In case you have been in a coma lately (or haven’t been reading surf blogs and magazines which is a little bit like being in a coma, right?), Rudy Jacques, a French photographer from the Oleron Island created quite a stir with his exhibition at the Wallako Surf Shop, in Bidart on the South West Coast of France. Since everyone was raving about his photography, I thought I’d better take a look at his website.

I got totally sucked in by the aesthetic of the website, his photos and his videos. His creative world translates a very cool and relaxed image of what the surf and skate scene in France can be like, and that makes me so very proud to be from France… though a little nostalgic too.

So I decided to contact Rudy via email to say, well, that I really liked his work and that I would like to find out more about him. He got back to me and he kindly accepted to answer this interview for me…

When and how did you start taking photos?
I began taking photos more seriously about 2 years ago, when I left Oleron Island. I only go back to the island during the school holidays, and photos allow me to keep in touch with surfing.

What is your story with surfing and skateboarding?
I’m not quite sure when I started surfing. I used to bodyboard when I was a kid, and then my parents got me a surfboard, I was 11, maybe 12 years old. I guess I started skateboarding around the same time.

I find your style very unique, I really like the retro look of your photographs. If I’m right, you only use analog material… What are your favorite cameras and why?
I am glad to hear that you find my style “unique”, because that’s probably the most challenging thing when you start getting involved in art. I work a lot at developing my own perception, I  try to use my influences in a good way but I also try to escape from them, I don’t want to copy what other people do. I feel I still need to work on this.
My photo quiver mainly consists of cheap cameras. The one I use most of the time is a Canon AE1 Program, which my father lends me. That has changed the way I take photos. I find in analog cameras the atmosphere I want for my photos. I don’t need to touch up any of them with a computer. 
I also use a Polaroïd Kodak Supercolor. I used to have a disposable camera with me all the time, but I recently bought an analog compact Canon AF 35ML.

Do you develop your photos yourself? Some of them look alterated…
Unfortunately, I don’t develop my photographs. I don’t have the equipment for it. I saw someone doing it when I was in High School, and for sure I’d like to develop photos in the future. That’s probably another step in photography, and an aspect I haven’t been lucky enough to explore so far.  At the same time, that’s why I alter my photos. For instance, when I was younger, I used to be impressed by photos that were highlighted by some awesome border. I knew that was what I wanted to do so I used whatever I had available : paint, cheap scotch-tape, fire. All these techniques allow me to give a personal touch to my photos, and put forward what I want to express.

Working with analog material costs time and money, I guess this is why few people still use it. What do you enjoy about analog photography?
Analog cameras are mechanical. It’s the same as surfing with no leash. With a digital camera, you can photograph with no limit, you leave your finger on the button, and there will always be a good shot in your memory card. With an analog camera, you have to concentrate, and shoot at the right moment so you don’t waste frames. I like the fact that you are constrained, and that you are forced to improve your behavior. I’m not saying that digital is bad,  just that it has changed the way we take photos. 
It’s true that analog can be expensive, but if you are crafty and hardworking, you can use it without losing (too much) money. You get a different satisfaction from an analog camera.

Huck Magazine said about your work that it’s a “romantic way of telling the surfing story”, do you agree with the term ‘romantic’? I read on your blog that your inspiration mostly comes from the ‘punk’ and ‘hardcore’ scene which seems quite far from ‘romantic’…
When I say that I have been inspired by hardcore and punk, I mainly think about values. When I was younger, maybe 13, I used to listen to punk music when I was alone at home, because I didn’t want my parents to know that I listened to this kind of music. Punk is different. But from 18 to 20, I turned straight edge and found quite a rebellion in it. I saw so many people getting drunk every night, and pretending they were rebels. I was not into that. 
No matter what you look like, what clothes you wear, your haircut or any of these damned things, what happens in your head is what’s most relevant. I’m not a punk and I’m no longer straight edge. I just try to be a good man, be straight without being walled in by principles. 
I like the sentence “romantic way of telling the surfing story”. I’m a romantic.

Like your photos, your videos are very retro, where does your inspiration come from? What video camera(s) did you use? What movies inspire you? Where does the music come from?
My inspiration firstly comes from my friends. The way they surf obviously has an influence on my photos. I’ve also watched all kind of videos, and that’s how I’ve learned to use a camera. Dale Davis, Bruce Brown and Thomas Campbell’s movies have influenced me, for sure. With regards to music and editing, I feel I still need to improve and bring my own ideas. So far, I feel too close to my influences, so I don’t feel I can take full credit. For my latest short movie “El amigo Cloclo”, I used a song Clovis played himself. That’s a better approach than to use a song from someone you don’t even know. Or so I hope. 
These days, I use a Sony camera. A digital one, with tape, that cost less than 200$.

I get from your work that you must like being by yourself. Am I right?
I think you’re right. I like being with people, but I like being alone too. When you are alone you can think about things that you can’t think about in society.

Who are your favorite surfers?
Hmm… Phil Edwards, Tyler Hatzikian, Joel Tudor, Kelly Slater, Dane Reynolds… But I haven’t met them personally, so I’ve probably been more influenced by the people I know such as Cyril, Yves, Cloclo. Just regular people.

Who are your favorite photographers?
I have no idea ! I like all kind of stuff. There are so many people who have done incredible work ! Just one ? Kyle Lightner, look at his blog (www.kylelightner.com).

