For you youngsters or those who don't know, Pete Thompson was one of TWS' most prolific and impressive staff photogs from 1995 until the early 2000s. Originally from North Carolina, he trekked his way to California's Bay Area, and his photography covered skaters from up and down both coasts, and multiple European trips, including exploring Barcleona in its skate-coverage infancy. All his skate photos were shot on film, 35mm and the famed Hasselblad, and his photography sat at the top, alongside the other celluloid masters of that era. Pete decided to walk away from skate photography, and to no one's surprise, is wildly successful in the commercial/advertising/editorial "real world" of photography. He's currently living in NYC. I recently ran into Pete on Go Skateboarding Day in NYC, and I really wanted to hear and share his story. Thanks for doing this Pete! Read on.
Interview by Blair Alley
Captions by Pete Thompson
Pete Thompson
How did you make the transition from shooting skating to the stuff you shoot now?
Looking back I feel like at a certain point my passion for shooting skateboarding faded, and transitioning out of skate photography definitely wasn’t easy. As a kid I was very lucky to have found skateboarding and being a skater played a big role in how I viewed creativity and what it meant to be deeply passionate about something. Over time It can be very intimidating to try and find something else that gives you that same feeling and same sense of fulfillment. Ultimately I was faced with the reality that I had to walk away from something that defined who I was since I was a kid, and clear space for new ideas, put myself in a position of uncertainty and redefine who I was as a person and a photographer.
Having an honest conversation with myself about what it is I felt I wanted to communicate through taking pictures outside of skateboarding was a big step in the process. In reality it wasn’t 'til at least three-four years after I left TWS that I started to have that conversation, but now it's something that I continue to make a conscious effort to do which sort of keeps me in tune with myself, how I’m evolving, and how my creativity is changing at any given point in life.
For me, when it came to skateboarding photography, it was all about being immersed in it, then documenting what was happening around me. The creative freedom it provided was amazing, but to be honest, looking back I'm not sure I really had much of a creative point of view that was deliberate. I think the skateboarding photography years sort of became the spark that began that creative journey—but at the time I think I was mostly unaware of where I was headed… which in a way is kind of an analogy for life, don’t you think? haha!
Skipping forward to what I do now, things are much different in the sense that I feel like it's more about shifting your focus from what's happening around you to what's happening within you. I get inspired by the new challenges and I embrace the process of placing that creativity/feelings/inner thoughts onto a blank canvas that provides much less structure. It feels much more vast, and more intimidating especially when you’re surrounded by clients, art directors, etc., but with that shift in the creative process comes infinite possibilities which can be really exciting. I do have to admit, being forced to take more responsibility for the reaction your pictures illicit certainly took me out of my comfort zone…
Not to say shooting skateboarding is easy because skate photography had its own unique set of challenges. Looking back, I found that being a skate photographer demands that you have a deep understanding of the language of skateboarding to even have a chance to be successful.
That alone is one of the things that makes it so rad and insulates it from those who aren’t deeply invested in it.
That process of letting go of something that was such a huge part of my identity and then channeling that creativity into something completely new took a lot of sacrifice and self discovery, but over time I've learned to look back fondly at the time I spent shooting skateboarding.
Pete Thompson
How would you describe the subjects and work you shoot now? Is it editorial? Advertising? Fine art for your own portfolio?
Work-wise my career is pretty diverse, but advertising/commercial lifestyle is probably what I do most. With each project I try to be mindful of who the audience is and how to inspire them, so for me it comes down to capturing a genuine, unguarded moment that also communicates a sense of genuine authenticity. I like to keep myself open to any/all kinds of jobs as long as they’re interesting/challenging in some way which often means I'm doing something I've never done before. It's important to be able to be mindful and stay in the moment especially when you’re being creatively challenged.
For me, the balancing of time you spend shooting what you love to shoot and what you get paid to shoot is very important. Even if you don’t get paid to shoot the things you truly enjoy shooting, it can be very therapeutic to set aside time to work on personal projects. I think personal projects help you continue to grow creatively, refine your technical skills, and then eventually it can influence what you do on paid jobs.
Fine art photography isn’t something I'm ready to get involved in at this point of my life, it's something I find interesting, perhaps it's an option at some point down the road.
Pete Thompson
Most famous person you’ve photographed.
