Interview and intro by Morgan Campbell
Photos by Steve
Australia with an eye that blends instinct, grit, and cinematic timing. Coming up through the 80s and 90s and into the 2000s he shot the culture from the inside – first as a skater, then as a photographer whose film and early-digital work helped define the visual memory of multiple eras. With film photography back in full swing and his archive revealing layers that feel more relevant than ever, we sat down with Steve to talk about process, experimentation, evolution, and what it means to revisit images that shaped a generation.
How did skateboarding first show up in your life?
My first memory was our next door neighbours, two tall super skinny guys with red decent afros, quirky units. I think their dad’s name was Wolf. They had a clear red fibreglass board that matched their hair. Ahead of the fashion game.
It was summer 1980 and they were skating after school laughing and having so much fun. My sister and I ended up buying a plastic Mustang each. We had no idea what we were doing. I’m sure there were nicer oak wooden boards out there, but we just bought the first cheap ones we could afford mowing lawns etc.
Alex Campbell - Nosebonk - Melbourne 2006
What was your hometown and life like back then?
I grew up in Brighton, South Australia. It’s a small coastal suburb of Adelaide – a quiet city, west-facing, so every night you’d get ridiculous sunsets even in winter at the beach. Very similar vibe to Perth WA, mostly calm, good times. Adelaide’s slogan is “driest city in the driest state on the driest continent on earth”. A few years ago it got to 55 degrees C (131 F). Hot AF.
I was a skinny chicken-legged kid, still am. Minimal street smarts but I learnt pretty fast at school. One of my mate’s dad was a bikie, they were rough but good people… well up until Frank slashed my forehead with a razor blade one day “for a larf”. Nothing like a bit of trauma to send you off searching for a new tangent.
In high school my attendance was particularly terrible because there was a 10ft concrete drain [Sturt Creek] behind the school, so I spent a lot of time there skating with the older crew, learning and watching how to skate by the best Adelaide skaters.
Shane O'Neill - Kickflip Crook - Woollongong 2007
When did you first see someone shooting proper skate photos?
Grantly Trenwith was shooting for Slam in the late 80s/early 90s in Adelaide. He was in the band scene and right into it. He shot album covers of local bands and hand printed all his black and white stuff. When I was just of age, we’d go out with these older legends on weekends – watch bands, shoot photos, get into our work, go deep.
What media shaped your early skate world?
Magazines were our only way to see what was going on. My first one was a Skateboarder mag with Brad Bowman on the cover that I found at the newsagent, I think that was 1979. Every day I’d rush home from school and just stare at it, take it in, try to work out what the hell was going on. It was like the aliens had landed and sent me a visual gift.
As time went on the only way myself or my mates could get regular mags was through postal subscriptions to Thrasher, and TWS [Transworld Skateboarding] and hope they turned up. This was standard for us all in Oz and NZ. Sometimes someone would score a Skateboard! mag from England which we froffed on. The UK was good as they made their own scene also, no fucks given.
Andrew Currie - The Pot Hole, Gheehi Dam - 2002
Who were your main skate influences and mentors early on?
I guess the mags influenced us all at the time and so did VHS videos, so for me personally, seeing Lance, Neil, Cab, Grosso and Chris Millar just looked the goods to me. I used to think how do you make a physical fluid motion look so good in a still photo? I eventually realised It was exceptional photography.
And in the late 80s photographers like Warren Bolster and Glen E. Friedman. I interviewed Friedman once, he was hard work but a photographer at the right time that recorded some incredible images.
Then as I got into TWS and Thrasher, Grant Brittain, Dave Swift, MoFo, Vuckovich, O’ and Kevin Thatcher definitely influenced me as I delved deeper into photography. At this time punk music was introduced to me by a great friend which was instrumental as I realised music is number one in the ‘first-aid kit’ for life.
Jake Duncombe - Kickflip - M1 Freway Melbourne
How did you come across camera gear?
Late 80s I was earning $99AUD a week as an apprentice plumber so I’d save for months. I had no idea what to buy. There was no buying new, just hunting second-hand shops in Adelaide with Grantly Trenwith. He’d suggest lenses. Inferior gear wasn’t an option for him, but I had to buy some crap to start with.
