A hundred yards off the old fishing boat’s starboard side, waves the size of six semi trucks stacked atop one another heaved over the reef and slammed tons upon tons of water, leaving a swirling cauldron in their wake. The shear force and power of the waves is perhaps only comparable to standing at the base of Niagara Falls and trying to take a shower. Donning a wetsuit, a pair of flippers and trailing a camera in waterproof housing tied to his ankle, Mike Peralta begins a morning photo session at one of the world’s most notorious breaks, Mavericks. He swims toward the approaching beasts and places himself directly below the cavernous jaws. Wetsand wanted to know what kind of person willingly places himself in such a dangerous position, as well as share some of Mike’s photography with you.

Mike’s love for photography began as a young boy. "I always took snap shots of family, friends and travel," Mike said. As he grew older he continued to develop his craft by taking photography classes at all levels of his education, from junior high through college and then gaining professional experience. "What is unique and sometimes drives me crazy is everything I see I compose as if I was taking a photograph: by colors, patterns and shades of light." Mike said. Getting a taste for the water also began young. At the age of 6, Mike started competition swimming.

Edrick stopping time

"I’ve competed all over California, Oregon and Washington at a variety of state- qualifying swim meets," Mike said. "I spent much of my free time training for the next meet. My days consisted of two hours of practice before and after school. I became fish-like after 10 years of that kind of training." Mike’s formal introduction to the ocean began when he became a Santa Cruz Junior Lifeguard. The program, along with other J.G. programs throughout the world, teach children and young adults basic first aid, ocean/wave knowledge and team work through training and competition against other junior lifeguard participants. "Many of Santa Cruz’s top and emerging professional surfers have a junior lifeguard background," Mike said. "Most important of all, these junior lifeguard programs encourage awareness, love, protection and respect for the ocean and its environment. This benefits everyone, from the J.G. families to the local communities and businesses." Mike loves to travel and enjoys the adventure of it all, even the sensory overload of the sights, smells and tastes of a new place. "Traveling to unique places other than your own provides the best education," Mike said. “To interact with other people and experience their culture is the fiber that binds and connects us to our own identities." Mike considers his primary influences on his photography to be Ansel Adams and Don King. He considers them to be the consummate professional photographers, the best in their field whose love, soul and respect shines through in their work. He also considers other major influences to be cinematographers Sonny Miller, Jack McCoy and Dan Merkel.

Mike said Hawaii is the most spiritual place he has ever traveled to despite some of its lethal aspects. "You better dot your “I’s" and cross your “T’s" before paddling or swimming out because every spot will cause bodily harm, quickly and ferociously," Mike said with conviction. "You must be prepared for anything and everything happening. You’re dealing with sharp reefs and no wetsuit, and you have to learn to bounce off the reef like a ball and not be dragged like a rag doll while getting sliced to pieces." Mike’s calm and casual demeanor is apparent when he explains, without any real emotion, that photographing tow-ins at Avalanche in Hawaii from the water was an adventure. Clean, simple. For the rest of us it would have been nothing short of facing the last day of our lives. Mike’s outlook on Mavericks is a bit more dramatic: He has been doing water photography from this notorious big-wave break since 1994. "Mavericks is a mind-altering experience," Mike says. This time his tone contains a bit more emotion. "There are no atheists out in the water when Mavs pushes 15 plus. The swim out takes 20-40, minutes depending on the tides and swell direction." That’s pretty damn good when you consider it can take board riders sometimes twice as long, if they even make it all. Mike added, "I imagine getting smacked by Mt. Whitney each time I enter the water."

And sitting out there in between sets like a top-water lure sometimes freaks me out." Mike flashes one of his friendly smiles exposing rows of bright white teeth. "But that’s part of the game, the thrill of adventure keeps the adrenaline rush going." For most of the normal human race, there are a lot of other ways of keeping the adrenaline rush going without placing yourself in such severe life-threatening positions. Another one of Mike’s favorite places is Mexico. He spent a lot of time there during his childhood and says he feels comfortable in the environment. And despite being dragged along the bottom by his forehead at Puerto Escondido, he still considers it to be his favorite south-of-the-border spot. Mike says the appeal of the place is, "The big waves, sand bottom, hot climate and a throw-back to the wild, wild west." What Mike hopes is that through his photography more people will see how magnificent the ocean is and hopefully will be influenced to protect and save it. “We are on this earth a short time," Mike said quietly. "We must teach the children the importance of keeping a clean, healthy ocean for the sake of their children and Mother Earth."