I was contacted by Emma from Side Note magazine with an idea for her magazine called Side-Note. 

http://www.side-note.com

Initially Emma told me she wanted to capture just images but as we talked about the idea, talk of also bringing motion into the idea came up.  I had recently started experimenting with shooting video underwater and was excited by this challenge. 

First we had to pick some girls, and IMG models was kind enough to provide us with a beautiful selection of girls to consider.  As always when shooting underwater, its important for the models to be comfortable with open water swimming in the ocean.  We picked 4 girls who seemed to fit this criteria, 

We also had to pick the right day.  Water conditions ( no swell, no recent rain, water clarity ) were vital, and we had a number of false starts which I had to abort as I did not feel the ocean was ready for us.  We finally got a day that looked promising, and we met at shelly beach at first light. 

This was our result

Stills

http://www.side-note.com/still-waters-run-deep/

Film

http://www.side-note.com/part-world-mark-morgan/

Hope you like it. 

Thanks Emma and Side-Note for making me part of your project. 

Salty Women 

I decided I wanted to make a film to convey the spirt and joy women bring to the surfing line up. I spend a lot of the time bopping in the water with my camera, and women definitely add a different dynamic  which makes surfing more fun. Particularly in the longboard discipline . 

Friends and couples are made on the ocean.  I know people who have been married from meeting on the water. 

Women can also surf aggressively and with so much courage,  but still with amazing beauty and grace. Women are equals in the ocean .

I really wanted to capture all of this this in motion ! So my project Salty Women was born.

I’ve been fortunate enough to have shot in some of the best longboarding locations in Australia.

This film is made up of footage I have taken over the past 6 months in Sydney , Noosa and Byron bay. 

Whist making this film I was looking for music that would go with the theme and vibe. I was lucky enough to come across the Tipsy Scholars who have just released an awesome EP.  Their music is wonderful and I felt went perfectly with the mood of the film.  

Be sure to check them out. 

https://www.triplejunearthed.com/artist/tipsy-scholars

This film will be entered in the Womens Surf Film Festival. 

http://womenssurffilmfestival.com/aboutthefestival/

And by sharing / liking and commenting on this film you are helping support me so I am able to create more content like this for you.

I also encourage you to watch this wonderful documentary 

https://www.historychannel.com.au/shows/men-wood-foam/

It follows the story of six friends from Brookvale who shaped the history of surfing in Australia. We dive into a golden decade when surfing was transformed into a sport and a culture with its own music, movies, fashions and heroes. From the primitive factories in a former market garden at Brookvale, bordering the favoured wave spots of Dee Why Point and Fairy Bower, these pioneers became known as “The Brookvale Six”.

Be sure to take note of one the young guys attitudes to women in the surf  ……  apparently its not normal …….ha ha. 

The Snowy McAlister Winter Festival  is one of my favourite weekends in winter, as its a long weekend ( thanks Queen) and it means we get to see some great surfing talent in Manly.  

I first shot the Snowy McAlister in 2015.  Longboarding was sort of off my radar then, and I was more interested in shooting shortboards and the inside of barrels. I was immediately smitten with the grace and style of longboarding, and since then it has been mostly what draws my lens. 

You can read all about the history of The Snowy festival here .

https://snowymcalisterfestival.com/history/

The 2018 even was a great  success despite some crap weather on a couple of the days. At least this year we didn’t have to fight through a bank  of sea weed to get to the break.

Finals day was the best day surf wise, we got some really nice clean waves with a little height, and a perfect sunny day. Most of the footage I captured is from day 3. 

Huge thanks to the organisers and the surfers for putting on a another great  event. I hope my short film and the images do it some justice.

Here is a small film :

Here are some stills I took from the water during day 1 and 3.  This is only a small selection of images I took, feel free to contact me if you are looking for a particular surfer. 

Full gallery is here :  

https://www.markmorgan.com.au/snowy-mcalister-2018

If you would like any images as prints please contact me and I can arrange something for you. 

Thank you for supporting local artists  by  sharing, liking and commenting on this post  as it helps us grow and to be able to continue to create more like this for you to enjoy.

Be sure to check the other photographers and videographers who covered the event.

https://www.instagram.com/nick_fletcher/

https://www.instagram.com/waterpixsyd/

https://www.instagram.com/snowymcalister/

Thanks Mark <3