When The Dark Side of the Lens was released back in 2010, we were completely floored.  The stunning imagery and inspirational narration offered an eye-opening glimpse into the world of professional surf photography. At the time, the film lit up the blogosphere and “went viral” in a proper sense. Since then it has gone on to win a slew of short film awards for cinematography and direction. It definitely ranks in our top 10 all-time favorite outdoor short films.

Just last week, however, a reader of the Aether Journal and good friend of the brand sent us an email saying she had just watch Dark Side and that we should check it out. Happy though we were to hear of yet another enthusiastic fan of the film, it raise the serious concern that there are people out there who have still not seen it. For shame! Since the film predates the Journal, we felt it’d only be fair to give it its own post and hopefully expose it to a few more individuals.  So sit back and behold one of the most inspirational figures in surf photography: Mikey Smith.