GROUND ZERO: SILICON VALLEY BUZZ
In Question, Mike Peralta

Photos by Mike Peralta
Story by Kim Boatman
August 13, 2000

THE WIPEOUT SCENES and close-up surfing shots from Maverick's off Half Moon Bay provide a you-are-there experience for IMAX theater-goers who see "Wild California" at the Tech in San Jose or the Metreon in San Francisco. Mike Peralta, 30, really was there. The Santa Cruz photographer/cinematographer shot footage from the water for the film. Peralta, once a competitive swimmer and body surfer, says, "I can swim in my sleep." He considers the IMAX film his big break in a career that takes him next to Indonesia, where a group of Bay Area surfers will pay him to videotape their exploits this fall. When he's not braving the surf, Peralta likes his water a bit calmer. He loves bass-fishing.

QUESTION: Someone sent you into the water at Maverick's with a $300,000 camera? What were they thinking?

ANSWER: They're crazy. I'm crazy. We're all crazy. I lost the camera into the rocks three times. I was thinking, "I owe $300,000.".

How did you manage with such cumbersome equipment?

It was this 75-pound floating giant microwave on a fiberglass Triscuit strapped down with cargo straps. The camera was so heavy, and the flotation device was so light, it would flip over so the camera was underwater. It was a struggle. Pushing this huge mass around the water was intimidating.

What was lucky for me is we had a rescue jet ski, which would pull me into the set of waves. He would pull me in and I'd slide off a giant rescue boogie board. I would swim myself with the camera into position, and I'd film the surfers.

After the sets, I'd be pulled back out into the deeper zone.

Is there a sense of danger about what you do?

It is extremely dangerous because you have to react. If you don't react when a wave is coming down on you, there's a good possibility you won't come out alive. Or you'll definitely come out spooked, second-guessing why you're out there.

Have you ever lost any equipment?

I haven't yet. Because I haven't gone unconscious yet. You've got to get that breath. You've got to be able to stay conscious.

What do you look for when you're filming surfers?

I try to read what they're doing, how they react. I can't see an oncoming set. They can see it before I can. If they're sitting, talking, easy-going, I can relax. When they start slamming their bodies on the board and paddling out, that means I have to swim like hell.

What kind of surfer are you?

I can fake surfing. I can fake long-boarding. I'm into body-surfing. That's my pure form of surfing. When I'm on a board, I feel trapped. When the surf gets overhead, over 6 feet, I get scared. I feel claustrophobic.

So what's harder, surfing or filming surfers from the water?

Surfing. I wish I could surf. That would be a dream to be able to surf Maverick's, surf big surf. I'm jealous. A lot of these people, I went to high school with. They've got that extra chromosome or whatever.

Have you ever seen a, gulp, fin out there?

Never. I think about it at night, if I know I'm going to Maverick's the next morning. I refrain from watching the Discovery Channel, all those channels that have shows about sharks. In Santa Cruz, I'm known for shooting in shark-infested places. And I'm dangling down below, not like the surfers. It gets your heart pumping.

So what does your family say about what you do?

I don't tell them!

What's unique about your vision of surfing?

It's the only vision from the water. Everybody else shoots from a cliff or a boat or a jet ski. When a set comes, they have to drive away to be in a good position. I can zigzag back and forth, get in a better shooting position. I believe it looks better on film. The water angle looks more like the surfer's perspective.