我从8岁就开始滑板了，而Grant的照片在我心中一直是最好的，它们完全改变了我的生活。
那时没有第二个人能够像他那样捕捉到滑板的魅力，同时弘扬滑板的文化。我们可能再也感受不到那时的氛围了，也很难重新去营造。Grant Brittain并不仅仅是一个滑板摄影师而已，对我来说他代表了一个时代，一种生活方式，直接决定了我对生活的选择。这就是我一直希望在艺术家身上看到的东西：不仅仅创作一些作品，而是扎根于所处的环境，成为一个见证者，一种催化剂，用作品去影响一代人。
这就是Grant。
I ve been skateboarding since I was 8, and Grant s photos were amongst the first I d ever seen. They changed my life forever.
I think that no other person managed to capture the awesomeness that surrounded skateboarding at that time, the beginning of a culture. We will never again feel what they felt, or recreate it today. Grant Brittain wasn t just another skateboard photographer, for me he represents a time, a lifestyle, pointing me in the direction of what I m doing now, so you could say that he influenced my life choices. That s what I m always looking for in an artist: that he doesn t just create stuff, but that he sticks with his time, becoming a witness, a catalyst, in order to influence another generation.
Grant is all this and more.
采访 Guillaume LeGoff
翻译 YYY
我们用这个问题开始吧，你现在在做什么？
我正在做最新一期的The Skateboard Mag然后整理一些照片，为下周的展览做准备。
Could I just start by asking what you re up to right now?
I am trying to get the new issue of The Skateboard Mag out of here and getting some photos together for a group show next week.
杂志现在怎么样？你现在负责什么项目呢？
我们做的还行吧，经济受到了影响，滑板产业也是，我们在亏损但是总体还行。我最近在拍一些人像、产品，以及朋友们玩Vert的照片。我是The Skateboard Mag的产品经理，所以我的工作很大一部分是和Dave Swift把照片整理好然后把它们交给Ako Jefferson用于广告宣传。
How is The Skateboard Mag doing and what kind of work do you do for it those days?
We re doing okay, the economy is hurting and the skate industry is hurting too, we re paying our bills so it s cool. I am shooting some portraits, product and some of my friends skating Vert pretty much. I am the Production Manager here, so a lot of my work is getting the photos together with Dave Swift and getting them to Ako Jefferson the AD.
大家可以通过你的网站来看你的摄影和艺术作品，除此之外，你还有一个博客，你在博客上都说些什么？
我偶尔会更新博客，但是我已经被Facebook和Instagram和社交网络吸走了太多时间。。。我浪费了太多时间，我不好。
Apart from your amazing website where people can see your skateboard, art or Polaroid pictures, you also run a blog. What do you talk about on there?
I do the blog now and then, but I get caught up in Facebook and Instagram and in the Social Media Time Suck. I am kind of all over the place and waste a lot of time. I m bad.
让我们追溯过去。我听说你过去经常使用柯达胶片而且你曾经怀旧地说过“色彩可以反映自然，但是除了色彩之外，这里有更真实的生活”，你也用过很多35mm胶片来拍照片。在当下这个数码时代，你肯定被问到过这样的问题：在滑板杂志和摄影艺术中产生了哪些改变？
我一直和胶片打交道，它们的颜色完全不一样，当你扫描的时候会发现颗粒感很明显，我喜欢颗粒感。最开始的时候有人用数码相机，我觉得挺有意思因为它们不同于胶片相机，但是现在所有人都用数码相机，那些照片完全失去了胶片的味道。他们疯狂地去锐化，去调色。在杂志摄影这方面，如果不用数码的话杂志的预算会超支，而且这也使我的拍摄和后期更加方便。我喜欢这样的便利。我可以很快的吧照片传给Ako或者客户而我不会失去底片。
Let s go back to the past for a bit. I heard you used a lot of Kodachrome and you said with a bit of nostalgia, ? colours were pretty true to nature, there was more truth to real life as far as colour goes. ? You also used a lot 35mm colour slide films. You must get asked this a lot but in the digital era we live in now: what has changed in skate mags and in the art of making photos?
