On a recent trip to Australia, we managed to get some time with the wave chasing Californian to find out his story — how he approaches the craft of photography and his experiences of working in a somewhat different ‘office’ to you and me.
Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Is this a statement that you agree with? Modern photography and the ever prevalent Instagram culture we live in today, could perhaps, muddy the water on this sentiment. We can’t help but pick up our phones, flip open a magazine or lift open our laptop and have our eyes instantly treated to gorgeous imagery and incredible photos.
It’s almost a given. And with that, everyone now is a “photographer”. Anyone can use the average smartphone and with little effort to create content, editing and adding filters quickly. The results speak for themselves, leaving us viewing a never-ending supply of these images as nothing short of engaging.
Does the beholder, therefore, have no choice but to see beauty?
But sometimes you see something that is just so unique, captivating or special that it stands out and Corey Wilson seems to provide that on the regular.
Surfing and photography have had a special relationship ever since the creation of water housings that meant cameras could be taken out into the surf itself. We can now see and experience this unique environment and pleasure up close, giving an audience who are perhaps even unfamiliar with the ocean itself, a front-row seat. Swimming out and garnering these moments is no easy feat though; it takes precision, skill and an exceptional level of dedication.
Corey Wilson is a professional photographer who has made capturing these moments his life’s work and passion. Regularly travelling the globe on photographic assignments all be it alongside friend and professional surfer Mick Fanning as his personal photographer has allowed Corey to display his incredible talent.
His photography brings an unreachable aquatic world before the viewer’s eyes and has no doubt boosted surfing to becoming a mainstream spectacle and lifestyle culture in its own right.
Getting to this position, though would make even the most average Instagrammer curious, and most certainly in awe. On a recent trip to Australia, we managed to get some time with the wave chasing Californian to find out his story — how he approaches the craft of photography and his experiences of working in a somewhat different ‘office’ to you and me.
When and how did Photography become a major part of your life?
Well, I grew up in Santa Cruz in Northern California, and it’s a fairly well known little beachside surf town. I remember my mom gave me a camera and I just loved taking photos, from my friends surfing, skating, even cars and automotive stuff in the beginning. Throughout high school it was the same, my friends and I would make weekend trips, and people would be asking,
“Is Corey coming? Is he bringing his camera!?
And I’d be there taking photos the whole time; I fell in love with it. I went on to study photography at a nearby Institute in Santa Barbara for three years, and that taught me everything from the ground up, that’s how it all started for me.
Photography is widely seen as an art form, do you see it that way and therefore yourself as an artist?
It depends. If you are working on personal projects and just for yourself then it’s more of an art form yes. Yet when you are working for a client, you have to work within guidelines, your creativity takes a backseat somewhat. That said, another photographer working under the same guidelines or stipulations as yourself will always produce something slightly different. So you could then say all photography is art. I think overall anytime you use creativity its art; it just depends on the degree of creativity involved.
Describe an average day of shooting for you…
I Get up and straight into a coffee; I love coffee! Get all my gear together for the shoot, most of the time its water/underwater equipment – this is what I enjoy the most. It’s quite rare that I’ll do any land-based photos. Depending on where I am, I’ll get either my wetsuit or board shorts, and also fins together.
I’ve worked with a few surfers, but Mick (Fanning) is the one I’ve done the most with. We’ll get in the car and start to bounce ideas off each other, what lenses to use, angles we might try and go for that day etc. If the day is good, we can sometimes spend up to 6 hours in the water, normally split up into 2 or 3 sessions. That evening we usually go back look over the photos and sort through them and edit. If it’s been a great day, we sometimes have beers, and it can sort of be a celebration
Oh yeah?
One of my favourite photos is of Joel Parkinson on the Gold Coast. The photo is of him at Snapper Rocks, in the barrel and hands behind his back and chest out. We literally took a look at that photo and celebrated so hard that night! We had a party for that one photograph.
Where is your favourite place to shoot?
Australia! Without a doubt. I feel like some of my favourite captured moments have been in Australia.
The Most Dramatic Place to Shoot?
Alaska, The place has so many moods! There are huge mountains everywhere, eagles soaring over your head, it’s just incredible.
The most dreamy or heavenly place on earth to shoot?
The Maldives for sure. The place is just so picturesque, everywhere you look is like a postcard
The least comfortable or safe location to shoot?
Ireland. I was shooting some really big waves that detonate onto this reef…..the whole thing was just so heavy, and I felt like I didn’t belong there at all. I usually work a lineup out, do my homework, but this one day it was just so big and dark. It was scary stuff for sure.
Swimming around in surf zones around the world must have its moments, has there been a time when you’ve thought, “I’m in danger here”?
There have been about three times where I’ve thought that before, along the lines of I should not be here right now. The scariest time though was just recently last year in July. I was at Teahupo’o in Tahiti and managed to give myself a concussion underwater, after being shaken around so hard. It was surreal as it made me forget the last two minutes of my life, completely. Another time some friends and I were at a big wave spot in Western Australia called the Box. A huge Great White shark cruised right through where we were. We just swam so hard for safety! That kind of thing just gives you the utmost respect for the ocean and keeps you in check.
What advice might you give to an aspiring photographer?
Create your own style, try to be different to anything else you see at the moment. Work very hard and be passionate; you should learn from every photo that you take. Also, ensure you surround yourself with good people, I’ve been lucky in that respect, and I believe it’s so so important.
You’re close friends with Mick Fanning and have photographed many of the world’s best surfers, in and out of the water. How do you approach the more candid and real-life shots?
Back in the day, I was all about the action of surfing, that’s what held me really in awe. As I learned, more I began to appreciate photojournalism, people shots and the capturing of surf culture. I’ve had the chance to capture some really cool ‘fly on the wall’ style photos where I am completely unintrusive to the scenario, and that’s it essentially, I try not to be there. Other times I’ll see an opportunity for something all of a sudden, randomly, like a window will be creating some really great light, and I’ll ask someone I’m with for a portrait in front of it.
What’s your favourite out of water shot you have taken?
It has to be of Owen Wright winning the 2017 Quicksilver Pro Gold Coast. The back story to this is that Owen had a horrible head injury in 2015 and had to sit out the entire 2016 competitive year. His injury meant he had to relearn how to do a lot of things, and it was touch and go for a while. This moment I captured of him, his wife Kita and baby Vali are on the stage in front of the crowd on the beach there, it was a really special moment.
What projects have you worked on that you are most proud of?
I’d always dreamt of making a book; I wanted to do it so bad. I’d been working with Mick for 4/5 years and had shots of him to form a book. I gave him a big journal and said write about anything, travel, health, surfing, just anything. So we put it together, and it turned out to be a 200-page coffee table style book, (Fanning by Corey Wilson) a real personal project. I think for me it’s the best project I’ve worked on and the one I’m most proud of.
I’ve always loved a brand called Corkcicle, they make reusable water bottles/coffee cups, and I use mine every day, I’m always trying to do my bit for the environment. A friend of mine put me in touch with the owner, and we went from there, ending up with a collaboration of three of my images. I love how they turned out and seeing my work in a different medium is really cool. I am looking to expand my work and my subject matter, surf photography will always be my passion, but collabs like this are exciting.
