This photo is of Brad Tunis, shot on December 4th, 2009, in Hammond, Indiana. I had brought my camera to the beach as I always do, hoping to get some good photos in- between my surf session but never expected something like this. I typically don't plan on what my pictures will look like unless I'm on an assignment or setting something up for fun. I like to capture the moment as it happens as best as I can.
We're used to getting ice on our wetsuit or face in the winter while surfing Lake Michigan, but I'd never seen anyone as covered as Brad was. This was after a few hours of surfing small, glassy, waist to chest high waves and Brad had come in to get warm. i think i actually shot this photo from my hip right after he had climbed out over the shelf ice, as we were all amazed at the icicles hanging off his beard. Being the happy and joyful person that Brad is, he was still able to sport a smile from ear to ear despite his frosty face.
Everyone is usually amazed by his appearance in the photo but the best reactions I ever got were from some of the locals in Ecuador last year, they couldn't resist calling us “loco”!
Mike Killion

About the shot

Biography
I don't think there ever was a time I didn't have a camera in my hand. I have always been intrigued with capturing an image and saving it to look back on. As a kid I remember walking up to wild buffalo on vacation in Wyoming with a disposable camera just to get a picture.
Throughout high school I took photo classes and it wasn't until I finished my first year of college without taking a photo class that I realized photography was my passion and what I love to do the most. I’m currently finishing my BA in photography at Columbia College in Chicago and am pursuing another passion of mine at the same time: surfing. I love to be outdoors photographing in natural light, living in the moment and capturing it as best as I can.
Over the past few years my work has been published with Transworld Surf Magazine, ESM, Hardcore Magazine, ESPN, Surfline, and many other media outlets. In the summer of 2008 I started an online magazine called Great Lakes surfer. I felt the Great Lakes surfing community needed a place to be recognized and appreciated – a place to bring us all together and share what we love to do. The freshwater surf scene seems to be growing and I hope to ride this wave as long as I can.