After using my old man's Minolta, my first camera was a Canon T70 – proper piece of shit show in a black box. Probably Canon’s worst design. I think Grantly was disgusted! It wasn’t long before I realised the Canon T90 was their flagship camera (predecessor of the EOS series). That was a beautiful piece of design, fitted the hand beautifully, a tough camera and had one of the first largeish viewfinders compared to normal old SLRs. Prime lenses like the FD 15mm fisheye were off the books for a couple of years.
Chima Ferguson - Bs Flip - Canberra 2008
You were showing up in mags as a skateboarder in the early days so how did you end up behind the lens?
I was already shooting with the crew in Adelaide but packing up and moving to Melbourne probably got the ball rolling. Adelaide was an epic city but I think we were all searching for something our home city couldn’t provide, which was vert, parks, good street spots and an industry. Meeting crew like Jason Ellis and Gary Valentine. In 1990 they sat myself and Byron Convey down over a couple beers and a steak and said they’re going to the US and Europe and did we want to come. Byron and I hatched a plan, he’d go with Jase to the US and skate with Jeff Kendall and the boys at San Hose warehouse and I’d follow Gaz through Europe on his H-Street Pro model tour then all meet back up in LA. Through Gary, I met Lance and Tony Hawk and Ray Underhill in Europe.
Gary - being great mates with Lance - decided it would be fun to follow the Powell tour through England, Wales and Scotland and skate with them. So we hired a car and “gave it some serious what for” all the way to Edinburgh via Wales. I got pulled over for speeding and cutting a corner almost on two wheels late one night as I took a wrong turn, somehow we managed to ‘Aussie’ the copper, he loved us and he let me off with the fines.
After the UK leg we did a few comps in Europe then ended up staying in Bourges, France at the Skate Camp in Summer for a month or so skating everyday with Lance, GV and Ray. I had a camera with me at the time so I’d shoot the odd shot with Lance, GV and Ray. Disaster happened one arvo when I rolled my ankle horrifically and tore my Achilles off the bone.
When we got two the US I met back up with Byron and we stayed at Lances for a few months skating every day with him and all the crew, it was insane. I think coupled with the injury and not really being a confident human I figured quite quickly I’d be better at pursuing photography. My passion to skate did not stop though. My intrigue with photography was equal to my passion to skate. When I returned home I went back to plumbing for a couple years to get some coin in search of the Canon T-90 and the FD 15mm fisheye, 50mm and 24mm, but more importantly to travel more and skate.
Jack Crook - Varial Heelflip - Torquay 2008
So did commercial photography inspire your Hasselblad era? And what is your favourite Hasselblad photo?
Well pre that era I actually got into that format from a mate of mine who was the Editor at Slam magazine at the time, Dave Adair. I was shooting a Bronica ETRS at that time. He was shooting fashion with Blads way before any of us were using them as skate cameras. He graciously offered to send his Hasselblad 501cm by post to me. I couldn’t believe it turned up safe in one piece! Anyway, I ran some film through it then was hooked on the 6x6 format, the clarity of the lenses were insane. I sent it back to Dave then bought my own. Andrew Mapstone bought one around the same time I did so we used to chat about the 30mm fisheye a lot. It was a big change from 35mm so it took us a while to get our heads around it, but once we did, man the images are one of a kind.
Image wise, there’s so many I’ve really enjoyed shooting but too hard to just pin one down. Personally I think it's about that bloody moment, who you're with and what's going on, so pretty much all of them are my favourite. Skaters' personalities make the shot.
Blads are a joy to use. That shutter sound is amazing to a fair loopy human like myself. When you hit that shutter button, it’s soft at first then has a solid crack as the curtain closes, wonderful engineering. Even peeling off paper as you open the 120 roll then loading film was a joy to me.
Joe Pease - Kickflip 5050 - Melbourne 2007
Are there any other cameras or techniques you felt strongly about – good or otherwise?
I guess the early 2000s I knew I had to evolve to the Canon EOS 1D digy series, you could shoot 10 frames per sec and still use the same lenses you could use on film old EOS cameras. Which was epic because Nikon and other brands decided not to do that.
