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Images by D. Humphrey
Road trips are foundation of surf culture. They are rights of passage, voyages of discovery, or a return to familiar pastures and old friends. For his new project award winning film maker and photographer Dustin Humphrey (Sipping Jetstreams, I Had Too Much To Dream Last Night) teamed up with Harrison Roach to head north out of Sydney – hit the coast road and journey through epic countryside and via iconic surf breaks to the majestic point breaks of Noosa.
Featuring the styling’s of Harrison Roach, Matt Cuddihy, Husni Ridwan, Dave Rastovich, Zye Norris, Jared Mell, Thomas Bexon, and more, this sumptuous film documents the journey, laden with surfboards and camping equipment, riding custom motorcycles through floods and rain squalls, stirring up the wanderlust as they go.
North To Noosa has its UK Premiere at the APPROACHING LINES FESTIVAL OF SURF Presented by REEF, Thursday 19th March, Newquay. For more info click HERE
Approaching Lines founder Chris Nelson caught up with Dustin Humphrey and Harrison Roach to find out more about the film.
We’re really amped on the film. Love the spirit of freedom it exudes. Where did the idea come from to do the road trip to Noosa?
Dustin Humphrey – The trip from Sydney was not a new idea. I have actually done it several time before both on bike and by car. There was a trip that we did several years ago that we documented called ‘Loversland. So yeah, once again we set off on this amazing road trip and shot the whole thing.
What is it about the unlikely relationship between bikes and surfing that seems to work so well?
DH: I think for me in my personnel life, because I live in Bali, motorcycles are the way in which we travel both near and far. It’s how we get to the beach everyday.
In regards to actually riding a bike and surfing a wave there is that similar sence of freedom with a hint of danger and speed. Also just choosing your lines around a corner or a bend can be very similar to choosing your lines on a wave.
Does that potential for injury and being out of the water ever play on your mind or does the freedom of the road over-ride this? I understand you were recently injured in a bike accident?
DH: Yeah, I am pretty banged up right now. A crash on my dirt bike resulted in a broken left foot and a broken right leg, which got me two surgeries and 10 days in the hospital. I think, yeah its going to come up in your mind and re-assess whether or not the risk of injury out weighs being out of the water or in this case not being able to walk for a couple of months. I was injured skating a few years back that kept me out of the water for several months. I had no problem giving up skating. I was done.
But I have had serious injuries from surfing as well that also had me in the hospital and out of commission for a long time. Those injuries have not kept me from going back in the water. This crash on a motorcycle is not my first nor will it be my last. It’s part of riding no matter how good or how careful you are. I am not going to quit riding motorcycles. It’s what I do, same as surfing.
You guys surfed a range of breaks in different conditions on some awesome looking boards – how did you go about assembling a quiver flexible enough for every eventuality?
DH: Riding different kinds of boards is just kind of our deal. Harrison Roach is arguably the best all round surfer in the world when it comes to riding a 10ft log to a 4’11 fish and everything in between. That’s also why we had the ‘78 Ford to help carry all of our boards.
What equipment were you shooting on and do you prefer digital or celluloid?
DH: If I had the budget I would shoot everything in Super 16 but we don’t have the budget for that yet… To tell the truth we shoot on low level Canon SLR’s. The cameras don’t concern me so much. I feel the lenses and the way in which you shoot, that gives a cinematic look.
Music is such an important part of the movie making process and it was great to hear our friend Matthew P in there. How did you go about pulling the soundtrack together?
DH: Matty P is an old friend of ours. He has spent a lot of time hanging here in Bali. All the musical artists that make up the sound track are friends or friends of friends.
Have you got any new projects in the pipeline?
Harrison Roach – we have something very special in the works this year. It’s a new surf/moto/adventure film, entitled SOUTH TO SIAN, and it has us super excited. The film vividly details the journey of myself and Zye Norris as we camp under active volcanoes, float through tropical island chains, visit orangutans and ride ourselves into sun baked oblivion on flawless surf, over and over again. We have already started shooting for the film and what we’ve captured makes it look as though this film we be our best yet. We’re covering over 3000 miles of Indonesia in a faulty 1970’s Land Rover, with two dirt bikes and 20 surfboards. We’ll be going hard from April to July, hoping to release the film around Christmas.
The Approaching Lines Film Festival kicks off tomorrow night at Newquays Lighthouse cinema
www.carvemag.com/2015/03/tickets-to-the-approaching-lines-festival-of-surf-and-reef-shoes/