I have been going through a lot of old slides and negatives and the colours are definitely different, grain is definitely evident when you drum scan a frame of film, I miss grain. I think it s funny that people were resistant to shooting digital at first because it didn t look like film and now that they have finally switched over to digital, they make their photos look even less like film. They go crazy with over sharpening and color shift. As far as magazine photography goes, a magazine would go over budget if we weren t shooting digital, it makes my job shooting and photo editing a lot easier. I love the convenience of it. I can shoot a photo and send it to Ako or a client within minutes and I don t lose analog photos anymore.
你现在一直使用莱卡和哈苏吗？你对风格和技术有什么看法呢？
我用Leica M6和Hasselblad 301CX来拍艺术作品，用TriX 35mm（135）和Tmax 100（120）胶片。主要拍一些人像，风景，概念作品，在假期露营、旅游，我都会带上我的莱卡。我的风格很简单，我只是在构图上尽量还原每个元素最基本的样子。我接触滑板摄影一年之后去Palomar JC College上了摄影班，同时让Adams, Avedon, Ralph Gibson, The Westons, Minor White, Penn, Cartier Bresson, Walker Evans这些大师了解了我，帮助我找到并确定了我的风格。
Do you still shoot with Leica and Hasseblad and what could you tell us about your style & technique please?
I shoot my Leica M6 and Hasselblad 301CX for my art stuff, I shoot TriX 35mm film and on the Hassy I use Tmax 100 film. I shoot mainly portraits, landscapes and abstracts and it s what I take on vacation camping, and I carry my Leica with me. My style is pretty simple, I just try to simplify everything down to the bare basics compositionally. After shooting skating for a year or so I started taking photo classes at Palomar JC College and was exposed to the photographic masters, Adams, Avedon, Ralph Gibson, The Westons, Minor White, Penn, Cartier Bresson, Walker Evans, etc and that helped me find and define my style.
我是一个30多岁的法国滑手，我已经在杂志上看到过很多Grant Brittain的作品。那时候除了那些家庭录像，杂志就是我们与美国滑板的唯一的联系。你能和我们谈谈早些年Transworld杂志的故事吗？比如说给滑手们拍照片，一起旅行，作品第一次登上杂志，等等。
我当时只是想做我想做的事情，我没有想到最后会变得如此重要。我真没想到会对我们的文化和社会产生如此大的影响。我当时只是很开心的去为杂志拍一些照片，而且我不需要像普通工作那样朝九晚五。这是一个很有趣的谋生方式，我觉得做杂志是已经很有乐趣的事情，我只是在正确的时间正确的地点做了正确的事情。最幸运的是我在Del Mar Skate Ranch工作时的一天，我借用了使用的佳能相机。
As a French skateboarder in my mid 30s, as far as I can remember I have seen J.Grant Brittain pix in the magazines. Magazines were our only link, besides VHS videos, to the US skate scene back then. What could you tell us about the Transworld Skate early years, shooting all those guys, all those places, having your first publications…?
I was kind of just doing what I wanted to do for the moment, I didn t know it would become so important. I didn t know it would be such a big influence on our culture and society. I was just stoked to just get photos in the mag and not have to work a regular job. It is a weird way to make a living. I was just having fun doing a magazine, I was just in the right place at the right time. Just lucky to be working at Del Mar Skate Ranch and just borrowed my roommate s Canon one day.
对，我知道你第一次接触到相机是80年代初你在Del Mar Skate Ranch（San Diego,CA）工作的时候，那时你才25岁。如果那时你没有与滑板相遇，现在你会是什么样子？
我从差不多10岁就开始滑板，14岁开始冲浪。浪小的时候，我们就去滑板，去冲山。我住在Wally Inouye的隔壁，他给了我一个在DMSR的工作，那是在1978年，而我在1979年拍了我人生中的第一张照片。我拍了一些当地滑手和来tour的pro，然后慢慢的进步，慢慢领悟摄影的魅力，就像其他摄影师一样。我从1978年到1984年一直在DMSR工作，DMSR在87年被拆除了，而那是我的第二个家。83年的时候，Larry Balma和Peggy Cozens创办了Transworld然后我给了他们一些照片用在创刊号上。因此我从1983年到2003年一直是Transworld的摄影编辑和高级摄影师。
I read you first picked up a camera at the age of 25 while working at Del Mar Skate Ranch (San Diego, CA) in the early 80s. I guess even if that wasn t your first encounter with skateboarding, how was it working there?
