Ishod Wair: Photographer
When it comes to someone like Ishod Wair, you know they’re not going to tread lightly when picking up a new passion.
Over the past year, 2013’s Skater of the Year picked up a camera - well, multiple - and brought them along with him for every moment, creating an eclectic collection of photographs all shot on film that gives a direct insight into his life, from photos of the streets of Milan and Tokyo to parties in Los Angeles to the behind-the-scenes of skate sessions to candied moments of his friends and family.
The year’s worth of photographs all came together and were exhibited in his debut photo show, A Year Thru the Lens at Fice Gallery in Salt Lake City on the 29th of December. In a complete showcase of the year that he credits as the year he fell in love with photography.
Congrats on the show! How did it all go?
It was sick, a lot of people came out. It was at Fice Gallery, which the homie Corey owns. When I started shooting photos, I would show Corey some of mine and he was like ‘Dude I am down to have a photo show at my place, people would love these photos’. He has hosted a bunch of shows and is a part of the Utah Art City Walk and the Utah Art Museum Community. So it was good to be able to have it in a space like that. It came together really well. A lot of skateboarders, snowboarders, photographers, friends and people from the Utah art scene showed up. It was completely packed out, it was sick.
How did you feel having everyone there to look at your photos?
It was sick, it was a blessing. One of my friends wanted to try to get sponsors for it, but that wasn't something I wanted to do. I wanted to do this because I love photography. I didn't want to have anything attached to it. I wanted to do it for the love and not have an external party put their name on their flyer, want something to be a certain way, have content to come out around it or be obligated to do anything. I just wanted to do it for me because it’s something I wanted to do in my heart. I also wanted to get it out of the way because I feel like a lot of people don’t have a photo show for years and years, and then when they do they have 10,000 photos to go through. It's a pain in the ass because they don’t know what to use. It also is a testament to the past year of shooting. I had more photos that I wanted to show but the wall space was limited, some earlier photos that I didn't really like, but I wanted to show the progression from the year.
What cameras have been shooting with?
At the start, I would shoot with my Olympus Stylus, which is a good camera, but when you blow it up, it isn't as sharp as you think. That’s what made me want to start with M-Mount because I have a bunch of Nikon glass and I have always liked the Konica Hexar RF. It is like a Contax G2 and a Leica M6 combined because it has a shutter speed of 4000 and has auto exposure lock. The camera is a fraction of the price of a Leica M6, it is easier to load, it is self-winding so you can continuously shoot, it’s a beautiful camera and it is niche. I’m sure I would like to have a Leica M6, maybe I will get one at some point but I kind of lean more towards the cameras that aren’t super popular and that people don’t know about. That's why I also have a Minolta TC-1 instead of a Contax T3.
The exhibition is a collection of photos from the past year, was it only last year that you started taking photos?
It’s only been last year that I have learnt how to use an analogue camera. I had cameras years ago; I had a Polaroid that I would use a lot. I like the idea of trying to create memories, but I never took the time to try and learn how all the settings work, that came last year. I’ve had an interest in it for a big portion of my life. I am around photographers a lot with skateboarding, so I would ask hella questions. When I took it into my hands, everything made sense quickly because I’ve asked so many questions for years.
Creating memories that are analogue is the best because like when I grew up there were always printed photos of my mom and grandma that I could go and look at. Now, everything is so digital, there are so many phones that I had when I was younger that I broke and lost years of photos. Thinking back to that and how technology is ever changing there is going to be a point where I am fifty years old and all the devices and hard drives these photos are on will be obsolete. I would rather have a physical copy of these moments rather than them being lost and I need to hire a code cracker to get the photos out [laughs].
Man for sure, I feel the same way. I have been shooting photos on film for the past six years and I only started collecting my negatives this year. I realised that if my hard drive dies I’ll lose everything.
Yeah, that’s why I like Polaroids too, because I instantly have a copy. I have disposables too from ten years ago when I first started going on Fourstar trips and back in Jersey. I never developed those rolls until now; all the photos are blue.