Previously I’d shoot film sequences on the Canon EOS 1nRS which could shoot 10 frames a second. You could only really shoot two sequences on a roll of 36 frames. I’d be throwing rolls over my shoulder and loading as fast as I could chucking film everywhere. In fact, when I first got the Canon digi body I was shooting with Spencer Eagles and he was trying to nollie flip a massive garden gap and taking his sweet bloody time, he thought I was shooting film. Every time he didn’t land the trick I’d grab a roll of dud exposed film out of my bag and throw it at him. Sure enough he freaked out that he was wasting film and got the trick in three more goes.
As far as formats go the Hasselblad panoramic camera was a whole other cinematic beast that opened my mind to possibilities. I love half frames, 5x4, I love film.
Andrew Brophy - Fs Bluntslide - Melbourne 2007
There was a Globe/Hardcore era that saw you juggling photography, team management and building World Cup Skateboarding courses. What was that like?
Building those first few GWC courses with Chad Ford was incredible. Thanks to GLB we had decent budgets to build incredible events and take them on epic trips.
Chad brought two of his Sydney crew down and I assembled an awesome crew of local Melbourne skaters/tradies that helped us build at an offsite warehouse. It was hectic. Then we’d transport all the ramps and obstacles via 14 semi trailer trucks in the cover of darkness. The gang followed us in and we’d screw it all together the night before the event, forklifts and trucks everywhere, no sleep just charging on. The pros would literally walk in to warm up around 10am the next morning and we’d walk out feeling like zombies but chuffed seeing the guys and gals rip it in front of 16,000 fans. Pre and post event there’d be other parties and events that Globe would put on. Those were hectic but fun.
There was travel to Asia and Europe with the Oz team and we’d frequently meet up with the US team and get up to mischief. We always prided ourselves on coming home with bags of film and multiple packed SD cards ready to send to the print mags and websites. Globe were amazing to work for, if I came back with an article for a mag or a couple, it was jobs right cob and we’d be back again next year.
As TM, it was definitely tiring looking after everyone and keeping them fed, watered and happy. But never hard when you’re combining your passion for skateboarding, photography and travel.
Spencer Eagle - Bs Flip - Cheltenham 2004
How do you feel about the current media landscape?
I like the instant access, it's brilliant, you can choose your interest instantly. Although I miss print. I miss picking up a mag like back in the day and not knowing if you’ve got a shot in it and also seeing your mates travels and images. The struggle is real with social though, not just kids but adults too. Heads down, nose in their phones walking across a street. I guess they don’t care if an awesome bird just flew by. Showing my age huh!
Renton Millar - Bs Ollie - Prahran 2006
What are you working on now with photography, your archive or other interests?
I’ve always loved camping and fishing, just getting away – now that’s my main thing that helps my brain. Remote missions, battling the elements, fishing solo. Quiet weekdays are ideal for me as I can get away from my work; weekends get rowdy, too much head noise. Bush therapy resets my brain so I can come home to my family life and re-set ready for work.
Archives, I am definitely spending more time at the light box and delving into hard drives. I had a pretty bad experience around 15 years ago where I lost hundreds and hundreds of scans and digy images/sequences off a hard drive. Luckily I’ve had some epic crew invest and help me retrieve some of them.
With regards to my future, I’m gathering thoughts around how to wrangle what I have in the archive and what yarns need to be told. It’s definitely a great experience looking back through sheets of transparencies/negs and holding a physical image. I also love looking at a screen of pixels. It can be intense too. There are so many stories attached to every image. The plan is to do a book with real yarns, not hold back just tell it how it was in my era and how I feel now about being positive again.
Sammy Winter - Bs Smith - Port Melbourne 2009
Any advice to a young version of you picking up a film camera today or any camera for that matter?
Film is fun, it's a journey that takes time to work out. Look at how light falls on everything, shadows and reflections. Surround yourself with passionate people who can teach you and who care about the medium. Patience is the key to success.
Morgan Campbell - Fs Ollie - Frankston Freeway Melbourne 2009
Who are your top 3 Photographers?
Can I have 10??
- Man Ray
- Michael Warren Laurence O’Meally the 3rd
- Sem Rubio
- Brian Gaberman
- Dave Chami
- Dave Adair
- David Read
- Lance Dawes
- Kevin Metallier
- Atiba Jefferson
Thanks must go to Grant Brittain and Dave Swift for offering some good advice to get my shit together in the mid 90’s and start shooting street.
Published in North 45