In March 2010 I was flown to Queensland to shoot the opening of the Quiksilver Pro at Snapper Rocks on the Gold Coast. Being in the company of some of the world’s finest surfing talent was great opportunity to make portraits and Mick Fanning was the surfer that I really wanted to capture.
He is quite a hero to many Australians. Mick is a genuine, approachable guy and we arranged to meet at the beachfront to take some shots one afternoon. By the time we were ready to shoot the weather had changed from sunshine to dark, heavy clouds. My style is generally towards darker backgrounds so the conditions suited me perfectly.
Mick comes across as a very calm and confident person and it was these aspects of his personality that I wanted to convey in the portrait. It was important for me to keep the portrait minimalistic with a few supporting background features. Mick's gaze meets you immediately and although time was spent on composition this frame captured the perfect expression to portray his sincerity. The three rolling waves complement this look and the moody sky and dark sand shift the focus
back to his gaze.
I’m always thinking about symmetry and mathematical values. Perspective, angles, lines and ratios are a constant consideration when I position my subjects and I feel that although this happens mostly in my subconscious it all adds value to the final delivery of the subject’s emotional state to the viewer. I aim to enhance this emotional content by featuring supporting landscapes and reducing distracting elements. If I can take myself out of the equation and leave just this emotional connection between people viewing my images and the subject then I have been successful.
