INTERVIEW
Ryan Struck is one of my favorite photographers working today. He lives in Rockaway Beach and always manages to shoot it with such a fresh eye. As someone who has spent a lot of time there taking pictures, I’m always impressed with the way he captures it. So I was especially psyched to his newest project, a film all about the women surfers of Tofino, the little town in BC that’s getting a lot of buzz these days in the surf community. So I asked him to do this little Q&A. Follow him at @ryanstruck and enjoy!
H&E: First off, this film Tofino is a Place is beautiful. I’ve never been to Tofino but it looks incredible. For some reason, it’s been popping up on my radar a lot lately. Tell me a little bit about it.
RS: Tofino is a town set amid a beautiful backdrop of old-growth forest and vast Pacific views. Located on Vancouver Island, you can get there by plane via Vancouver Airport, or drive via ferry. Either way, you enjoy the food, the ocean, and friendly people.
H&E: How long did you spend there and when did you shoot the film?
RS: I'm just getting back from my fourth trip there. I shot the film 2 years ago, and we spent 2 weeks filming in town. This was a passion project of mine, and I fully self-funded the project. The crew flew themselves out on their own dime, and volunteered their time to help breathe life into this story.
H&E: The film focuses on the women’s surf scene in Tofino. I was wondering if the vibe in the water, and out, is different because of this strong female representation.
RS: The vibes in Tofino are certainly high.
The waves are really fun and everyone in my experience is friendly. I can't claim to know everything about the surf scene here, just what I've been able to take a glimpse at. Everywhere has it's nuances, but I do believe Tofino to be a lot more welcoming than other places I traveled to surf and shoot.
H&E: Tell me about the process of switching between still photography and video. Do you find it difficult or easy?
RS: The process of stills and video can be tricky, however, it has been a catalyst to furthering my learning of the visual medium. In photo, it's very much about the person pressing the button, but in film it's such a team effort that everyone deserves credit for their effort and help. This film wouldn't be half as good without the generous contributions of the crew and cast.
In ways of creativity, stills and motion differ so widely. It used to be difficult for me to split my brain into thinking about them, but I've learned that I don't have to think so singularly about each, they both play off of each other and can inspire their counterpart.
I will say it is nice to have dedicated stills days, and dedicated motion days, as then you can fully exceed your own exceptions in each discipline.
If I am the one shooting both stills and video I can easily flip back and forth, part of that has been accepting what I've captured is enough, and allowing myself to move on.
H&E: Can you tell me some technical details too? What equipment did you use to shoot?
RS: Tofino is a Place was shot on 4 different cameras. The bulk of it was on the Arri Alexa Mini, which has become one of my favorite cinema cameras to work with. Drone footage was captured with the DJI Mavic Pro, the Sony a7r 2 for some of the contest footage on land, and then the Canon 5d mk3 hacked to shoot RAW video for all of the underwater footage. It was a lot, we had 8TB of footage, lucky the editors matched clips well, and the colorist Mike Howell made everything sing in the final grade.
H&E: What’s your edit method for a film like this? Do you have a strong idea of how the film will look and feel before you start shooting?
RS: So this is where I'd say I probably learned the most. I knew that the story I wanted to tell was about the women's community in Tofino, and the unifying factor was love for the region and connection to the ocean. We filmed with four incredible women, Krissy, Jess, Lisa, and Sophie who are all amazing in their own right. Jess is a conservationist who works to monitor salmon stocks and preserve their natural habitat through restoration and education. Lisa is a jeweler who makes beautiful work inspired by the surrounding region and her connection to the ocean. Sophie started the first choir in Tofino and has made original and touching music for Tofino.
They all have worthy and empowering stories, but ultimately the editors and myself decided that the strongest story I captured was about Krissy and the women's surf community. I was bummed that I couldn't weave all 4 stories together without having to come back and film more. This film evolved in ways I didn't foresee, but I'm grateful for the lessons I learned in the process.
H&E: You’re also my favorite chroniclers of Rockaway Beach and recently you launched Rockaway’s Trash, can you tell me about this project and your passion for Rockaway in general.
RS: Trash Cans of Rockaway was born from my curiosity of the garbage problem in town.
The first time I ever went I was living in Brooklyn at the time, and really though the beaches were gross. There was trash everywhere, it was a mess.
I've since moved to Rockaway and trained my lens on the trash cans as a way of highlighting the need for better trash receptacles. Sure I could show overflowing cans, and birds eating the junk, but I decided that photographing the bins in pretty light was an easier way for people to see this problem. Making interesting images out of something instead of gawking and shaming the problem is my solution to drawing attention to the problem.
H&E: Finally, I know you have a lot of projects going on. Is there anything else you're working on that you want to share or can tell us about?
RS: I just went to Hawaii to film an underwater video about a spearfisherman for Ryan B of GREATS and a collaboration he did with TIMEX. That will be dropped at ComplexCon in November so be on the lookout!
(Photos courtesy of Ryan Struck)
LINKS
Boats, Baobabs And Beachcombing: An Off-Road Expedition Through Untouched Madagascar (Suitcase)
Vacation is a poor substitute for leisure (QZ)
Beautifully-written profile of a really amazing photographer: A Photographer at the Ends of the Earth (New Yorker)
Why everything is getting louder (The Atlantic)
Dispatch: Brooklyn Botanic Garden. (The Hand & Eye)
LISTEN
Well here’s a weird one I made for you, a Fake Wes Anderson Movie Soundtrack. What other songs should I add to it? The only rule: The song can’t be in another Wes Anderson film.
ON YOUR RADAR
Brooklyn-based eyewear brand Lowercase just launched a bonkers collab with Brooklyn Museum. I love these shades. The really flash what Lowercase is capable of. If I had a brand right now, I’d be dialing up Lowercase to launch a collaboration pronto!
Also, you can see our studio visit to the Lowercase shop here, and all our studio visits here.
That’s it!
John
P.S. A huge thank you to our new subscribers! You can support the Hand & Eye as well with a monthly $5 subscription (That’s as low as Substack lets me go). It helps keep the servers on!