How did your photographs end up at the Wallako Surf Shop?
They heard about me via my blog, and they offered to hold a little exhibition of my stuffs supported by the brand RVCA. They’ve been very nice to me and let me do whatever I wanted, even paint their walls. I’d like to do more exhibitions like this, it allows you to meet people and share ideas. I find it difficult to approach people, due to my shyness whereas through exhibitions, conversations are unbridled.

On your site you say that you’ve never left France, have you got any traveling plans? If you could go anywhere, where would you go?
I have to go abroad to graduate next year. I would like to go to the US or to Australia, but it’ll depend on the cost. If I could go anywhere, I would choose… I’d probably need 6 more months to come up with an answer !

You say you are not trying to make a living out of your photographs but if the opportunity came up what would you do?
Never say never… so I am just going to say “No”. I think that if I had to take photos for a living, they would be different. I don’t want to compete with other photographers, or with myself. I like the idea of being spontaneous, doing things that have no link to money. You can act without thinking “money-money-money”. That’s what I meant by “straight” before.

What do you do for a living?
I am a student and I’m actually doing a one-year internship at the moment. I earn a little bit of money and my parents help me too. They’ve sacrificed a lot for my sister and I in order for us to get a good education, I don’t want to waste their effort.

How different is it living in Paris from living in Oleron Island?

In Paris, you can have everything. If you want to see an exhibition, you can see it, if you need something specific, you can have it. The Oleron Island is the countryside. You’ll find all the things that you can’t find in cities… I’m thinking about liberty.

When I get to talk with people about my work, I like to add that I’m not looking for money, or craving for a place as an artist. All I want is to do what I like every day, and get to meet people with rad stories to tell.

I’d like to thank you Alejandra for this interview. We don’t know each other, but I hope we can meet in person one day. Canada must be an incredible country, especially with its forests and entertaining mountains. There must be tones of adventures to write about.
I hope my English is not too bad. I like the English language, even if I find it difficult sometimes to express feelings in a language that is not mine. Thanks for reading.

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Thanks Rudy, I too hope to meet you in person someday!

Now check out this videos…

All his videos are worth watching, so check them out here, because quite frankly it was difficult to chose which ones to put on here…

They recently mentioned this photographer that I didn’t know about, mind you it’s not like I know many photographer… His name is Tim Barber and is work looks stunning, here you can check it out http://www.tim-barber.com.

He is exhibiting at LES Gallery in Gastown from next Friday and I am definitely going to check this out.

I waited all summer and it was so worth it! Nevermind September showers, nevermind the fact that money hasn’t been very good lately, we couldn’t let summer go without going to Tofino and surf and least once this year…

It didn’t start off all that well. On Friday, we arrived at Horseshoe Bay at 11.30 for the 12.30 ferry but it was full already. Note for later: always reserve the ferry (if you go with a car that is) and pay the $17 fees, unless you are willing to turn up at least 2 hours early….
3 hours later we got the following ferry (lucky that Horseshoe Bay is a nice place to hang out) but as a result, by the time we arrived at the campsite it was raining and dark and we still had to put the tents up. Luckily we had tarps, rain coats and rubber boots and we completed the task with hardly any water inside the tent. And on the plus side, the temperature was pretty good.

On Saturday we woke up to a beautiful sunshine. A little bit of rain here and there but by midday it was completely clear. Chesterman beach was busy (mind you, as busy as Tofino beaches can get…), the waves were kind of messy, and it was difficult to get through the break but it was so good to be in the water again.

We stayed in the water for about 3 hours and then headed back to the campsite. Talking about campsite, we were pretty set on camping at Green Point because we had been there before and loved the wilderness, Long Beach just down the stairs, and the fact that it is so cheap. But we (ok, I) gave it more thought and weighed the fact that they don’t have showers which is not good if the weather is not on your side (i.e. if it rains non stop and the temperature drops and you are just damp and cold the whole week end). So I convinced the boys to go to Bella Pacifica. It’s a little bit more expensive (about $10 more a night), but when you are going with a group it’s nothing. And it’s got showers ($1 for 2 minutes of hot shower, I am proud to say that I showered, washed my hair and conditioned all in 4 minutes!). And it’s right by the beach too, but which campsite isn’t by the beach in Tofino?

On Saturday night we went down to the beach to check out the stars. We took beers, camera and torches and one thing leading to another we started experimenting with long exposure and light painting. No photoshop retouching, promised!

Sunday was glorious too, sunny from the moment we woke up until the moment we left. We got another couple of hours of surfing in the morning, the waves were much better, with proper pauses between sets which allowed us to go over the break quite easily.
I filmed quite a bit and I am hoping to put a little video clip together this week, stay tuned!

And a detail of the competition on Push.ca

I should mention that I don’t skateboard, in fact I have very little hands on experience. It’s not that I don’t want to, I begged for my first skateboard when I was about 9, my parents had no clue, obviously, they got me a cheap one and the wheels weren’t exactly rolling smoothly. There wasn’t a skate park where I lived, nor the right kind of concrete. I know I’m making excuses, when you really want something you overcome obstacles, I guess I didn’t really bother.

I love watching skateboarding nonetheless and I am fascinated by the culture that goes with it. So checking out the King of Vancouver competition at the Vancouver Skate Plaza, pure concrete all around us and the skytrain regularly passing by over our heads was pretty cool.

Some of the kids looked like they were no older than 12. My only regret: no girls.