Swank. The classic TWS shot.

Grant Brittain. Photographer.
There have been many people over the last three decades who picked up a camera in the name of skateboarding. I think you would be hard pressed to pick one that has had more of an impact than Grant Brittain.
He took some time out of his inevitably busy work schedule to talk to us.
Here is the result


As of today. How many years has skateboarding been affecting the way you think and how many years have you been shooting skate photos?

I started skateboarding in the mid 60s and just butt boarded and bombed
hills with the neighborhood kids. Then really started getting serious about
it when Cadilac urethane wheels came out in what,1973?
I have been a surfer since 1970 and a skater before that and I was never
into team sports and we were always mistreated by jocks. That interaction
always turned me away from the mainstream and I liked being different.
I started shooting skate photos in 1979 while working at the Del Mar Skate
Ranch, this was my first experience with photography, I learned at first by
looking at old skate mags and figured out a bit.

Which of those early skate photographers really got you going? Who inspired you?

Cassimus, Stecyk, Goodrich, Bolster, Terrebone, Friedman. Studying their photos and fumbling my way through it. I had no one to ask questions, no internet, no skateboardphotography.com.

What are you working on right now in terms of The Skateboard Mag?

I am an owner of The Skateboard Mag, so I am involved in every little
detail. I am the Director of Photography, senior photographer, Production
Manager, that is I work with the Pre-press people and the Printer, anything
to do with getting the magazine out there. I work with the Editors on ideas
and work with photographers. I work with the Art Director on ways to use the
photos in layouts. We all do more than just our what job titles present. We
all work on products, circulation, advertising, special events, etc. I shoot
a bit too.

Huf

Beyond the work with the Mag, or the skateboard specific work. Is there anything your doing at the moment (or in the last few months) that you’re excited about?

I have been speaking at a few schools to photography students. This year
I did slide presentations and lectures at Brooks Photography, Pasadena Art
Center, Palomar College, San Dieguito Academy. Last week I gave a
presentation with Canon at Oceanside Photo, they had cameras and lenses to
lend out and ramps in the parking lot, it was cool. I also did a
presentation with surf photog, Aaron Chang for the APA in San Diego. Also
was in a few group photo shows and a large slide show at the Photographer’s
Showdown in Whistler, Canada. I like sharing my knowledge with kids and
others, it’s very rewarding.
My own personal photography, still into skating, but do abstract, portraits
and landscapes when I can, always have done that.

The Photographer’s Showdown at Whistler. There are a lot of different photographer’s from a lot of different sports involved in that event. Do you see any big differences between skate photographers and say, backcountry ski photographers? besides the obvious of course. .

Total difference, the ski guys don’t understand skateboarding. They are not too renegade. They admire skate photography, but it’s not their world, it’s alien. The snowboard photogs get it though.

How is skateboarding and your attitude about it different on you now than when you first started?

I put no limits on skateboarding. I try to keep my mind open when it comes to the progression of the activity itself.

Mike Smith

Does the state of the skate industry and the mainstreaming of the sport get you down?

I am alright with the state of it. Were we supposed to keep it underground and all to ourselves? I like seeing it on TV, I like seeing pros making a living off of their talent. I like it when I see Dads wearing skate shoes. I like having a magazine and a profession that supports me and my family after years of doing it for peanuts. I like seeing kids skating down the street where ever I go. As it gets more mainstream, I think you’ll see skaters getting a little more respect.

OK, I agree with that but you guys did go and leave TWS and (Correct me if I’m wrong) but one of the reasons was that the Corporation (Time) was having more influence than you guys wanted. The Mainstreaming can go too far, can’t it?

That’s their reality. They have to take care of their investment and stockholders. That’s the way a public business works. They are a big machine and a big machine is expensive to run. They have no choice in ads they run. Sure, we took a chance, but we could have easily bombed in the first few months. It’s not cheap doing a mag. Our print bill is 100 grand a month! We are paying our
bills, but we’re not living in mansions, I drive a 1991 Volvo wagon with 227,000 miles on it. What if the skate industry tanks tomorrow? It’s happened a couple of times before. The recession and the 1st Gulf War in the early 1990s took out 2000 magazines, that’s a lot of jobs gone.
Would we take hair care products if the skate industry couldn’t support us? Hope not. This is pretty much the only way I know how to make a living. I am proud of the way we are doing it, but what if we have to tweak it a little to stay in business? I don’t think I have to answer to anyone, I’ve put my time in. Paid my dues. How many people can say that they were involved in the industry side of skateboarding for 28 years?

Not many. It’s got to be pretty crazy seeing it progress from your vantage point for sure.
Who’s got next? I mean, can you shine a light on some new, maybe somewhat unknown skate photographers that you think have a shot at a legendary career.

Anthony Acosta, Matt Price, Adam Conway, Ian O’Connor. Keep watching these guys.

Gator at Baldy.

What’s the difference between shooting the Bones Brigade Chin Ramp and say, Gonz during the early nineties or Kerry Getz in this decade?

The photos are basically the same, back then, you could shoot just about anything and it could get in the mag. Now, it’s the Trick of the Week, acceptability of the trick is a bigger factor. Stuff gets old fast. It’s a One Up contest and now a video part can pretty much outdate a sequence in a mag. Timing in the mag is everything, gotta get it in the mag before it’s on video, TV or the Internet. Magazines are up against those other media sources now.

Bones Brigade, Chin Ramp.

What’s it like to shoot with someone like a Chris Miller or a Hosoi after all these years?

Miller is still one of my best friends and still skates better than guys in their teens and twenties. I am even shooting his kids now, weird. Hosoi and him are the Masters of Style and Flow. It’s not just about tricks, it’s about the Artform and how you look when doing it. They make skateboarding beautiful.

Chris Miller

Are there any guys in the last few years who you see as having that same flow. That make skateboarding an artform?

Wray, Trujillo, Jamie Thomas, Koston, Prod, Mumford, others I think those guys and others think of what they look like when they are skating. There are a bunch of guys throwing down hammers, but have butt ugly style. In the beginning, it was all about style.

Watson Fam.

Equipment? What are you using? For all those aspiring skate photographers.

Hasselblad 503CW and Hassy lenses for stills and Canon 1d and a Mark 2 for sequences. Quantum Q flashes for lighting and a whole bunch of other gear.

If you could pick one spot with three skaters. Where? and who would they be?

Sadlands with Blender, Gonz and Mountain.

Let me know when you shoot that. I’d buy some prints.
Thanks for this.

for more info about Mr Grant Brittain plase check out his site.