Interview with Atiba Jefferson
There’s a certain kind of alchemy needed to turn a passion into a career and an irrepressible urge that is required to constantly evolve.
Atiba Jefferson found that alchemy, and turned a love for skateboarding and photography into a life that has seen him become one of the worlds leading photographers in the skate industry. He has worked with some of the worlds top identities in skate, music, sport and pop culture, shooting the likes of Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant, Yao Ming, Allen Iverson, Kanye West, Ice Cube, Lil Wayne, Andrew Reynolds, Tony Hawk and more.
We spoke to Jefferson while he visited Australia for Oakley in Residence: Sydney, about his love for photography, skateboarding and music; his evolution; and how he felt when Reynolds landed that iconic shot.
fluoro. So you’re here for Oakley in Residence: Sydney, what made you get involved in the Sydney component?
Atiba Jefferson. I had done Los Angeles Oakley in Residence and you know they just asked me to be a part of it, and it was great because I worked on the Latch – creating that with Eric Koston and Sean Malto – that had just launched so it was really nice to be able to come out here and do the creative workshop and talk about working on that and how we all made it come together.
Then being able to teach the workshop out here in photography and just kind of do all the things that we could do for in residence. It’s a great opportunity for kids to go and be creative, and give back and inspire kids. When I do that I inspire myself, so it’s really an awesome thing.
f. How was it working with Andrew Peters and Mike O’Meally on the curation of Destination Sydney?
AJ. It was great. Working with Andrew and Mike has been awesome. I’ve been a huge fan of Mike O’Meally from even before I had been to California. I was aware of his photography, shooting for Transworld and Andrew is a new generation and I love seeing that. I love seeing a progression of photography and being able to work on something in another city and have a body of work that can sit with those guys is awesome.
For me, it’s easy to do this in LA, but not in Sydney. I guess that shows how much I love Sydney and how many times I’ve been to this city. I was able to show photos from ’99 onwards.
f. What do you hope to pass on to those young active creators who want to learn about shooting skate and capturing the moment?
AJ. I think the biggest knowledge for me is – and this for any people that work in the workshop – is really, if there’s something that you love and have a passion for, try and involve yourself in that. I think that if you like music, work in a record store, if you like photography work in a camera store, you know once you can kind of immerse yourself in your passion, you’re never going to be working a day in your life. That’s really at least the message that I try to pass on because that’s what I’m doing now. I love what I do, so I’m never working.
f. Tell us about Atiba Jefferson the young creator. What was your upbringing like and how did it shape your work?
AJ. I grew up with a single mum who was raising my twin brother, my sister and myself. I started working at 12 years old. We grew up very, very poor, and to me that just instilled an appreciation of the little things. And I still appreciate the little things. For me it’s not about money, it’s not about success – it’s about enjoying life, enjoying your friends, enjoying your family, and enjoying what you do. For me that will make you inspired and motivated in whatever you do because you’re going to constantly think about it. That’s what photography is to me – whether I’m shooting with an iPhone or a point and shoot, I’m constantly thinking about what I’m shooting.
f. How has photography evolved from back in the day when you first started with your first camera, to now?
AJ. It’s evolved hugely and that’s just due to the digital platform of it. And when I say digital, I say from shooting digital all the way to social media. It really, really changed kind of everything.
Some purists don’t like that, but to me I think that you always need to embrace change and progression of anything, and that’s what I do with my photography. It’s like yeah you know, Instagram actually to me is now the new face of what being in a magazine is, but now with Instagram you can make a print magazine bigger, but you just use one for the other, you know? To me it’s not just one perfect way. I still shoot film, I still love film but I know the value in shooting digital. Your film you’re going to have to get scanned anyway [laughs] it all becomes digital at some point and most of the time you’re just strictly printing in the dark room.
If you think one way is the only way, you’re holding yourself back. I don’t believe in rules, I think rules are to be broken, and always to do something different.
f. What was your very first roll like? Do you remember?
AJ. It’s actually funny. I actually still have it. I only have the prints, the negatives are forever gone, but I still have the prints.
It was a Pentax K-1000 and it was my friends skateboarding. I always use those photos in the workshop because to me it’s really funny because the way those photos are, is the way that I still shoot skating. There’s a portrait in there, it’s the way I shoot portrait. But to me the magic of the darkroom was really where I found my love for photography, so I always express that because it’s a magical place that these days when you see the print coming out in the chemicals, there’s really nothing like it.
f. Did photography open up a whole new world for you with skating? Did it show you things you never thought you could see?
AJ. Yeah absolutely, I think a big part of photography is socially. So photography for me has opened me up to relationships and friendships that I don’t think I normally would have. When you’re in the city and you see something, you know you’re constantly trying to figure out how to capture that moment, and I just think that makes you think and look at your surroundings, look at what’s around – don’t just look through your camera. You need to kind of look and go “oh that photo would be great, or that looks good, that wall is cool” It makes look and kind of see what’s going around. I think so many people don’t stop to smell the roses and see what’s happening around them.
f. What do you feel has been your greatest shot and why?
AJ. I don’t really have a favourite because I look at things as they need to be improved, but I would say it comes down to what people like the best. And there’s this shot of Andrew Reynolds [header image], of him doing a trick with a million people around him, and that photo is something that people ask me about, people want that. It’s a great moment for me because I actually missed that photo years before by not having my camera next to me at a different demo setting. He’s a very dear friend of mine and I was extremely hung-over – probably still buzzed when I shot it, so it’s got a lot of stuff to it. I don’t look at it like…you know I’ve taken some photos that I’m very, very proud of, and probably be like slam dunk, but I still am looking for the best photo. I’m still shooting until I find that. Yes absolutely, everything needs improvement.
f. What did you feel when Reynolds landed that?
