Wednesday, December 16, 2009

Luke Thompson - Photographer

If I'm being honest, I was a little nervous to do this interview...it's obviously a little intimidating to interview someone whom you admire and who's work you think is dope...yet you know nothing about it and don't want to come off as ignorant. Getting to know Luke, I was a little surprised by his modesty and humbleness, especially as he has achieved quite a bit for his mere 24 year old age - there is something to be said about having your name amongst the guys he admires as a senior photographer for SLAM magazine. A Western Australian fella, reared in Margaret River before moving to Perth with his mother as a kid, Thompson began rolling on a skateboard before he ever picked up a camera - and it's been a match made in heaven ever since. Behind this guys soft spoken voice and quirky style of dressing lies a burning desire to keep on achieving, meeting people and broadening his horizons. He thinks long and hard before every question, which tells me that being understood and taken in the right context means a lot to him. The founding member of shredtavern.com has his finger in so many proverbial pies and so many plans swimming in his visionary mind that he sighs and yawns often and seems a little frustrated that there is quite frankly, not enough time in the fucking day. So let's explore the mind of the multi talented, crazy creative man that is...Luke Thompson.




Q: HEY LUKE, THANKS FOR TAKING THE TIME OUT TO SPEAK TO OBNOXIOUS OWL. YOU ARE A BUSY MAN, WHAT HAVE YOU GOT ON THIS WEEK?
A:
No worries Ms Owl - thanks for interviewing me I'm honoured. I do like to keep busy. My 'to do list' this week includes to finish post processing for a shoot I did on the weekend, working at Camera Electronic, put in the new kitchen bench I bought for home last week, finish planning and organising a location fashion shoot for local label 'Little Gracie' which is coming up at the end of the month. We are also driving a few hours north to shoot on a farm for the weekend, all the while fitting in a few ShredTavern updates. Oh and I think I'm going to the zoo with some friends to have some fun on the weekend.

Q: WHAT MAKES TAKING PHOTOGRAPHS OF SKATEBOARDING MORE APPEALING THAN FILMING?
A:
Well after spending hundreds of hours filming and editing "View" for Folklore Skateboards I was a little burnt out on the whole filming process. I wanted to do something creative and still be involved with skateboarding but I didn't want the duty of being there to film every single trick. With photography, it was more about choosing the best things to capture rather than capturing everything. Also it was a new game with new rules and techniques to learn about, and I do love learning some new tricks. It was before filming had finished that I got really stoked on shooting photos though.



Q: TELL US ABOUT THE FIRST PHOTO THAT WAS PRINTED AND HOW DID YOU FEEL?

A: The first photo I had printed was of Barry Mansfield doing a kick flip in Claremont. It was published in the Slam skate mag photo annual. I was really really happy about it of course. I was so stoked that it was a photo of Barry too. He has been one of my closest friends for so long. It is still one of my favourites.

 



Q: WHAT MAGAZINES AND COMPANIES HAVE HAD THE PLEASURE OF LUKE THOMPSON SNAP SHOTS?A: So far I've had the pleasure of having my photos published in and working for Slam Magazine, The Skateboarders Journal, Staple, Concrete Wave, Waves, GMTA Skateboards, Element, Folklore, Four Skateboards, Hurley, Emerica, Momentum Skate shop, Monster Children Magazine, Volley SS, Slap, Toni and Guy, Otis Elevators, Australian Skate park guide 2007 2008 2009 editions, Corbin Harris ultimate guide to skateboarding, Beyond Skate shop, The Naked Flower, BlackSheep Distribution, Picture Wheels, Afends Clothing and Life Lounge. Currently looking for more work to challenge and inspire.

Q: SO BESIDES SKATEBOARD RIDING PICCIES, WHAT ELSE DO YOU LIKE TO SHOOT?

A: I love to shoot photos of life, my friends, interesting people, people being themselves, beautiful things, strange things, ideas. I want to start shooting more fashion on location as it is something that has always interested me and I know I will enjoy the experience of working with creative people. The thought of taking studio lighting to remote and visually stunning locations gets me quite excited. Also band portraits, musicians and portraiture in general is something that I want to explore. There is a few personal projects I'm working on at the moment that are very fun, but I won't talk about that too much. You'll see when it's finished.






Q: WHAT IS THE MOST RANDOM THING YOU HAVE EVER PHOTOGRAPHED?

