Drawn to the Imperfect

Nike SB: When did you start shooting photos?

Sarah Meurle: I had a camera that I took snapshots with from age 13, but that developed and around age 16 I was really into it. Since then I studied photography in High school, in a pre-educational art school for one year and took a Bachelor in Fine Art Photography that I graduated from last year.

SB: Was it an interest that came from your exposure to photography in skateboarding? Or was it from somewhere else?

SM: I think in some ways yes; me and my friends were filming each other with handy-cams to capture each other skateboarding and through that I developed an interest of capturing, collecting, saving moments. I was taking pictures of all type of random objects, and once I started traveling through skateboarding my camera was always with me. But skate photos themselves were never really my main interest. It was more about observing what’s around; light, shapes, and people.

SB: What camera do you shoot on and what’s your preferred format?

SM: For about ten years I’ve been using a Nikon F-100. It’s a 35mm SLR camera which has been my main camera. I love the 6x7 format that the Mamiya 7 comes with, I just don’t own one since the prices for them went up insanely. (It’s on my wishlist.) I just got a Fujifilm GA6x45 which gives a smaller negative but the same format and I’m enjoying that one very much at the moment. I also started getting some photo jobs shooting skateboarding so I have a Nikon D850 for that. In my art practice, I’ve actually spent more time in the darkroom creating pictures without a camera rather than with one (exposing light onto light-sensitive paper or negatives) in different ways.

SB: Do you have an opinion on the film vs digital argument?

SM: Shooting on film has all sorts of connotations to it - the aesthetics of black & white photography brings us back to documentary photography/ war photography/ grandparents photo albums. Color photography to our childhood photo albums etc., it comes with nostalgia and maybe the belief that what’s shown in the photograph is real. Although we never know if a photograph is real or not. It comes with dust and scratches, it’s imperfect, it comes with light leaks and surprises. It gives a feeling that there is an object - the negative, there is some sort of magic happening that you know that this is here because light exposed onto a negative once and that moment took place.

On the other hand - a digital camera can just as much seize a moment, and it’s far more controllable, reliable, and can give you a perfect picture at once.

I appreciate both those qualities, but I’m drawn to the imperfect, the experiments and the surprises film can offer. And the fact that I can use that negative and create a physical print in the darkroom makes me wish I’d taken all of my photos analog. With skateboarding though, digital really comes in handy, and I’m quite interested in exploring the world of digital, but I’m definitely more comfortable with film.

SB: What do you like to shoot?

SM: The concept of mistakes, accidents, coincidences, errors, glitches in everyday life is something I’m really into. I like the idea of chance playing its part in aesthetics. If this can be combined saying something about our world I’m content. This combined with shapes, colors, materials triggers me. I’ve found that when you can’t depict what’s on a photograph it also starts something in me.

SB: Do you print your own photos?

SM: Yes, I love the process of working in the darkroom and making prints. I’ve had access to a great color lab where I studied, which I haven’t had access to now for one year. But in September I’m doing a course there and will spend a lot of time in there again which I’m really looking forward to.

SB: Where do your photos generally live?

SM: I’ve done a couple of shows, and group shows within the institutional walls of art. But my main opportunities to show my photographs have come through skateboarding. Right now there’s an exhibition about skateboarding culture traveling through Sweden that I’m a part of.

Last year I was a guest editor of the German skateboard magazine Solo skatemag, which was more working with selection and creating content. I love print and I’m going to be working with a dummy for a book this fall. Online is fine but it’s so nice to have a physical print on a wall or a book in your hands.

SB: Do you bring a camera with you on skate trips? Did you shoot stuff on the Gizmo film trips?

SM: I do, traveling is such an inspiring state of mind to be in, since what you see – you see for the first time, it’s almost like a childish point of view which you can never get in your hometown. I love to be able to take a stroll away from the skatespot for a while and see if I find something interesting to shoot. But also to capture the crew on the trip, I don’t take the role of the photographer on the trip, it’s more like I sneak in a couple of photos here and there. After all, I’m there to skate.

SB: Who on the team is fun to shoot photos of?

SM: Well, to mention a few, Hayley is always posing with some kind of hilarious face, so it's hard to catch her not doing that. I shot some super close-ups of Nicole while she was exhausted from charging it all day, I like those kinds of situations, where you have worked yourself so hard that there’ s just this natural expression of exhaustion. Josie has this thing where she always does a “chaka-like” (but not chaka) with her hands. Lacey just looks cool on photos, she’s a natural.

SB: Who are some of your favorite photographers in skateboarding and otherwise?

SM: In skateboarding, I’ve always looked up to Nils Svensson who is from Malmö. Japanese photographer Marimo Ohyama has an interesting eye. I really like the 43 magazine which is put together by Allen Ying. When it comes to outside of skateboarding, one of my favorite artists is Walead Beshty who works a lot with cameraless photography, as well as Jessica Eaton, which are both more working with photography as a sort of an object, or a painting, sometimes sculpture-like. I love Rinko Kawauchis’ photographs, I also think the very present approach to photography is interesting like David Brandon Geetings’ still life and Daniel P Sheas’ work to mention a few.

SB: Do you ever try to shoot skate photos?

SM: I try! I mostly shoot skate photos if I’m on a trip where there’s not another photographer around, or if I’m especially on a mission to be the photographer for the day. This is something that I have become more interested in lately, I never really considered myself a skate photographer.

SB: Being a photographer yourself, what’s like when someone is shooting a skate photo of you? Do you think more about their angle? Do you tell them where to stand?

SM: Haha yeah, I do think about it a lot, I think about the spot, the colors, the angle. I get extra motivated if it’s a good looking spot. I only tell them where to stand if they ask me for my advice or if it’s a friend borrowing my camera shooting a photo of me not really knowing much about photography, which happens sometimes.

SB: Is photography just a hobby for you or is it something you’d like to pursue more?

SM: To be able to work with photography/ art in one way or the other in the future would be amazing. For sure I’d like to continue studying it as well, to do a Masters in Fine Art Photography when I have the time for it.

SB: Any photo projects coming up?

SM: I’m on the never-ending project called re-editing my website right now! And I’m putting together some ideas for making a dummy for a book this fall. That’s about it for now.