for the diehards

Photography By Bear

Los Angeles skate and lifestyle photographer Bear opens up about the difficulty of capturing a feeling, how each skater has a unique style, and the desire to be part of the action.

Los Angeles, USA

25118? What are these numbers about?

Hi Reckless! Thanks for the interview. "25118" is just my name in numbers >> BEAR.

I want the focus to be less on who is shooting the photos and more on the amazing skaters I meet. It’s just my secret Instagram account. No hashtags and no stories. Just hard posts of the raddest skaters! You just have to stumble onto my account by luck and only stay if you bleed and sweat skateboarding. For the diehards!

How did you begin your journey as a photographer?

I played around with cameras in high school but didn’t really fall in love with photography until college at Cal Poly SLO. I took a film class where we learned to develop our photos in the darkroom. It really made me appreciate each photo! I’ve switched back and forth between film and digital since.

What have you learned along the way?

I’ve learned that it doesn’t matter much what equipment you shoot with. You can really make most cameras work! I’ve learned it’s all about the moment and that it’s really hard to capture a feeling. They come and go so quickly! I’ve learned a lot on the technical side of photography as well. I owe that knowledge to my friend Ryan Polei. He always has something new to teach me.

How would you describe your style? What makes your perspective unique and different?

I tend to focus on super close shots with movement. There’s something about taking my 6.5mm fisheye lens and driving my camera as close as possible to the action. I want to feel a part of it. I want to run, jump, and dance with my subjects. I want people to feel like they can touch the subject through my photos.

Your work primarily focuses on skateboarding and skate culture. Why does this inspire you?

I shoot live music fairly often as well but skateboarding is the best thing on this planet! Seriously, the feeling of riding your board outside in the sunshine is absolutely incredible. When you start making friends who are a part of the skateboarding culture, it gets even better. Back in 2016, my wife and I moved to Mid-City Los Angeles. I remember riding my bike to the grocery store and blowing out my tire on this big crack in the road during that first week living in LA. My friend Jordin let me borrow his mini cruiser skateboard to get around instead. I became obsessed and would take that thing everywhere. Surfskating all the Mid-City driveways and throwing Bert Slides in front of people’s garages became my main mode of transportation! A few years later, I moved to Marina del Rey and immersed myself in the Venice Beach skate culture. Nothing beats sunset on the ocean with friends! I’m so in love with Venice. The variety of personalities and ways each individual skates is what inspires me. I can take a photo of the same trick done by two different skaters and their styles are completely different.

Tell the story behind one of your images.

Recently, my buddy Mike wanted to shoot at this fun little backyard bowl called Camside. I wanted to frame the photo with lots of vegetation bleeding in from the frame edges so I camped out in some shrubs to get the shot. It ended up being a great choice not only for the picture but also because the tree protected me from the blistering sun that day!

What are some of the joys and struggles of shooting skateboarding?

Most skateboarders love having their photo taken and I enjoy making it happen. They work so hard on tricks which sometimes take hours or days to master. Providing photo proof they landed it is my biggest joy. There’s something about looking at a still photo versus a video for me. Videos show you exactly what happened in that moment. I like that photos leave the viewer guessing how the skater even got into that position. It’s a struggle when I miss a shot though. Sometimes you only get one chance for the skater to land the trick. Also, I’m shooting within 2 feet of them most of the time, so my camera lens is bound to get hit! I’ve destroyed a couple of lenses, but it’s all part of the game. Worth it!

Which skate parks do you love to shoot at?

Venice, of course! A skatepark on the beach with majestic sunsets is hard to beat! I shoot at San Pedro often as well. I love the DIY culture there. If you haven’t been to Channel Street yet, you must go. It's amazing what their community has built. I love to switch it up as much as possible though. The more new places I can shoot, the better. I’m dying to shoot more backyard pools and street spots. If you’re reading this and want to shoot, hit me up!

If you could photograph skate culture anywhere else in the world, where would you go and why?

The grungier, the better! All the DIY spots have so much character and passion put into them. I love meeting the locals at those places and hearing their stories. They’ve put so much time, money, and energy into these DIY parks. It’s inspiring! Most of the spots on my list are here in California like the Flower Shop in SF. I've been wanting to skate and photograph there. The Rote Flora Bowl in Hamburg, Germany looks so colorful with all the graffiti and trees. That bowl would make for some beautiful pictures.

If you could tell 10-year-old Bear anything, what would you say?

I would tell him to steal some of his mom’s disposable cameras and stash them away. Today I could crack open those old things and use the expired film to shoot with!

What’s next for you?

I would love to see my images printed in Juice and Thrasher one day! For now, more lens exploration. I want to rig anything and everything to my camera body and keep my photos fresh and new. I’ve been making these Stereoscopic lenses lately. You only see this style on film cameras, so I wanted to make digital versions. I’m able to take 2-4 images at once and layer them on one another in post, which creates fun animated 3D gifs. I’m also on the hunt for a used/broken Sigma 4.5mm lens since a brand new one would be too pricey to be throwing inches from skaters.