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Modern
surfing has been with us since the sixties and is one of the
foremost influential freesports around, giving rise to music
scenes and tattoo styles alike. But what would happen if God
himself turned a cold shoulder and froze the oceans over night.
Well fear not, you could always snowboard. In fact you can even
snowboard in a big fridge in some sticky cities these days and
no one knows more about it than Nathan Gallagher. Here’s
what makes him climb a mountain on his way to work
Steal-Life.com - Where did your interest in photography start?
Nathan Gallagher - My dad was a keen amateur photographer and
although I was usually his source of annoyance with my titting
about in his makeshift darkroom, I'd say he was my source of
initial interest.
SL - How did you get your interest in snowboarding?
NG - I worked as a barristers clerk in Birmingham, I used to
visit Tamworth Snowdome (a huge indoor refrigerator with snow
inside) to muck about on a snowboard when I decided to go to
America snowboarding. It was probably the most influential decision
of my life. While I was living in America, Vail Colorado, there
was snowboard competition on, lots of big name riders attending,
so I called Snowboard UK Magazine back in Blighty and offered
to do shoot a story for them. That commission launched my career
in snowboard photography.
SL - Where else has snowboard photography
taken you?
NG - Loads of places, that's the best bit for me, going away
and meeting people. I tend to stick to relatively normal destinations,
nothing too 'out there' as it were. Mainly all over the USA,
Canada, Europe and Scandinavia.
SL - So you snowboard yourself too?
NG - Yes, I have to really. Although I can't actually do half
the stuff I take photos of, I do have a feel for what the rider’s
doing. There is also the fact that in order to get to the locations
I shoot at, I need a stable transport to carry myself and my
equipment. As it happens, I can't ski, so snowboarding it is.
SL - Which is your favourite place to take
snowboard photos?
NG - Difficult to say, I believe it's as much who you are with,
as it is where you are.
SL - Combining the two, which was your most
memorable photo shoot, who with and where?
NG - Although each has it's points that stand out from the rest,
there was one trip last year which I think rises above the others.
It was in America with five British snowboarders - Tim Warwood,
Matt Harris, Juliet Elliot, Adam Gendle and Scott McMorris.
We had ten days in which to travel through five states covering
6000 miles. It was hectic to say the least! But road trips like
that allow you to shoot people in a much more 'real' way, you
get to see them on their good days as well as their bad.
SL - Are snowboarders as 'crazy' as the media
often makes out?
NG - Far from it. You have to realise that when a snowboarder
passes a certain level of competence and they wish to become
professional, they begin to perform in areas with risks of increasingly
serious injury. During a recent trip to Norway I was taking
photographs of a kid called Luke Mitrani, he’s a small
American rider, fourteen years old. He was launching out of
a
nine meter high quaterpipe out of which he was reaching heights
of a further six meters. That's fifteen meters off the floor
for a guy about one point three meters tall. Not the time to
be crazy, more the time to be careful, if you see what I mean.
SL - Your photographs are often credited
'n8' where does that come from?
NG - A long time ago the then photo editor of Snowboard UK couldn't
be arsed to write 'Photo: Nathan Gallagher' on all my images,
so they just put 'Photo: n8' and it kind of stuck. Sounds dumb,
but it's just a name so who cares?
SL - Do you only shoot digital?
NG – No. Many magazines are yet to accept digital submissions,
so I have to keep buying film for now. My Olympus E10 is fast
enough to shoot snowboard images though, and I do like to show
the riders what I took during the day, it helps both them and
me work better together.
SL - What would you say to people who dismiss
digital photography as having a lesser standard than other photography?
NG - I think it's all a matter of target audience, digital photography
is better than 35mm for certain jobs and vice versa. One thing
is certain though, digital photography is the future. I believe
this 100%.
SL - What's next for you?
NG - I am having an exhibition next year sometime in a Waterloo
gallery, and I think there are more things before that too
Check http://www.bulletclip.com for further details. |
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