> more photos< back to gallery All Photos copyright Joe Mickey

Go Surf has made a recent photo find worth sharing. In the late 1980's to early 90's , Joe Mickey was one of the photographers on the scene when the surf world was growing by leaps and bounds out of events in Santa Barbara. Mickey had the first published photo of Tom Curren in Surfer Magazine. He co-wrote the surfer tip on "Getting Air" with Davey Smith. While he was building up over a decade of travel on the surf movie circuit, distributing films for nearly every major surf film maker in the world, Mickey , with partner Dave Natal produced the underground surf film classic, "Off the Wall 2". The film became the first contemporary surfing film to go video and was reviewed by every major surfing magazine and sat side by side with Endless Summer in a summer movie review in People Magazine. " Off the Wall 2" offered a look at the best surfers in the world at that time, and offered innovations when it pitted Women's' world champion Kim Mearig and Shaun Tomson in a free session that matched the two turn for turn and carve for carve. Off the Wall 2 opened the window on several underground talents as Randy Cone, Davey Smith. Kevin Reed and Ward Coffee. The film also offered some wild clay animations and for trivia buffs, the first 100 or so copied carried a pirated soundtrack that was changed when it became apparent that the video would become a huge seller. On another note of trivia, Women's World Champ, Kim Mearig, Lent her voice to one of the clay characters. At the end of his second run with Bill Dalaney's / Gotcha Sportswear epic film "Surfers the Movie" and Surfers the Movie Take-Two" Mickey gave up the southern California surfing scene and closed his photo files on this epic period in the evolution of surfing...until now! Enjoy!!!   Mickey currently teaches photography through he community extension program at Mendocino College in Ukiah and has developed the Tibetan Photo Project, which is worth a visit at www.tibetanphotoproject.com . The project, which has put cameras into the hands of Tibetan monks living in exile in southern India is receiving attention in the art world on a national level with a feature in the June 2002 issue of Art & Antiques and coverage by San Francisco Chronicle Art Critic, Kenneth Baker in his " Art Notes" column.