlike any other surf movie. It catches surfers doing what they love, the basics of surfing, not just trying to rack up points in extreme moves, not just five-second-long clips of the most intense rides choppily edited together.
"I shot 48 minutes with one camera and that's it," Halsband said. "I show how people spot a wave, paddle into position and take off, show the whole ride and kicking out and paddling back."
"Sometimes, I'd just let it roll. I'm used to still photography, where everything is set up, but I'd get a feeling for when The Moment is going to happen, and just keep calm. It'd be nice to be a director, but you can't direct a surf film. There are subtle aspects that go deeper and deeper."
Halsband said he had to keep reminding himself to breathe as he filmed, to catch the pulse of his subject matter, the sea. He speaks with an odd formality, always searching for the perfect word to describe feelings that are difficult to put into words.
"There's something underneath that I had to connect with; I had to follow the action, but also the wave itself. The ocean is the real star in this movie -- the source of all inspiration. The surfers are the best in the world, but they wouldn't be there without the sea. Some get it – they get locked in, some get beat."
He filmed in three locations: Windansea, with Joel Tudor, Beau Young, Andy Kidman and Wayne Lynch; Pipeline with Kelly Slater, Rob Machado, Joel Tudor and Bruce Irons; The Pass at Byron Bay, with Bob McTavish, Stephen Slater and Kassia Meador.
Richard Fortus recorded the sound track, after working for two months to analyze each sequence to fit his powerful electronic music to the beat of the sea.
"Richard was classically trained, but is now on the payroll for Guns N' Roses. He knows what I like, and he just took off with it," said Halsband. "He created a dramatic ambiance much stronger than any dialogue. It's a timeless, bluesy-rock sound. He mixes amazing styles together to give it depth. It's a total experience, you get into it."
"Surf Movie" was released in Europe last year, and won an award for Best Images at the St. Jean de Luz Surf Film Festival.
Making striking images is a natural for this professional photographer, who is highly acclaimed in many realms, from fashion to hard rock to ballet to strippers. Since 1978, Halsband has specialized in portrait photography, shooting musicians such as The Rolling Stones and AC/DC -- he toured with both bands -- and actors like Laurence Fishburne and Al Pacino.
Halsband would like to experiment with different kinds of film for his next movie, a bigger, more ambitious project. He's been working since 2004 on the new surf film, and aims for a Spring 2006 release.
He was born and educated in New York City. He first surfed in South America as a boy, and always longed to go back to it. That takes more than usual dedication for a man who lives in New York City. Halsband rides on both long and short boards, mostly in East Hampton. He said he likes a board to be around 7'6", and he owns many transition-era boards, like his Cambell Bros. Bonzer board.
"I love surfing," said Halsband, "and I've devoted my life to it for the last eight years. I became obsessed. He got that faraway look in his face again.
"But we all surf alone. It's our own personal expression."

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