RC caught up with Sydney based photographer Tristan Stefan Edouard to talk about his experiences as an artist and his new book ‘This Life’ to be released later this year.
What inspires the content of your work?
Music, documentaries, art. The list is endless, life around me inspires me.
You recently went on a trip to South Africa. Tell us a little bit about it.
I was over there for a wedding so decided to extend the trip and see the country. Went on safari, great white shark diving and all that good stuff. Easily one of the best places I’ve visited.
Earlier this year you got to photograph behind the scenes at Supafest. Did you get to talk to any of the rappers?
I got a chance to chat to most of them minus Busta Rhymes and Ciara. Busta was about 10ft, 200kg and always looked angry so I didn’t really want to approach him. They were all super nice though, Snoop was easily the funniest, clowning around blazed.
How did you initially get into photography?
I pretty much did alot of crazy shit as a teenager and carried a camera around from an early age to capture it all since none of my friends had one. After 6 years or so of using a point and shoot I had unknowingly trained myself in composition and a few other key skills of photography, so by the time I bought an SLR it all felt right and I never put it down.
You recently tweeted angrily about people who take photos at the Glebe tram sheds thinking that they specialise in ‘graffiti photography’. What do you think separates a professional photographer from being another dickhead with an SLR?
The line between both has been heavily blurred recently due to social media and the internet. People think that they can buy a camera and then start a Tumblr page and Facebook photography page and claim to be photographers all whilst still using Auto on their expensive SLR that their Mum bought them. I think ultimately it just all comes down to living off photography and getting paid for it, you might have a few thousand friends on your Facebook photography page and you might claim to do this and that, but when was the last time someone random contacted you and paid you a DECENT amount of $ to photograph them?
You’re soon to release a book titled ‘This Life’ which “spawned from an avid hate and disgust of the consumer driven and corporate saturated world that we all live in”. Tell us a little bit about it.
This Life is a book I’ve been working on for a few years with Ben Allen from www.thslfe.com. It’s a photographic book based around our lives and people and things that have inspired us. I’d call it a documentation of Australia youth culture involving the misfits and individuals who don’t follow the rules and do their own thing. Its one big mash up of rappers, writers, artists, graf, tats, girls, money, drugs, cars, long necks, hip hop, sneakers, abandos, partying, mayhem, skating, drinking, live shows etc. Kind of like an insiders view into a youth lifestyle that the average person doesn’t get to see. Some of our friends skate 24/7, some of our friends paint trains, some of our friends play sell out shows to thousands of people and some of our friends are drug addicts, we capture all this and more via photographs.
This Life….Coming in 2011 from Tristan Edouard on Vimeo.
Within your portfolio there is a lot of tattoo focused photography. Tell us about your own tattoos.
I lost count, there’s a few. I used to get them and they all had to have meaning, now I’m not too fussed.
You’ve photographed a lot of rappers from both the U.S. and Australia. If you could have a photo-shoot with any artist dead or alive who would it be?
Bob Marley/DMX/Marilyn Manson. If I had to chose one it would have to be Bob Marley.
In your bio it says that you strive to portray the “true nature” of your subjects. How do you go about doing so?
I’m still not sure about the exact process or how I do it. I guess its just the experience from directing people while taking photo’s, it just comes as second nature. I guess the first step is connecting with the person and being on the same vibe with them, couple that with the fact that I like realism and not corny bubble gum shit.
What are some upcoming photo-shoots on the calendar?
Well I just got offered a job as Stills Photographer on a new Australian film starring Ryan Kwanten from True Blood so most of August is dedicated to that. I’m also flying to Bangkok to do some shoots for an album cover and a clothing brand. Also shooting a new campaign for Hlfstr Clothing and a designing a shirt for the new Ones Clothing collection.
http://twitter.com/Tristan_Edouard