I skated since I was about 10 years old and started surfing at 14 and we skated when the waves were down and we bombed hills and got tubed under bushes. I just happened to live next door in Cardiff to Wally Inouye and he got me a job at the DMSR the day it opened in 1978 and I shot my first photo in 1979. I just shot the locals and visiting pros and got better over time, same as any photographer s story. I worked at DMSR from 1978-1984, it was bulldozed in ‘87 and it was my second home. In ‘83, Larry Balma and Peggy Cozens started Transworld and I gave them photos for the first issue and then became the Photo Editor/Senior Photographer from 1983 to 2003.
你也在学校里学过摄影，学校带给了你什么？
就像我说的那样，学校让我发展了我的风格，也让我学到了摄影的历史，开阔了我的眼界。我又很多非常伟大的老师，比如Kean Wilcox，他改变了我的人生，同时帮助我在这条路上走下去。另外一个是艺术老师，Doug Durrant，带我领略了艺术时间的魅力。我把他们两个人视为我的人生导师，我希望我能让他们感到骄傲，他们对我产生了重要的影响。
You also studied photography in school back then: what did it bring you?
Like I said, it helped me develop a style and to see the rich history that was available to us through photography, it opened my eyes to a vast field. I had a really great teacher, Kean Wilcox, who changed my life and got me going on my trip. Another teacher I had for art, Doug Durrant stoked me out on the art world. I look at these two men as my mentors and I hope I make them proud, they were giant influences on me.
除了表现滑板的场景，你的照片一直都有一种艺术的视角。你是怎么做到的？
我认为最关键的是构图。我一直想呈现物体最简单最基本的一面，控制与主题无关的东西，因为它们会扰乱我想捕捉的主题。我追求抽象的表达方式，我已经沉迷于黑白、正反的关系里。
Apart from truly documenting the skateboard scene, you have always had an artistic perspective in your pictures. How would you explain this?
I think the whole composition thing I spoke about is key. I just want to simplify everything down to the basics, get rid of the stuff that s not needed or is a distraction to what I am trying to capture. I go for a graphic look, I m really into positive/negative space.
在我按下快门之前，我已经在心中预想过很多次最后的结果，我尽量去放慢拍摄的过程。数码摄影带来的问题之一就是人们拍的太快太浮躁，最后只能在Photoshop里去调整。
A lot of previsualization goes in before I ever press the shutter button, I try to slow the whole process down. The one problem with digital is that people go too fast and figure they can just fix it up in Photoshop.
很多事情都变了，但是滑板运动一直都给大家带来激情，一直都意味着去练习动作而不是凹造型。滑板气氛和产业也发展了很多，对你来说，这样的发展中哪些是好的哪些是不好的？
对我来说，他们没有改变。我一直都在思考对滑板和滑手来说什么是最有益的东西，答案是在七八十年代我所感受到的能量和精神。对当下来说也是一样。滑手们与众不同，不滑板的人永远不懂我们，我们一直都很孤独很个性但是我觉得我们都很喜欢这种感觉，对吧？
Things have changed a lot but skateboarding is still about passion and doing tricks on a deck. As we all know and live it, the skateboarding scene and industry has evolved a lot too. According to you, what are the positive and negative aspects in this?
It never really changed for me, I have always tried to think of what s good for skateboarding and skateboarders and it s always been about that energy I felt back in the 70s and 80s. Within the scene it s still the same. Skaters are different, people who don t skate, don t get it, we re alone in the end and I think we like it like that, don t we?
