The Nalu Vault · Collection

Sonny Miller
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Harold “Sonny” Miller (1960–2014) was a pioneering surf cinematographer and filmmaker. His 16mm and 35mm film, videotapes, slides and the Search-era reels are the heart of the Nalu Vault.

Preserve Sonny's archive Watch his films

Above: Sonny Miller · Photo: Jim Russi

Cap'n Fun

Sonny Miller

Born in San Jose, California, Sonny grew up in North San Diego County, where he developed a deep passion for the ocean and visual storytelling.

Nicknamed “Cap'n Fun” for his infectious enthusiasm, he became one of the most respected figures in surf cinema, blending technical mastery with an artist's eye for nature's raw power. Over a career of more than three decades, his work documented elite surfers and helped carry surfing to a global audience, influencing generations of filmmakers and watermen.

Sonny Miller, legendary surf cinematographer and filmmaker

World Wave Pictures

The Search
and beyond

Sonny started as a still photographer for Surfer and Breakout magazines and landed the first cover shot taken from the water with a flash housing, of Joey Buran. He later filmed for Surfer TV and hosted the show in the late 1980s.

In the early 1990s he began directing iconic films for Rip Curl: The Search (1992), The Search 2 (1993), The Search 3: Beyond the Boundaries (1994), Feral Kingdom (1995), Tripping the Planet (1996) and Searching for Tom Curren (1996), which won the SURFER Poll for best surf film in 1997.

His independent films, including These Colors Taste Like Music (2000), Breakin' On Thru (1991), Aloha Bowls 95, Bad Habits, For the Sea and the OP Pro Boat Trip Challenge (2000), now stream on Nalu TV.

Watch on Nalu TV

Sonny Miller behind his camera. Photo: Tom Servais

Hollywood

Giant surf,
big screen

From the late 1990s Sonny brought his water cinematography to features and television: In God's Hands (1998), Blue Crush (2002), Die Another Day (2002), Riding Giants (2004), The Big Bounce (2004), Lords of Dogtown (2005), HBO's John from Cincinnati (2007), Chasing Mavericks (2012) and second-unit surf for Point Break (2015).

He shot from every vantage point: beaches, cliffs, jet skis, helicopters and right in the lineup.

Sonny Miller, filmmaker of the Rip Curl Search series. Photo: Tom Servais

Miller Time

A life
searching

His Search films took him to Hawaii's Pipeline and Jaws, Jeffreys Bay, Australia, Indonesia's outer islands and the Mentawais, capturing the culture and beauty of each place along with the surf.

His masterpiece, Searching for Tom Curren, was remastered for its 25th anniversary in Sonny's memory.

Sonny passed away on July 8, 2014, at 53. Today his archive is the heart of the Nalu Vault. His remastered films stream on Nalu TV, and the work to scan and preserve the rest of his footage continues.

From the Sonny Miller Archives