AJ. I thought I was shooting another demo photo, but I didn’t think I would shoot a photo that people would talk about being on their wall. But I was more excited for the energy of those kids, and for that crowd, and to be able to witness that. I mean that’s Wild In the Streets where tens of thousands of kids skate through the city and it’s awesome and there’s really nothing like it until you can experience it. That was a peak moment on that day and it was just great.
f. Do you approach shooting the high-profile athletes and artists differently to shooting your friends skating?
AJ. Yeah of course, but once I have a relationship with someone it’s all the same you know. I mean my approach to photography is like I said, making my subjects unbelievably comfortable, and feel like that this is more fun than a hassle. I’ve actually been on the other side of the camera and I watch the way other photographers work and I go, hey that’s actually not making this shoot fun.
To me I never want to be that dude, and my personality is just to try to really have fun. It’s obviously different when I have art directors telling me what to do, lighting, briefs and conference calls when I’m doing usually bigger stuff than that. In skating I get to do whatever I want but you know they’re Ying and Yang. Skating I’m getting kicks out all of this and all that commercial stuff is and in a controlled environment. They all have their pros and cons. They both just really make me appreciate one another. It keeps me really well balanced.
f. You’ve evolved to be a really well balanced creator. You’ve got The Skateboard Mag, a bar, you’re in a band, to name a few. How does this all come about, is it organic?
AJ. Yeah. I’ve also got a backpack company called Bravo that I work a lot on. I’m part of Saint Archer Beer Company, I have a bar called Black back home, there are a lot of different things. I think it’s just taking advantage of the opportunities that life is kind of giving my by luckily having made a career out of photography and being able to be a part of this stuff. People ask me to be a part of things, so I’m like why not? That’s just my personality: always to be doing things, and I probably do way too many things and need to slow down, but you know for me they’re opportunities. For me, growing up with not much around, these are just like dreams come true so, you know, I make sure that whatever I’m investing myself in is something that I use. Someone once told me, invest in things you use, so if you know need cheese, invest in cheese, if you drink beer, invest in the beer. I need backpacks so I invested in that. I drink beer so I invest in that, you know that’s one of those things that goes back to ‘do what you love’ and you’re always going to be stoked.
f. You shoot the things you love like skating and basketball, do you think you’ll venture more into shooting for music?
AJ. I guess I look at the music thing like that’s my passion project. I’m always just a fan of that stuff. Sport is something I’m luckily involved in so being a photographer was a need for that. Skateboarding is just skateboarding to me. I always just want to keep doing what I’m doing because that gives me balance – if I do one more than the other I’m not going to be happy. So I just keep trying to juggle – that’s been my key for the last 20 years and I kind of want to keep it going that way.
f. How does music impact your life and work?
AJ. I grew up and my mum was very music heavy. We were always listening to music growing up so to me music is a true art form. I look at some things as true art forms: a painting is a true art form. Photography I necessarily don’t look at as a true art form because you need someone else to make it – for 90% of photography you need a subject. Music you just need an instrument, painting you just need a paintbrush – those are true artistic expressions, so to me it’s just really touching. So that’s why I love it and I just always grew up with it, and music I think is one of the best things for the soul.
f. What did your mum listen to when you were young?
AJ. There were tonnes of Reggae in my house. It was a big Reggae house but she also luckily listened to a lot of jazz and funk and also the classics, Led Zeppelin and Hendrix. I look back at that and that’s all stuff that I’ve listened to my whole life. It’s timeless music and I’ve got to thank her for setting me on to that at such a young age.
f. After Australia what’s next, where are you headed?
AJ. It’s actually been a pretty crazy year looking back at it. I’ve been to Berlin twice, Hong Kong, Tokyo, I did a US tour, so it’s actually funny. I’m like super close to being part of the 100k club, so if I need to, I’m going to take a trip and if things get a little bit safer I want to go to Egypt for a couple days. Or I’m going to go to India to see the band The Explosions in the Sky who are playing there and they’re very good friends. And I need to gain some miles [laughs], so you know I’m definitely thinking of taking one more trip but it’ll just be for a couple of days – nothing long.
I really want to settle back into LA because I feel like I haven’t been there all year.
f. And what projects to you have in store for next year?
AJ. It’s kind of funny, I don’t.
I think there’s another thing with Oakley that we’re talking about which is great because I love working with them. I want to do another workshop. I spoke to the university of Ohio, so I want do something like that. I need to re-do my website, so I’ll be doing that, just working on The Skateboard Mag, and then potentially starting to look at book stuff because I’ve never done a book, and now I really want do it. But also next year I want to take some time to try and organise shooting a couple of people that I’ve wanted to shoot portrait-wise so that’s going to be my goal.
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The interview concluded with Jefferson sharing the key figures, in politics and in music, that he is edging closer and closer to working with.”I kind of have leads on both, so I’m really hoping that can happen. I’ll tell you but I don’t want it printed because I don’t want to jinx it. It’s a very big request… [but] I’ve made it this far, so…” Jefferson said. We’ll share the more on these portraits as they come to fruition.
The creative space and pop-up skate park destination, Oakley In Residence: Sydney, celebrates the culture of skateboarding with a number fo events and exhibitions. Destination Sydney, which was curated by Jefferson and Australian photographers Andrew Peters and Mike O’Meally, is currently on show in the space and chronicles Sydney’s most iconic skate photography over the last 20 years. The space will be open until Sunday 29 November in Sydney, Australia.
With more in the pipeline for next year, stay tuned to fluoro for more from Atiba Jefferson.
Interview: Audrey Bugeja, Managing Editor, fluoro.
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