You’re doing a movie about fins? That’s the question I get asked all the time.
Yes, but. Well. No. Not really. It’s not about fins. THEFINPROJECT is really about innovation, and it’s a story that grows more important with each passing day.
You see, I’ve been obsessed with craftsmanship and innovation since I was a kid. I vividly remember sitting on the hot pavement of my parents’ driveway under the summer sun, taking apart anything I could find and making as big of a mess as possible. Tractors, toys, cameras, you name it – they all fell under my curiosity. I needed to know how things worked and why. Making a mess was just a bonus.
That question has grown with me over the years and drives my work, both behind and away from the camera. My photographs are deceptively simple, but the root of their inspiration is that through taking apart each subject, I begin to understand what makes each subject unique and special.
My tool of choice for this disassembly isn’t what you’d expect. It isn’t a hammer, saw or wrench. It’s light.
That’s why I’m excited to share my photographic process in our live event at The Boardroom Show. Through THEFINPROJECT, I’m humbled to feature the work of surfing craftsmen for whom I have the utmost respect and admiration. My photographs do this by bringing out each subject’s individual uniqueness, moving it onto the gallery wall for the wider audience to appreciate.
But, as I mentioned, at the core of THEFINPROJECT is an obsession with craftsmanship – I see these photographs as the beginning of a conversation that goes beyond surfing. In other words, it’s not just about fins.
I look at my niece and nephew, growing up in a day and age where toddlers are given iPads to placate their insatiable curiosity. I can’t help but contrast that with the direct experience of sitting on that hot driveway thirty plus years ago, taking my toys apart. I ponder what will become of craftsmanship in twenty years time. Will the very notion be lost? Will innovation be limited to the latest app? Will personal exploration be limited to the next screen?
What do you think?
My upcoming film and the other facets of THEFINPROJECT will address this question, exploring why innovators such as Blake, Simmons, Greenough, the Campbell Brothers, Mark Richards and Simon Anderson, among others, thought differently. What motivated them? Was it the desire to achieve an individual personal experience like George Greenough or through competitive drive like Mark or Simon? And how did a background in engineering or an encouraging, forward thinking set of parents set the tone for experimenting with bottom contours and hydrodynamic principles as it did for Bob Simmons or the Campbell Brothers?
Again, this isn’t about rake, ratio or foil necessarily. THEFINPROJECT is about learning lessons from game-changing innovators and encouraging our own children to put down their iWhatever, walk out to the world and see where their innate creativity takes them.
I hope you come down and join us at the Boardroom show on May 17 and 18. I’ll be showcasing my entire process all the way through printing featuring the work of a range of world-renowned surfing craftsmen. Together with our exclusive list of fellow surfing innovators the limited edition, co-signed prints we’ll be creating will only be available on these two days. It’s going to be a great time, and one that I hope inspires and educates. Please stop by, say hello and meet fellow passionate craftsmen dedicated to the art and innovation of surfing.
We’ll see ya there.
You do not want to miss this. Image: Tim Hogan
