Interview Elliott Gooding, Photographer Surf from Coalcliff

Elliot est un photographe/rider qui nous vient du New SOuth Wales!il nous donne sa vision de la photographie aquatique à travers une interview exclusive!

Where do you come from ?

I was born in Sydney, New south Wales, and have lived around that area till the year 2000, when i moved to coalcliff.

Could you describe you in few lines?

I like to think of myself as a positive minded sort of person, not too stressed out about it all, i have my moments though, as we all do.

Where do you live? Is it cool ?And Why it is cool?

I currently reside in Coalcliff, A little town in the northern illawarra, South coast, New South wales. Home to amazing waves, really cool, chilled out people, and really good vibes. Everyone is nice, its not hard to find good waves when there is swell, not too far away from Sydney or Wollongong, its just a really nice place to live.

Could you tell me when and how did you get the urge to make pics? I find yours pics really beautiful.

My mum was my first real influence around photography, she was a photo-journalist for 20 years or so, so her works are scattered all around the house. I got my first camera when i was about 11, and it was this pre-waterproofed video camera. It was terrible quality and the footage was pretty much junk, it got me so stoked though, having all the visions that i had seen in the day at my fingertips, being able to actually have evidence that, "I got a heaps long barrel" or "I did a huge roll" etc. etc. This video work continued until i was about 15 or so, when i got my first DSLR, a canon 20d, which was also pretty terrible. It got me started on still photography though, and the evolution of my photography started then, its just been a gradual learning curve.
I'm now using a canon 40d body, a tokina 10-17mm fisheye, a canon 50mm 1.4, Aquatech Housing, and a canon 75-300mm lenses.

You took the course or is a natural gift?Your influences in this area?

I havent really taken any time to get any qualifications around photography, so i guess you could put it into the category of natural gift. As i said above, my mum was the first real influence, but as i got more involved in the photographic community, a few artists really started to have an influence on me. I see Ray Collins, Jem Creswell, Trent Mitchell and the god-father of photography, Phil Gallagher as my central influences, the way that they manage to capture the moment in such clarity, and the way they can manipulate light to create their images is mind-blowing to me.

Happens to you there to exchange ideas with other photographers? And if so, which ones?

I have a few close friends that i talk to heaps about photography, every little detail is discussed and i find this really helpful, because you can get experiences from others and figure out what is best for the best capture of images. Also gets a bit of a competitive edge involved, which is always good, because you are always wanting to get the better image.
If you want to see some of their work, go to these pages:
Sam Venn Photography http://www.facebook.com/pages/Sam-Venn-Photography/311302692214440
Matt Viesis Photography
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Matt-Viesis-Photography/267181873334423

SHOW THEM SOME LOVE!

You started directly from the photo action / sport?
What inspires you most?

Being able to capture "that moment" is one of the most important things in photography, in my mind. I suppose that what inspires me to do what i do, being able to look back and see what each wave was like.

Is there a cliché especially important in your eyes, an image that symbolizes more than it is? Or all your photos they all convey a story in their own way?

I would like to think every image i have captures a little story, but i guess this depends on individual appeal. For me it symbolises a whole adventure that i had up to that point, how we got there, how many hilarious road trips we had, the paddle out, the beat downs, every little detail gets brought back to mind, which i think is amazingly cool.

This job requires a lot of implications, dedication and sometimes sacrifices, what advice would you give to someone who wants to follow in your footsteps?

Work hard, shoot heaps and know your gear and level of experience. I have had way too many sessions blown because of mistakes, i suppose thats good though. Keep learning and you will have success, thats the main idea.

One or more anecdote (s) on the joys and dangers of life as a photographer of surf?

I usually have fun in the surf no matter what, taking pictures is just a really good way to capture all the action and look back upon it. Although there are a few inherent dangers if your shooting in the water, not so much with land, Ie: Sharks, flooded cameras (of which i have experienced once), beatings and near drownings trying to get the image, all that sort of stuff.

Do you have a website where we ca see your pics ?

www.elliottgooding.blogspot.com is the home of my images at the moment. Its nothing too special, but at least my images can be publicly seen.

A last word ?

Just like to thank you for this opportunity, and also anyone that has supported me along the way.
Cheers
Elliott

You are welcome!