Probably Mariah Carey. She liked to listen to her own music when we were shooting.
What's the most you ever made off of one skate photo you shot?
Trying to remember, maybe $1500.00?
How does landing new jobs work? Do you have an agent?
Yeah, I signed with agency in NYC and I was actually brought in by an agent who skates, definitely a good thing when your agent knows the skate world and understands that skateboarding mentality. Having an agent can be helpful because they have trusted connections with clients, creative agencies, art directors etc. When a potential job comes up, you typically have to bid on it (do an estimate) that includes all the line items, fees for my crew, various production/travel costs, and then the creative fee, and usage fees. Then you just hope the client chooses you over the other people they’re looking at. This is why the consistency/quality and underlying message of your work is so important to communicate clearly. Clients like to see consistency and predictability…that is, until they don’t [laughs}! Definitely a shift from skateboarding.
Pete Thompson
What’s the process of getting an agent/being courted by an agency?
I'm super lucky in terms of that. I was a first assistant for a photographer named Anders Overgaard for almost four years, and right around the time I quit assisting, the agency representation thing just sort of unexpectedly fell in my lap which was a bit of a surprise.
When did you make the switch to digital? Were you still shooting skating?
Do you ever find yourself shooting film nowadays for work or personal stuff?
That digital shift was happening right as I was leaving skateboarding. Those last six months or so I was shooting sequences in digital which was a dream to finally not be forced to carry dozens of 35mm rolls of film around/travel with.
I actually bought a Mamiya 7ii last summer with the goal to slow myself down with shooting digital. It's so easy to go back and fix everything/anything you mess up with digital that I kinda wanted to try to get back to a slower process of creativity. When it costs money to take every frame, I tend to slow down and think about what I'm shooting. I've shot a bit of film for clients but it's mostly just stealing a few frames here and there in between the digital work that's teathered to a computer.
In terms of personal work, I feel as though there's always at least something personal about what I'm creating, how my feelings are on that particular day/that moment shapes what you see and what you want to communicate.
I don’t think I have to even say it, but learning photography in the film age was really tricky (and costly) compared to now, plus learning to be a skate photographer added a whole new dimension to the learning curve because not only were you trying to learn the purely technical side of being a photographer I.E. focus, exposure, composition, but you were also taking on the process of learning how to photograph tricks in the most flattering ways and then of course hoping the trick was good enough to get in the mag. The fisheye was always an easy go-to, but working for both Lance Dawes (Slap) and Grant Brittain (TWS) and then also being a big fan of Dan Sturt, those guys challenged me to not rely on the fisheye. Today I'd have to say that those fisheye photos at the bottom of a staircase are my least favorite pictures I took.
Pete Thompson
How important is social media in your world?
For better or for worse it's pretty important. Selling yourself is an art in itself and something you can’t really teach. Some people are better than others at it, it's just a shame that there are some really talented photographers out there that don’t land as many jobs because they’re competing with folks with much less experience, but have ten times the IG followers. My accounts on IG are clearly very different; the archival feel of the @Switch_360_judo account is a bit of a nod to the bigger (book) project I'm working on and should be out in spring 2020. The other @peetigga account is more of a mixture of my commissioned work as well as personal projects/stuff I enjoy.
Shoot that turned out way easier than you expected.
I try not to look at any shoots as being easy or difficult. My idea of a successful shoot is one where I'm able to get a good feel for the client brief, give them what they’re initially looking for, and then (hopefully) manage to take five-ten minutes extra to shoot something extra that they weren’t expecting, push the boundaries a bit, take risks and hopefully get folks inspired. If I can do most of those things, then I'm happy.
Most challenging shoot to date.
I'm not sure if I can think of just one… so many unpredictable things can happen so you have to adjust/adapt and even throw out some or all of the original plan and just improvise. Learning the nuances of production as well as time management is key, but overall there’s always those jobs where you begin a day not knowing how you’re gonna pull off any of the things you’ve planned. At the end of the day, somehow, someway it always works out.
Pete Thompson
Pete Thompson
Pete is currently working on a book of his largely unseen skate photos from the 90s. It will be out in 2020, and here's a rough mock up of the cover featuring a classic flick of Stevie Williams at Wallenburg:
Check out petethompsonphoto.com for more of Pete's work