你也拍了很多艺术作品和风景作品。在你的网站上我们能看到你去过很多国家和地区… 旅行和滑板摄影之间是怎么互相影响的？
我把每一次旅行都看做是我唯一的一次机会来到这个地方，所以我必须更好的去利用机会而不是去浪费它。我在靠别人的赞助来旅行，所以如果我只是到处走走，去逛逛博物馆，我完全可以呆在家里。一些和我一起旅行的滑手根本不知道他们是在哪个国家，而我会四处走走，感受风土人情，拍摄一些作品，感悟生命，艺术，世界这三者的关系。
You also shoot a lot of art and places. On your website we can see you ve been to numerous areas and countries… How this influenced your work in skateboarding and vice versa?
I always treated each trip like it was my one chance there and I better take advantage of it and not waste it. I was traveling on another person s dime and I would just get out walk around, go to museums, get up early, I can sleep at home. Some of the skaters I was with didn t even know what country they were in. I just walk around and shoot my art stuff and learn about life, art and the world.
你和美国其他传奇摄影师关系怎样？比如Craig R Stecyk, Hugh Holland, Glen E Friedman这些人。
我被Stecyk, Friedman, Cassimus, Terrebonne, Goodrich,和Bolster触动了，所以我才会在1979年去借用室友的相机，装上Kodachrome 64胶片拍上一卷，然后坚持拍下去。这些70年代摄影师是滑板摄影的先锋，他们探索了怎样去拍摄滑板，而且从此之后所有人多多少少都在模仿他们的方式。拍摄工具改变了很多但是视角还是相同的。80年代时，我的伙伴们让我坚持了下来，Mofo, Kanights, Swank, Ogden, Yelland, Ortiz, Sturt还有其他朋友，是他们让我坚持了我的事业，而且当时TWS和Thrasher的竞争也特别的激烈。
What is your relationship with other legendary US skate photographers such as Craig R Stecyk, Hugh Holland, Glen E Friedman…?
I was inspired by Stecyk, Friedman, Cassimus, Terrebonne, Goodrich, and Bolster to borrow my roommate s camera in 1979 and shoot a roll of Kodachrome 64 and keep shooting. Those photographers of the 70s were the pioneers who figured out how to shoot skateboarding and everyone else has pretty much been doing the same thing ever since. The gear has changed, but the angles are pretty much the same. My peers in the 80s kept me motivated to keep pushing it, Mofo, Kanights, Swank, Ogden, Yelland, Ortiz, Sturt and others kept me on my toes. It was pretty competitive, TWS vs Thrasher.
最终，在滑板摄影的新鲜血液中，你比较看好谁？为什么？
确实有很多不错的摄影师，Atiba, Gaberman, Spike, Blabac, Swift, Rhino, Skin, Humphries开创了90年代的新浪潮，Acosta, Price, Bart Jones, Rodent, Landi, Trinh, Barton, O Meally在21世纪也干的不错。所有这些人都为滑板摄影的推广做出了巨大贡献，而对现在的新人来说，想在这个领域崭露头角更是难上加难，现在的竞争太强了，而我刚开始的时候，一共只有四个人在干这件事情。
Finally, amongst the ? new blood ? in skate photography, who do you prefer, and why?
There are some hot dudes out there, the next wave in the 90s, starting with Atiba, Gaberman, Spike, Blabac, Swift, Rhino, Skin, Humphries and then the up and comers in the 21st century like Acosta, Price, Bart Jones, Rodent, Landi, Trinh, Barton, O Meally. All of those dudes are pushing skate photography even further and it will be hard for the kids coming up on their heels to get a spot in the big leagues. There is a lot of competition now. There were only four photographers when I started.
还有什么想对大家说的吗？
我一直都教年轻人去领悟一个词，坚持。做你想做，爱你所做，坚持不懈，保持耐心，其实所有人都是从一个起点开始的，基础。
Any last words?
I always tell people younger than I one word, Perseverance. You just have to love what you do, don t give up, don t take ? No ? for an answer, have patience and everyone starts in the same place, the bottom.
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