THE PHOTOGRAPHY OF CORY WILSON
intro
Frank Daniello Cory Wilson
stills and captions
Originally from Niagara Falls, Ontario, but currently posted up in East Vancouver, Cory Wilson has made a clear-cut national name for himself as a quick-footed talent on the board and one of the friendliest dudes in the game. However, fewer people are aware of his budding passion for photography. “I bought my first camera – a cheap Olympus digital point-andshoot that I ended up breaking [laughs] – before I went to Barcelona and Portugal in 2007,” the 23 year-old explains. “Then I bought a 35mm Canon AV-1 aperture-priority camera right before the second time I went to Barcelona in 2008, and that’s when I got more into shooting photos.” Cory cites the time he spends with talented professional photographers in Vancouver “skateboarding in front of the lens” as the main reason he became so interested in learning about cameras and capturing his perspective on the opposite end of the lens. “I’m still not that advanced, but I’m learning a lot,” he humbly admits. “I have five different cameras now – mostly 35mm pointand-shoots, along with a manual Nikon FA and my Canon G11
digital. When I’m broke I shoot digi [laughs]. I enjoy shooting with professional film, but it’s expensive so I don’t get to use it all the time. A perk of knowing professional photographers is they’ll kick me down a couple rolls once-in-a-while [laughs].” According to Cory, “daily occurrences” are what he tends to freeze-frame, although he does manage to work in a little subject matter that’s more directly related to what he’s well-known for in front of the camera. “I shoot quite a lot on trips; I’ll usually bring a film camera and my digital,” he says. “Just for fun, I even try to shoot a little skateboarding now that I have a camera where I can set the shutter speed [laughs].” The selection of stills Cory provided for this piece are shot on 35mm film, a medium he tends to enjoy most. “I like the raw feeling and the not-knowing aspect of shooting with film. The most rewarding thing is getting the photos back, and having them turn out how you wanted them to.” visit concreteskateboarding.com to check out some of cory wilson’s photo extras…
360 flip Photo: Caissie 28
Concrete skateboarding
Darren Wilson Niagara Falls, ON // June 2010 // Leica C3
Cab Catchers San Francisco, CA // Oct 2009 // Olympus Trip 35
Sean MacAlister –pole jam– Richmond, BC // July 2010 // Nikon FA
Juxtapostion Shenzhen, China // Nov 2009 // Leica C3
Market Lurking Guangzhou, China // Nov 2009 // Leica C3
Demolition Scavenger Shenzhen, China // Nov 2009 // Leica C3
“After a Quiksilver tour to Montreal and Toronto, I was fortunate enough to go back home and visit my family. I went kayaking with my dad in Chippewa Creek, and he’s about to launch in this photo. He bought the kayaks after I moved away to Vancouver in 2005, so this was my first time. My dad is the biggest inspiration in my life. He’s an artist, a hunter, a tradesman – he’s got so many different skills.”
“I’m happy with how this photo turned out. Sean was only around for one day because he was on his way to Victoria with Drew Merriman. He got three awesome tricks the day he was in Vancouver, and this is one of them. Sean is such a natural skateboarder – things come to him pretty easily and consistently.”
“I woke up early one day to check out a street market, and I saw this guy who had a device that could bang nails into the steel pipe he had on the table. He had a little microphone on, and he was trying to sell the tool. In China, I really enjoyed the experience of just skating around and taking it all in.”
“I was on a BLVD skateshop trip, and it was the second time I’d been to SF. We didn’t have a van or anything, we just took transit and skated to get around the city. This is just a random snapshot of some people about to jump into a cab, and it was shot on cheap black-and-white Kodak film [laughs].”
“We were just cruising by on our way to checking out the building in the background, and we came across these guys working. For me it was so bizarre because they’re probably getting paid maybe 80 cents-an-hour, and the juxtaposition of what’s going on here is interesting – the ancient looking man looking at the camera with a new age building in the background.”
“There was this construction site behind our hotel, and one morning I went for a walk and saw a lady standing there. It was crazy, they were tearing down all these buildings in the background, but they’d just leave the piles of rubble in this big vast space. And there were buildings in the middle of it all that people were still living in.”
The Layover Gatwick, Ireland // Jan 2009 Canon AV-1
“I was on my way to Barcelona with my girlfriend Rose and Jordan Mayfield, and we were supposed to have a layover in England. Turned out they got more snow than they’ve ever had in 20 years. We couldn’t land there, so we ended up in Ireland to wait it out for a couple days. The landscape there is amazing.”
Spencer Hamilton –frontside 360 Vancouver, BC // July 2009 Canon AV-1
“I was tagging along with a posse, but I didn’t end up skating this spot. Spencer had that trick in mind and we were all just posted up against the wall watching him skate, so I managed to snap the still. Spencer rips. He’s one of my favourites on a board.”
Bird Watchers Barcelona, Spain // Jan 2009 Canon AV-1
“This was at the Beer Banks, a famous spot in Barcy, and these old men showed up carrying boxes. I couldn’t tell what was going on, so I walked around behind them to snap the shot and it turns out the boxes were bird cages. They just parked their birds, then posted up and watched them with the dog. It was bizarre.”
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Concrete skateboarding
backside heelflip Photo: Caissie
THE PHOTOGRAPHY OF CORY WILSON web exclusive
(clockwise from top)
Dragon Dance Shenzhen, China // Nov 2009 // Leica C3 Statue San Francisco, CA // Oct 2009 // Olympus Trip 35 Snake-Boarder Foshan, China // Nov 2009 // Leica C3
City Hall San Francisco, CA // Oct 2009 // Olympus Trip 35
Sean MacAlister – wallride nollie out Barcelona, Spain // Feb 2008 // Canon AV-1
Chinese Dog Foshan, China // Nov 2009 // Leica C3
Graffiti Kid Barcelona, Spain // Feb 2008 // Canon AV-1
Spencer Hamilton Vancouver, BC // Apr 2009 // Canon AV-1
Drew Merriman – wallride Vancouver, BC // July 2010 // Nikon FA