Any photo that I have ever taken on film, I have the negatives. I remember when I was younger someone was like to me if you shoot film, never get rid of the negatives. Even if people don’t think I’m paying attention, I am always paying attention to any good advice I’m getting given.
You’re at this point where you’ve been skateboarding as a career for over 15 years, how does it feel having a new creative outlet?
It’s fun, it is just really fun. It is also the memories thing. Since I travel around so much too, I am organically in places where I can capture these moments. It’s an age-old thing where skateboarders have been photographers because they travel so much and don't follow the most travelled path. I’m glad that people are taking delight in that I am down for photography as well. When I get old, I can look back and be like that was cool, I remember that [laughs].
Do you wish that you had been shooting this much your whole life?
Yes and no. I feel like I am where I am supposed to be and can’t really force the process. Even if I had learnt how to use a camera earlier, I don’t think I would’ve been as inspired because of how everything went. Recently I have been travelling a lot doing things outside of skating, like fashion stuff and going to shows. I wasn't just in a skate van; so I would have time to walk around a city and just vibe without a plan and it’s easier to shoot photos that way. It was organic and I feel like the passion came at a time that it needed to. This is also all I've got, I don't know a different reality than this. All I can say is it makes me happy, and I'm stoked.
For sure, something I thought was funny is on the post for your photo show some guy commented “Bro just keep skating”. It’s always so funny to me when I see stuff like that because it’s as if you can’t do both. How do you feel when you post some photos of your modelling or your photos and that’s the response?
Yeah, people are just closed-minded and very naive. They just don’t know what’s popping. It’s like skateboarding doesn’t last forever. It’s like can't I try to better myself outside of skateboarding? There is the whole beginning of my life, even most of my twenties where I didn't bat an eye at anything that wasn't skating. I had an interest in photography, but I was so into skateboarding that I never gave it a real shot because it was too much bringing cameras around while I needed to bring all these clothes, because I sweat so much and six boards. People say that stuff all the time especially with Instagram being so direct to consumer now, it is like if you want to see your favourite skater, skate you just go to their Instagram and see a new clip. When they get the lollipop taken from them they get all upset like a baby, [laughs].
Yeah, do you feel like there’s some preconceived idea that as a pro skater, you must be all in with skateboarding or you’re blowing it?
Yeah, it’s the same thing but shoutout to those people because they are the ones that fuck with me and let me do what I love to do, skateboard and pursue my other interests. Even if they don’t agree with it, they’re helping me do it. What all those people don't realise is that as much as they want to see me skate, I want to skate twenty times more. They don’t see a fraction of what I do. I went to the skatepark yesterday and posted one tre flip but I did at least a hundred and fifty tricks. I just try not to think too much about it. I’m not done skating; you’re going to see it.
Yeah, that is so true. Your photography mostly consists of portraits and lifestyle shots. Could you ever see yourself making the move into shooting skate photos?
I don’t know. If the photo makes sense I would. I like taking photos of the photographers and videographers I know who are normally behind the lens and are never depicted in front of it. I like shooting photos of them doing their shit. There’s a photo of my friend Braden [Gonzales] filming Yuto [Horigome], that's what I think is cool. It is also such a big part of my life, I think a lot of skateboarders become skate photographers but I don't have too much interest in it. I want to do something that is more art-based too.
Yeah, that’s how I feel too about it. I like the idea of capturing the behind-the-scenes of the session more than the trick.
Yeah, exactly.
It’s been a year of you shooting photos, you just had the photo show, what's your plan for the next year?
Keep travelling and shooting, keep skating, keep having moments and creating memories. I have a condo here in LA that I want to turn into a creative space with a darkroom and a backdrop. I also want to learn how to darkroom print too, I have all these photos of my friends, of my mom and my family. It would be so cool to make a print of a photo and give it to someone as a gift. I am sharpening a craft while also making connections with the people I care about. I want to create that space, bring creative people together and cultivate ideas with like-minded people.