A: The most random! Well that is a hard one. I've photographed many unusual things. I guess random photos just happen in your day to day life and if you have a camera handy you might be lucky enough to capture it.
Here is a short list of some of the more unusual things I have captured simply by having a camera on me at the right time:

A rubbish truck dump all the rubbish in the middle of the street by accident.
Roadkill.
A man doing a poo out of a tree into a river
Homemade tattoos done on pure impulse.
Mother and daughter going for a walk in matching pink tracksuits.
A friend getting arrested.
A monkey masturbating.
A car accident.
Paint sniffers.
A kid pissing in the playground.





Q: I ALWAYS SEE YOU AROUND TOWN AND YOU ALWAYS HAVE A CAMERA SWINGING FROM YOUR NECK...DO YOU JUST SNAP ALL DAY AND NIGHT?

A: I don't shoot enough to be honest. I want to shoot more photos than I do. However I do carry a camera whenever possible because you never know what might happen. I've captured some pretty outrageous things simply by having the camera ready and the courage to point it.

Q: TELL US ABOUT SHREDTAVERN.COM...

A: ShredTavern.com was something that started quite a while ago but took a little kick from my associate and friend Jaime Fazackerly to really get going. It is basically a blog where we can share things we do, photos of our friends and their culture, anything interesting, and also just to let people know that we exist and we want to meet you and have fun. Go check it out and browse through some of the content then join our fan page to make sure you'll get an invite to our next party.

Q: WHAT IS YOUR MOST FAVOURITE THING TO LISTEN TO, EAT AND DO?

A: I really have a hard time choosing favourites. My brain seems to constantly think of possibilities and I just can't choose which one is the best out of them all. I enjoy many things for many different reasons depending on how I am feeling at the time. Things I like listening to are good conversation, people having fun, music, laughter, rain on a tin roof (reminds me of my early childhood), fire crackling, waves crashing, soft breathing.
My favourite things to eat are real foods. Not processed things. Simple foods like fresh fruit, vegetables, red meat, chicken, fish, nuts, wholegrain breads, meals at my grandma's house, cheese and crackers, salami, a lamb roast, milk. I do like beef jerky too, but not that over processed crap that looks like a schmacko. I used to love candy but I just don't eat it these days, I didn't enjoy the sugar highs and lows it would bring.
My favourite things to do are learn something, shoot photos, share time with friends, ride skateboards, be close to people. I love planning adventures and going on them just as much. Express myself. Exercising my power to make a positive change in my environment is a pretty great feeling.



Q: WHAT WAS THE LAST MOVIE YOU SAW?

A: I can't remember the last movie I saw actually. But the last movie I saw that made an impression was called "The Fall" and directed by Tarsem Sing. I strongly recommend you should all go out and watch this movie! It is a tale about love, hate, success, failure, lies, fantasy, reality, deception, victims, consequences beauty and so much more. The story alone is an epic and worth knowing, whilst at the same time you could watch it on mute and still be mesmerized. The visuals created are so stunning, I was really blown away by the world depicted in this story.

Q: SO WHAT IS LUKE THOMPSON'S BIGGEST DREAM?

A: These are some of my biggest dreams. I may not achieve all of them and I'm comfortable with that. But these are some of the things I dream of. Shoot high fashion on the edge of a volcano crater. To shoot beautiful women in harsh landscapes. Catch something with my bare hands and eat it. Shoot promo and cover art for feature films. Get lost at sea. Direct a music video. Own a nightclub. Grind a real handrail on my skateboard. Build a house. Meet an alien. Tour the world. Wrestle a crocodile. Go into outer space. Be on television. Own a cool robot. Invent something. Shoot photos of outstanding people. Design menswear. Visit a meteor crater on earth . Basically I want to work really hard, be good at what I do, be close to good people, experience life, express myself, and share my success' and failures with someone.



Q: SO HOW ABOUT THAT OBNOXIOUS OWL EH?

A: Oh Obnoxious Owl!! Your just a cute little owl telling people how it is. It's very refreshing and entertaining. Don't ever stop, the world is your oyster. Or perhaps your mouse, Owls eat mice right? Thanks so much for choosing to interview me I feel very special to be featured on your blog.
AW SHUCKS LUKE X

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Fucking awesome photography. I prefer skate photos to actual video footage, too.