Mike O’Meally Far From Home
July 09, 2008 @ 7:37 AM
We told you about this photo exhibition of Australian Mike O’Meally (staff photographer for Transworld mag) was having in New York City at Dactyl Gallery, a few days ago. He was kind enough to show us what the show was about, so we just chatted for a minute to learn about Mike’s views on photography in these times of digital filming.
When and how did you pick up a camera? Was it linked to skateboarding already?
I first picked up a camera when I was about 16, to shoot my friends skating on a trip to Melbourne, the photos were terrible, blurry - I had no idea what I was doing - but I didn’t really care - it was just for fun and to document our little trip. I first really got into it when I started college after high school, and again it was skate photos I wanted to take. By that stage I was really inspired by all the photos in US skate mags and I thought that it was something I wanted to do. Fortunately I was friend with some of the better skaters in Australia at the time, so it was a big help when it came to learning how to do it and having good tricks to shoot. When I got my first photo published, I was hooked!
Where did you grow up, describe it for people that wouldn’t know about Australia, and therefore about that area…
I grew up in Sydney, Australia in the suburbs not far from the main city centre. It’s a really beautiful city on the water. It has lots of stuff to skate and there are some good skateparks too, besides a little bit of security guards hassles. Sydney is pretty much a paradise, for skaters and to live in general. We are really lucky in Australia. People love the beach and going to the pub. Surfing is very popular and so is skateboarding, but not as much as surfing…
How did you evolve with your photography to a point where you thought, “I’m going to be doing this”?
Well, I guess after I started sending a lot of photos into Slam magazine in Australia, and started traveling to other cities, that’s when I thought that I really enjoyed it and I wanted to keep doing it. It never felt like a job, but it was something that I felt really dedicated to, and motivated to do as much as I could. When I started getting a few covers back to back, it was a lucky time where there weren’t too many other guys shooting in Australia, so it was an empty canvas for me in a lot of ways.
How does one leave Oz to reach for the world?
Not without sitting on an airplane for a really long time!
Give us a quick recap of your career in skateboarding?
I started out shooting for Slam magazine in Australia in 1992 mostly working with Andrew Currie who was the editor as well as a pro skater. Then, in 1998, I moved to New York. Lance Dawes asked me if I would like to work for Slap, and of course I said “yes”! I worked for Slap and a little bit for Thrasher until about 2000, then [Aaron] Meza was looking for some new heads at Skateboarder magazine, and so it was time for a new page. Those were some of my favorite years in skateboarding, interesting tours, clever articles and inspiring people to work with. Then, in 2004, Skin [Phillips] was rigging up a new staff for TWS after the Skateboard Mag had started, so it was off to work for Transworld, where I still am today. I am lucky that I have had the chance to work with some really talented people at all the different mags over the years. It’s been a great experience, for sure.
We talked about this recently, and, to me, you seem to be one of the last one actually pushing “real life” pictures in media that are now flooded with “Promo Pics”, what’s the point for you?
Well, there is no exact “point” as such; it’s just that I seem to get a really satisfying feeling from capturing something that is as close to being “really there” as possible. That has always been a big thing for me. I think I am really influenced by the classic photographers, like Cartier-Bresson, Robert Frank, and many others. It’s just that skateboarding is already such a magical activity, I feel strongly that there’s a certain sense of duty to portray that truthfully to whoever is looking at the photos. And sometimes that means not altering things or exaggerating them, just observing them and finding the magic in the simplest of things. It’s hard, I even find myself overlooking the most basic things, but I still believe a great photo is a simple thing by nature. It doesn’t need to be complicated to be excellent. Real life is always far more exciting and complicated than any photo could ever be, so I try to be mindful of that.
Would you say, for that matter, there is a bigger influence from non skateboarding related photographers?
Yes, definitely, the small amount of time that I spent at college, I was deeply interested in photographers like Dianne Arbus, and then later all the Magnum photographers, like the ones I mentioned above, as well as many others – Avedon, Peter Beard etc, etc. As I got more interested I tried to read as many books as I could - and I like buying good photo books of the photographers I like, so I am sure all of that has been a big influence on me. I was also really into the photos of Dan Sturt, Gabe Morford and Tobin Yelland, those were three of my favorites when I was starting out.
Actually, nowadays what do you look for in terms of inspiration?
I am still inspired by those types of photographers, it seems like there was a certain golden age of photography, before the internet and digital and all that kind of stuff, where a good photo just held so much more weight and had more impact. I think I still look to that time for inspiration. I see certain things I like now, but it’s different. It’s inspiring to see young photographers coming into the skate world that want to shoot film. I think it must be so tough for them to be faced with the choice – whereas before there was NO choice, and I find it inspiring that people would choose the difficult and more expensive alternative.
How did that New York exhibition came about?
The New York Show came about through Jason Dill. He is friend with the owner of the gallery, and he helps curate a few shows there. He asked me last year when we were on tour in Texas, and I was stoked, but I thought it seemed like ages away as he said “next year”. Then, in January, in Australia, we were in a bar and he handed me a piece of paper with the dates written on it, and it was soon!! Then, it was just a matter of chiseling down a lot of photos into a group that worked well together, as well as fitting in New York and filling out the space nicely. It wasn’t easy but it was a good challenge.
Shout-outs, words of wisdom?
Thanks to Dill for asking me to have the show at Dactyl, thanks to Reese Forbes and Natas and everyone at Quiksilver for being so generous and helping with everything. Al Boglio for flying over from France and helping to hang the show, and to my wife Laura for being so supportive and understanding while I was being hectic! Words of knowledge – just do what you love, put some love into your work, and it will show – people can sense at the end of the day who is for real and who is trying to sell bullshit. A good friend once told me “it’s not about being the best, it’s about giving the best of yourself!” It’s the right attitude that will never get out dated.
