Shooting With Intention: Brandon Getty
Experiments with skate photos as a kid + zines + crazy-good Tumblr browsing as an adult = a street shooter’s best education
Shooting With Intention is a series of interviews by Elephant Gun photographer Kevin O’Meara. Here, he interviews Stockton, CA photographer Brandon Getty about his publication “Maps to Stockton: Volume One”
Elephant Gun (EG): If I recall correctly in the Findrangers interview, you started shooting skateboarding first and it evolved from there. How has skateboarding changed how you look at photography?
Brandon Getty (BG): Countless hours of flipping through skateboard magazines showed me that photography could be used as a documentary and narrative tool. In every issue there’s a photo-heavy feature article that documents a team trip, tour or event. In between the full-bleed photos of tricks there were smaller portraits of the skaters, snapshots of hijinx, and maybe a few landscape photos that helped round out the article.
“Skateboard photography is a great teacher in terms of form and timing.”
I didn’t really think about the amount of work that went into the article by the photo and design staff, I just liked the images because they told a story and gave a glimpse into a lifestyle that I was pretty obsessed with at the time. I might have learned the same lesson from old issues of LIFE or National Geographic, but those weren’t on my radar as a 13 year-old skate kid.
BG: When I started carrying disposable cameras on skate trips, I just tried to mimic the photos I saw in the magazines. Of course most of my first images were just blurred frames of us pushing from spot to spot or low-angle wannabe fisheye shots, but I didn’t mind. Just having the 4x6 prints, all neatly arranged in the order that I shot them, was good enough for me.
Skateboard photography is a great teacher in terms of form and timing. It taught me to respect composition and be meticulous, to consider the edges of the frame carefully, and give what’s happening in the background just as much attention as the skater and the trick. I’ve made it a habit to ask myself, “Why am I including this in the frame? What does it convey about the trick and/or subject?” I try to compose until I have good answers to both questions, but even then things don’t always work. I’m not as deliberate when I’m out shooting on the street, but that concern for composition is always there.
Elephant Gun Essential Mix: 27 Lightroom Presets You Can’t Live Without. Now 99 cents. Available on Gum Road >
EG: What photographers do you look at on a regular basis and how does their work influence you? What are some of the publications that have affected you the most?
BG: I’ve always liked photographers that work close to home, whether out of desire or necessity. Looking at your everyday surroundings with a fresh perspective and consistently producing new work is challenging, so I really respect those who have that ability.
An big early influence was Daniel Weiss, a New York-based street photographer. I discovered Daniel before learning about all of the established figures of the genre, so his style was brand new to my eyes. He blends sincerity and wry humor really well, so you get a view of New York that is warm and lighthearted. Matt Weber is a predecessor to Daniel and just as influential to me, but in a way that has more to do with the overbearing and claustrophobic nature of the city. I don’t own books by either of them, but I’m always lurking their websites.
BG: A few years ago I stumbled upon a BBC documentary about James Ravilious that blew my mind. Beginning in 1972 he spent roughly 17 years documenting the rural English community of North Devon, just leaving his house and walking the dirt roads to socialize with the farmers and their families. His work is a record of a way of life that no longer exists in North Devon, so there are threads of melancholy and impermanence tangled up in its beauty. Any time I shoot into the sun, and I do a lot, it’s because of James Ravilious and his book “An English Eye”.
It seems like I find a handful of incredible photographers, all with archives that I need to delve into or zines/books I need to buy, every single day. Thanks to Tumblr I’ve come across current favorites like Stephen B. Smith, Missy Prince, Alex JD Smith, and Ed Panar. I’ve been photographing people less and less over the past year, and their work reminds me that that’s okay.
A lot of everyday inspiration also comes from friends that are always putting out new work or approach photography with a lot of passion. TJ Nelson Jr., Sam Milianta, Chris Taylor, Barrett Moore, Joe Aguirre, Carson Lancaster, my brother Cameron Getty, and Yubey Delgado are just a few of the people that keep me motivated and appreciative of photography. Two key influences from college through to today are Sean Morales and Raphael Villet. Thanks guys.
EG: Are there any books that are similar to a good skate part that make you want to go out and shoot immediately?
BG: The Walker Evans MoMA book is on my desk right now, and it’s been a huge motivator mainly because I didn’t take the time to familiarize myself with his work earlier. I haven’t been feeling overtly social when shooting lately, so flipping through Evans’ photographs of roadside stands, building facades and humble interiors — all mostly devoid of people — keeps the inspiration flowing when I want to stay introverted and keep the pace slow. I really relate to the quiet, direct simplicity of his approach. I love Henry Wessel’s Incidents for the same reason.
I revisit past issues of Hamburger Eyes all the time. The charged, diverse nature of the work always gets me excited to head out even if I’m feeling withdrawn. The format is crazy and dynamic in itself: images that come at you in a full-bleed barrage, some jarring and others more subtle, that leave you with little breathing room and a ton of questions. It’s visceral, full of anxiety and mystery, and I love it. Mary Ellen Mark’s American Odyssey, Ed Templeton’s Wayward Cognitions, and the huge Garry Winogrand retrospective book are all great to look at before heading out, too.
I’m actively trying to grow my zine collection, so publications by friends and photographers I’ve connected with online are a consistent source of inspiration. There’s always something new on my desk or in my mailbox.
Read the rest of the interview with Brandon Getty on Elephant Gun >
