Ever since I can remember, I have been going to the beach. I was born in the Bay Area and spent my early years freezing in San Francisco's foggy Sunset District, a few blocks from Ocean Beach. Surfing lurked in and around my thought until 1986, when, at the age of 22, a free surfboard and cheap wetsuit came my way. I only managed to stand up for a few seconds on my first attempt surfing, but that was all I needed - I was hooked.

I learned to shoot photos and work in a darkroom when I was in high school. Once I had my degree in journalism from San Francisco State University, I began to take my writing and photography more seriously, working for several magazines and newspapers before starting my women's surf photo project and transitioning into making documentaries in 1997. My unique and realistic images of women surfers have appeared in numerous museums, galleries, books, newspapers and magazines around the world. I have also helped produced nearly two-dozen documentaries and television programs, and have won four Emmy Awards for my film work. My current film, co-produced and directed with fellow surfer/filmmaker Sally Lundburg, is One Winter Story, is an hour-long look at the life of big wave surfer and scientist Sarah Gerhardt. I have also recently written Harlem of the West, a San Francisco jazz history/photography book published by Chronicle Books.

I continue to live in the Bay Area with my husband David, who is also an obsessive surfer and a photographer, and our orange cat and dog. We've traveled to Europe, Mexico, and Hawaii to surf and photograph, but we can usually be found weaving our longboards through Northern California lineups.

*View a film clip and learn more about One Winter Story, Sally & Elizabeth's film on big wave surfer Sarah Gerhardt: www.frankfilms.net

*Contact Elizabeth at: photosf@hotmail.com

Coastal Clash Film Website: www.kqed.org/coastalclash