STEVE WALL.
Steve Wall is a twenty-three year old surf photographer and filmmaker from Sydney’s Northern beaches doing some pretty cool things. I first came across Steve’s prints at the beginning of the year in a Paper Sea Quarterly mag I picked up from surf store, 'Three Stories' in Fremantle. Featured was Steve’s Unlikely Oasis series, After Dark that involved him shooting the wild and unpredictable sea in the middle of the night in the middle of the ocean.
The fact that he had gone out in the middle of the night and shot this series instantly intrigued me, so I immediately had to contact him to hear more.I had a chat with the extremely talented Manly based artist about his surf adventures, filming pursuits and his Unlikely Oasis series.
Here’s what Steve had to say...
The fact that he had gone out in the middle of the night and shot this series instantly intrigued me, so I immediately had to contact him to hear more.I had a chat with the extremely talented Manly based artist about his surf adventures, filming pursuits and his Unlikely Oasis series.
Here’s what Steve had to say...
"Surfing is probably my favourite thing! It's why and probably how I got so into photographing the ocean. I try to surf every day that I can, but tend to shoot when the ocean gets really crazy, but having said that nothing beats the thrill of riding heavy waves. There was a time when surf photography was an all-consuming thing for me, but nowadays I'd say I spend most of my time working on the video side of things, directing, shooting and editing. I love a new challenge and film has been just that."
"For the past couple of years, with my photography I'd always liked to shoot selectively anyway, so the way things work now I only focus on photography I'm really passionate about. I love both pursuits (film and photography), just in a different way".
"For the past couple of years, with my photography I'd always liked to shoot selectively anyway, so the way things work now I only focus on photography I'm really passionate about. I love both pursuits (film and photography), just in a different way".
"From a young age I’ve always found film to be one of my major sources of inspiration, in the way you can take people on a journey into another world. Just like photography, I was self-taught. I find the make or break factor when it comes to any kind of creative medium is the vision you have within, the technical skills are just a means to convey and execute that. So I suppose in a creative sense I've just tried to apply my photographic style to a different medium.
I'd say my favourite thing to shoot is the wild beauty of nature, and the way in which people interact with it, however that might be.
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"Luckily enough a heap of my best friends share the same passion for the surf that I do, so there's plenty of froth bouncing around when the conditions come together. It's a case of analysing weather forecasts and putting yourself in exactly the right place at the right time, and then hoping for the best really. I usually hang tight at home in Sydney until I see something special coming together, then if I have the time between other work I'll hit the road. Most of the waves I love to shoot are anywhere from an hour upwards out of Sydney, so it really pays to have an intricate understanding of swell, wind, tide etc., to make the most of these trips! "
"Luckily enough a heap of my best friends share the same passion for the surf that I do, so there's plenty of froth bouncing around when the conditions come together. It's a case of analysing weather forecasts and putting yourself in exactly the right place at the right time, and then hoping for the best really. I usually hang tight at home in Sydney until I see something special coming together, then if I have the time between other work I'll hit the road. Most of the waves I love to shoot are anywhere from an hour upwards out of Sydney, so it really pays to have an intricate understanding of swell, wind, tide etc., to make the most of these trips! "
"I shoot a heap of other things outside of my ocean work, so most days of the year I’ll be in Sydney working on those projects - it gives me the opportunity to chase the ocean in my free time and not compromise my creative approach in an attempt to sustain a living out of purely water based work."
"Photography & film is my full time gig now, with my production company Crosswave. I started this about a year ago and we've shot a bunch of things from television commercials, documentaries, music videos, underwater, fashion and action sports. It's been a wild ride, but looking forward to where the journey takes things next. We are also the only equipment rental house specialising in underwater equipment, so we can provide and build custom camera setups for all sorts of surf / underwater photo & film projects."
