Mikala Jones, 1979-2023

I have great affinity for the ocean. One of the best things I know is to be alone in the surf at around sunset, preferably with a little bit of a buzz, floating and bobbing in the waves. There are few things I find more peaceful.

I've boogie-boarded, and body surfed. I've even ridden the waves on a kayak a time or two. But I've never surfed. Not even once. And still, I find the surfer aesthetic - in and out of the water - mesmerizing, magnetic even. The devil may care pull of the big wave combined with the extreme athleticism, balance, and bravery of the best men and women, mixed with the go for it attitude as it relates to land-bound pursuits - that's a heady cocktail.

Until this week, I didn't know who Mikala Jones was. Turns out he was one of the greats, as much for what he pioneered in terms of how people saw surfing as for his ability - which was remarkable.

Jones died this week in a surfing accident in Indonesia when the fin of his board sliced through his femoral artery. He was only 44.

For all of his acumen in the water, it was his innovation with a camera that Jones was most known for. Starting in the 1990s, he was the first surfer/artist to experiment with taking pictures of himself while riding waves. His Instagram account is filled with amazing images that give a brief glimpse into the way he combined art and surfing.

The image below was the cover photo from an edition of The Surfer's Journal from 2017. Surf photog Woody Woodworth calls it the best surf photo ever taken, saying, "It's 10 points on the surfing and 10 points on the photography technically and 10 points on the concept. This is like, hands down, the Olympic-winner-of-all-time photograph."

That's glorious, ya'll. I wish I'd known about the beauty Mikala Jones brought to the world before now, and I wish I'd learned about it a different way. Something to ponder next time I'm floating in the Outer Banks surf as the late-afternoon sun diffuses and refracts around me.