This is an awesome piece on the dedication, passion, and sacrifice it takes to be a surf photographer. It’s one thing to succeed in the warmth of tropical waters, but to thrive is the harsh environment of the North Atlantic is another. Whether you give a crap about surfing or not, you’ll agree Mickey Smith is a bonifide legend if you take 6 minutes to watch The Dark Side of the Lens. Surfing in Ireland is hardcore, documenting it like Mickey Smith is heroic.

When hitting a rail like this, you really have got to want it. This is not something you can do half heartedly. Just ask Keith Lidberg as he goes “all in” to conquer this scary triple kink rail. You can also see the full photo sequence on page 44-45 of the September 2010 Issue of Alliance Wakeboard Magazine.

Here’s proof that a photo can be deceiving or more importantly, a good photographer has the ability to make chaos look perfect. While our post yesterday showed photos of some perfect moments, this video proves that most of the photos where just moments from destruction. The Wedge rules all surfers, always has always will. Enjoy.

Wedge Carnage from David Lee Scales on Vimeo.