Mike Melia's Bio

1987 was a powerful year.  The Los Angeles Lakers beat the Boston Celtics to win the NBA championship, Curran and Occy were battling on the WCT and Sue Melia ejected her third child into the Earth.

Fast-forward 17 years and life is remarkably different.  The Los Angeles Lakers are not a team of the past, Andy Irons is dominating competitive surfing and Sue Melia's third fetus has almost made it through high school.

Mike Melia was and is a force.  At 17 years of age Mike is an evolving lensman, and an avid one at that.  Mike began shooting in sixth grade at the tender age of 12, thanks in large part to his father who is also a camera enthusiast.  Mike has a fresh and innovative perspective for photography, a fusion of energy and eccentricity in a discipline of eccentric expression.  He has wild tendencies in his private life, but thoughtful composition when behind the lens, with stern focus and a refined eye when he is shooting his subjects.  Though he is not legally able to purchase alcohol or sequester a prostitute in the state of Nevada, he is nonetheless a determined artist, dedicated to perfecting the craft of photography.

Hailing from the stomping grounds of Buddy Llamas, The Deffenbaugh and Turner Brothers, Jay Larson, Ben Will, Micah Byrne and a quiver of other gifted wave riders, Mike has always had skilled subjects to perfect his art; an art that is transforming like the changing of the tides.  The advancement of technology, and the power of pondering, has lead to remote sensor flash photography, a technique developed by inspiration, mentor and friend Tom Carey.  And with this innovation Tom and apprentice Mike have garnered two recent cover shots: Surfer Magazine 2004 Photo Annual and Surfing Magazine December 2004.  Mike also landed the Spring 2004 Automatic Magazine cover shot, a publication developed and operated by an outstanding gentleman named Michael Migdol.  Though publication is not the main motivation for Mike’s work, he is nonetheless at a young age pushing himself to be a photographer of professional precision.

And, his camera is never on the same subject, never in the same place—he is constantly trying to explore different cultures, cites and surf breaks. Whether hanging with local Fijians drinking kava in their bures or wrangling sea kraits on Tavarua Island, cruising around Singapore in route to Indonesia, or swimming with large fish in South Africa to capture a moment, Mike is always out there, exploring and exposing his mind to new notions.

Rest assured Mike Melia is coming to a town near you, armed with several cameras, a bag full of film and a sponge like mentality to soak-up everything in his site.  As described above, Mike has quite a predilection for photography, but he also devotes a great deal of time to young ladies and spear fishing.  However, that is for another time…