"Photography & film is my full time gig now, with my production company Crosswave. I started this about a year ago and we've shot a bunch of things from television commercials, documentaries, music videos, underwater, fashion and action sports. It's been a wild ride, but looking forward to where the journey takes things next. We are also the only equipment rental house specialising in underwater equipment, so we can provide and build custom camera setups for all sorts of surf / underwater photo & film projects."
Did you build your light installment for your after dark series? I'm so intrigued by this project; tell me a bit about it…
So with the Unlikely Oasis series, that was something I'd been working towards for a couple of years. I'd always been a bit obsessed with getting out and about in the ocean first thing in the morning, as anyone that's experienced it will tell you it's a magic time of day to be in the water! I'd had the idea of bringing studio strobe lighting to the ocean for quite sometime, it just took a couple of years to turn it into a reality. Between custom cabling ordered from all parts of the world, specialised cases and housings to protect the precious electronics of the lights and then the actual art of using the thing. I was lucky that I'd been trying to shoot the exact same kind of waves during daylight hours for long enough to feel my way round in the dark.
The reality of shooting with the lighting is that you basically load up all the equipment and cameras onto a jet ski (which getting through the waves in pitch darkness is no mean feat alone) then driving to the chosen reef break, and positioning everything exactly where it needs to be. Unlike daylight hours, you only get one single frame with the flash, not a burst. So your judgment of the exact moment needs to be completely spot on, as you don't get too many opportunities to get the shot. It's incredibly challenging, but a rewarding process to see that vision I had years ago come to light. I've barely scratched the surface with the possibilities of lighting in the surf too..
Do you ever struggle with wanting to surf an amazing wave but also wanting to capture it? How do you make that decision? Tell me about any bad encounters…
The struggle is so real! Haha, I pretty much draw the line in the sand when I'm totally out of my depth surf wise, but also when the light is amazing. I love to surf through the day and shoot at sunrise / sunset when the light is incredible . I love being amongst the waves when the surfs up. You feel so at the mercy of Mother Nature, and totally vulnerable to the power of the ocean - it's legit. I've been bounced over boulders, smashed into reefs more times than I can remember, but touch wood have always escaped relatively harm free! .
I have noticed lighting is a very strong suite of yours? Is it something that really captivates you?
Lighting is the total make or break for me. It's the reward of persistence and preparation - you really never know what's going to happen on any given day but if you give yourself the best possible chance by being out there and amongst it then you can capture those amazing rare moments when the magic happens. I remember one time I had a day free midweek, so drove 4 hours down the coast on a whim hoping for some fun waves and perhaps a few shots. I ended up surfing 3 times, then stumbling upon the best light i'd ever seen after a random arvo storm revealed a dramatic double rainbow right on sunset!
What has been one of your most memorable film/ adventure projects so far?
Probably the most memorable thing I've done of late, would be a trip I did for Red Bull a few months back. I'd always wanted to explore the remote Fiord land coast of New Zealand - an area totally inaccessible for the most part. You can spend a week walking on foot, or get a helicopter to drop you off. We spent a week in a remote lodge right on the coast, surfing incredible waves, eating the most amazing fresh food plucked directly from the ocean that day and living life free of phone reception & internet. It really doesn't get much better than that for me..
How did you get to feature in Paper Sea? And what's your most exciting platform your work has featured in/on?
I'd sent the guys at Paper Sea a bit of my work in the past - they have a wonderful approach to producing excellent print media, a rare thing these days. I was stoked to see some of the Unlikely Oasis series run with them alongside the exhibition in Sydney! I was recently lucky enough to take out the Creative Vision prize in Ocean Geographic's picture of the year competition - to have my work shown alongside many of the best scientific / nature photographers of the world was a great honour!
Lastly, what projects and adventures have you got planned for the future?
Moving forward I'm just excited to keep learning, and to see more of the world. I've got trips coming up to a few insane parts of the northern hemisphere I've wanted to check out all my life. Other than that, hopefully some amazing moments in the ocean, and up in snow as well!
Check out Steve's prints and films at stevewall.com.au
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