Sonny Miller

Sonny and I were friends and collaborators for many years. He tested out a lot of new camera equipment in front line conditions that helped me develop new ideas quickly.

Advances in camera technology allowed flash units to be used to capture the fast action of surfing. It took a bit to get everything working right but when Sonny got the cover of Surfer Magazine with Joey Buran using fill flash from the water, most people did not realize what they were looking at other than a perfectly lit surfing photo.

Film went by the wayside, surf movies turned into surf videos. Sonny did "The Search" videos for Rip Curl, it was a full time job. Along with Jeff Shorsher and Jamie Mosberg, we started to become video editors. Analog video editing quickly turned to video editing programs on computers. Sonny picked up some video equipment in Japan not available in the United States and we tested out some of the first POV type video cameras. I made units that could be used for mountain biking as well as surfing and sailboarding.

Sonny and I talked about making a small video camera that would be available to everyone. We had the basic product, credibility in the surfing world, and contacts in China that could manufacture the cameras. If things went well, we could be set financially for life. The risks were that the camera design would be stolen immediately when the manufacturing started. We would be drowned in imitations. Our lives would be changed to handle the business. I was having distasteful dealings with the City of Carlsbad, I wasn't sure I wanted to continue in business at all. We decided against it and a couple years later, GoPro came out.

Sonny became a Union Camera Operator and started working on major movie productions. I worked as an equipment tech for Sonny on a couple Hollywood surfing movies as he started working on more mainstream movies. I closed the camera housing business and moved to the Pacific Northwest.

As time went on, Sonny and I only spoke occasionally. He was taking care of his mom, who required full time care. Anyone who has been a caretaker can testify that this is an exhausting, thankless job, as tough as it gets. Still traveling a lot, taking care of his mom, managing his home in Elfin Forest at war with developers next door, he had a lot going on. Then I heard from him that his mom had passed away. I asked if he needed anything, he said he was "OK".

About a week later, I was shocked when my friends contacted me to tell me that Sonny was dead. I couldn't believe it when they said he had died of a heart attack on July 8, 2014. He was only 53 years old.

People pass in and out of this lifetime, that's the way it is. While you're here, you might be able to do something special. To make something from nothing, to create, is something that few people get to experience. To make something that moves other people, makes a statement or inspires people is a rare thing. Almost every time I was with Sonny, we were doing this. Every day was a chance for something new and completely different. There is an energy there that sometimes seems out of sync with the insignificant drudgery of modern life.

Sonny was a good friend. We did a lot and I'm grateful for the time we spent together. Another of the North County bros gone way too soon.