#LogDaze with Gold Coast Based Photographer Fran Miller

Ivy Thomas—Secret Spot, Australia. Some days are just unique. Ivy Thomas is like my little sister, and we do heaps of road trips up and down the coast in search of waves and cruisey days. On this particular day, we turned up at one of our favorite spots to find it virtually empty. The tide was extremely high, so it seemed the whole shortboard fraternity had ventured elsewhere, and we were left with long walled peelers, perfect for a log. This image is very reflective of Ivy herself. Simple pleasure. Simple beauty. Ivy is an incredibly positive human, she would smile and have a chat to the boogey man. I watched Ivy catch twenty or more waves in this solo session, and she kept looking up at me, grinning, sharing the joy she was having down in the water below. A wonderful memory. Photo: Fran Miller

Victoria Vergara—Kirra, Australia. When people refer to Victoria, it is easy to get caught up only in the model looks. There always seems to be a preconceived judgement of character when dealing with the so-called genetically blessed. When I took this photo, we were late into an unusually cold and rainy summer evening. Most people would have called time on this session well before the fading light turned to darkness. This photo is a true juxtaposition of Victoria in many aspects. Visually, her long and graceful body contrasting the desperate move to the nose. Contextually, the stormy and less than ideal conditions contrasting her professionalism in ensuring she got the shot. Victoria came out of the water shaking and cold, but face ablaze and smiling from the pure joy of surf. Positive human. Photo: Fran Miller

Roisin Carolan—Lennox Head, Australia. Roisin is truly one of the most relaxed humans on Earth, which is reflected in all her beautiful mannerisms in the water. She never hassles and she never snakes. Her left hand in this image is the focal point of the piece, and embodies the "it’s all good" ease to which she approaches life and her surfing. I find this photo particularly interesting though for the untold story in the time and place of capture, and how significantly it contrast to my own evolving attitudes of fear and reason, especially in stark contrast to Roisin’s relaxed attitude. This photo was taken before the spate of horrific shark fatalities and encounters that have terrorized Northern NSW over the recent period. I was swimming out in the water freely, camera in hand, when a local old salt dog paddled past me and said, “Aren’t you worried about the sharks!?” Confidently or ignorantly, I answered I wasn’t. He proceeded to announce, “No worries, love. A woman has never been taken here. You are completely safe.” Roisin and I have not returned to shoot in the area since. Rational or irrational? Photo: Fran Miller

Chelsea Williams—Rainbow Bay, Australia. There is no surfer more difficult to photograph than Chelsea Williams. And not because she isn’t one of the most skilled longboarders in the world. I had unsuccessfully arranged to photograph Chelsea on more than a handful of occasions before this day, but finally locked her down on this winter afternoon. The photo is a complete representation of Chelsea. Camera shy as she surfs away from the lens and avoiding attention, not wanting to be the focus of the shot. The darkness in the image rings true to her affectionate nickname "Hellsea." But the spot of fire of light that illuminates the centre water bubble in the image is the eternal burning desire that fuels Chelsea’s surfing and allowed her after a decade of heartbreak, to win her world title. Photo: Fran Miller

Roisin Carolan—Noosa Heads, Australia. This was the trip that owned us. Most of us have heard of the saying, “Never leave good surf to find good surf.” We didn’t obey, and I agreed to go with Roisin and Ivy (Thomas) to Noosa, leaving 6-foot Coolangatta behind. With dreams of endless Noosa walls, we pulled up to the Nationals car park in high expectation of logging perfection. Skunked is the appropriate word. Barely breaking with a hundred people in the water. But when you are with friends (or by yourself for that matter), the only thing to do is make the most of the situation. Roisin has developed her turns with the image of Ray Gleave in mind. On a trip that involved broken longboards, broken ligaments, and broken hearts, Roisin drove this turn in front of me on one of her last waves of the trip. A moment of reprieve. Photo: Fran Miller