Yoann Cimier was born in Angers, France, in 1974. He began his media career in poetry and literature publishing around 1998, then worked on a cross section of roles including a journalist, editor and assistant manager. Having spent several years playing bass within a few different bands, he has moved primarily into photography over the last decade.
Yoann is a self taught artist, studying the work of past photographers, writers, painters and poets, finding constant inspiration through skateboarding and the streets since the mid- 1980’s. His move to this side of the lens, like many, was a result of several serious injuries skating. At the age of 35 he is still an avid collector of vintage books, records and movies, which is the subject of a long time project based on 50 years of Skateboard Extravaganza on his site.
As a Freelance photographer and author, he’s contributed to magazines such as Modart (Sweden), Color (Canada), Staf (Spain), 7th Sky (Austria), Thrasher, Sugar, Blackpool, Beach Brother, Agoride, and Désillusion in France, welcome to Yoann’s Triple Shot.
Image: Reserved Rights
OK, let’s start at the beginning, why did this particular image inspire you so much to take up photography?
Images from the end of 1980’s such as the first Etnics then Etnies adverts, Natas and Mickey Reyes, had a very strong impact on us as adolescents. It was really impressive to see these big tall guys skateboarding. It was definitely not a toy or a child amusement anymore. That was the first step.
The second step was around 1993 with that picture of Kris Markovich for Foundation Super Co. That picture was more than skateboarding, it was about photography. The straight composition, the perfect timing, the black and white film. It was pure photography and pure skateboarding. It was just the way I loved skateboarding. The way I wanna see it. The movement, the huge distance, the impressive spot, the hair floating with the speed, and the magic feeling of lightness – the essence of style both in skateboarding and photography. At this time Kris Markovich was a kind of a reference from the 1980’s, flying overhead in a very aerial style, just like Natas did in his time…
That picture is a classic for me, I always have it in my mind as a reference of perfection. You can make a career and a name with just one picture, if it becomes a classic.
Have you ever felt bad about taking a photo?
I never felt bad about taking a photo, only when I’ve missed a photo. It arrives all the time when I don’t have my camera with me and this is the same story for all photographers I suppose, all we can do is keep these missed photos locked in our mind.
Best and worst days shooting skateboarding of your life so far?
I rarely shoot professional skateboarders anymore. I’m not interested by the whole folklore and official fame of skateboarding, not like I was in my teenage years. My work explores the environment of skateboarders, not skateboarders themselves. I just describe their ability to see and use the city as a true pleasure ground where energy and spirit can be expressed to the full. I don’t mind the name or even the trick the skater does. I find a nice spot, I put the skateboarder exactly where I want in the frame and ask him to do the trick that will fit the best in the environment, in order to produce a well balanced, explicit picture. So I’m not concerned about the best or worst days shooting.
What’s the relationship like between a photographer and filmer?
I did a video with my buddies a long time ago at the end of 1990’s. It was called Mais qui est donc Ollie Master? It was fun but the process was really too long for me. There’s too many external elements to consider, to get the stuff done. It is really frustrating in many ways. In video I think the best part is the link with music, which is the fuel of skateboarding. I see skateboarding as a kind of dance with all that spontaneous raw energy, rhythm, movement, coordination, style, beauty…
I finally opted for photography because it simply fits me better. It’s more transportable, easier to control every aspect on the scene. The process is faster, and the STILL image leaves more freedom and imagination to the spectator. That’s what I really like with photography. But I’m very interested right now by the future possibilities of doing video with camera gear with photographers controlling videos just as they control photography. Photography is a language in itself, transposed to the video it can be the most beautiful thing on earth. I think a photographer can always be a good director. Inversely is far rarer.
Please tell us why you have selected this particular image as your favourite skate photo?
I’ve selected that image cause it has all the ingredients that I’ve described before. No matter the skater’s name. The subject is the act of skateboarding in a specific environment. Technically it is a basic architecture shot, but with a tiny disturbance inside (the skater) which turns the picture out of its original meaning. The skater here appears as a contrasting element with the stillness, the heaviness and boredom of architecture. Skateboarders are people who lay their lives on the line, a thin frontier which separates the corporeal from the corporate. In that way, skateboarding had always been in search of balance. That is finally its deepest essence. Since the 1950’s, skateboarders are have been trying to escape from the system and the laws, starting with the one of gravity. It’s a perpetual quest of freedom. That photo takes place in Lisboa, Portugal, around 2005. The skater is Francisco Lopez, who was also an architect. So when we met, we really had the same approach to skateboarding.
Have you found any ways of getting subsidised or free equipment as you continue to grow or do you have to fund everything yourself?
I always give value to things I do. It takes time, but I’ve always done the things on my own. However, with the reviews I do for www.skate-site.com, I got books, DVDs and press kit stuff for free.
Do you manage to get by in life on the income generated by skateboard photography alone?
I’m a little bit too old now to believe in that juvenile idea. But if you’re eighteen and accept living in your car, eating chips each day and getting involved in a fight every month to be paid by the magazines, go for it! It could be better to make it happen in California, not as cold as Europe in winter…
What music artists can you not leave for a tour/shoot without?
Harry Whitaker, Edgar Varèse, Bill Laswell, Gianni Ferrio, Frank Zappa and Tortoise, Liquid-Liquid…
If you were to buy an entry-level camera for capturing skating on a budget, which camera would you suggest?
Pentax MX or LX (Single lens reflex), Konica Hexar (rangefinder), Contax T2 (point n’ shoot). Easy to find as used, great quality lenses, and really cheap nowadays…
Would you recommend digital or film?
Film first, to learn the basics of photography and light. Aperture, speed, sensibility, depth of field… along with the different film size, brands, techniques (slide, negatives, processing) I recommend to try Agfa Scala (a black & white slide film) before it’s definitely gone! Then, keep an eye on digital compacts such as Sigma DP1 or DP2 (maybe a bit too slow for skateboarding but great images), Olympus Pen EP-1, Canon G10… The G10 can synchronize with flashes at all speeds, while high end digitals reflex synchronize at less than 1/300. It can be a really nice choice for a first camera to shoot skateboarding. Maybe hard to get a full page in a magazine, but for web publishing you can seriously consider that one for its reasonable price.
What are the benefits of using both?
I use film mostly for my personal projects because I can manage accurately the rendition I want for each purpose in terms of colour, format, type of cameras, tiny faults, soft focus etc… I can also play with the contrast in pushing or retain the ISO sensibility until obtaining some effects à la George Seurat or getting very soft and smooth images with long exposures at 25 or 12 ISO. You can’t shoot at these sensibilities with digital and for long exposures, the pictures get an ugly grain which is corrected by weird algorithms. That is not photography anymore. These are the limits of digital for the moment. Analog photography is now an empty field, reserved for the artists and collectors. Just like vinyl for music. However, digital is definitely a standard, perfect for commercial use. You can get super clean pictures full of details, better than reality itself. Fast and sharp as your television. I prefer cinema.
Please tell us about the non-skate photo you have submitted and the story behind it.
I’ve lived in Tunisia for two years now. That picture was the first I took when I arrived in Tunis in 2007. Months later, I noticed that the photo represents exactly the country I was now living in: demographically, there’s a lot of more young people than elderly in Tunisia. In the picture, the ratio is almost exact. The young Tunisians are orientated towards the future, probably dreaming of the other side of the Mediterranean sea, dreaming of Europe, while the fisherman seems to be attached to his quiet life and roots, coming back to the port. The contrast between the two generations intersecting is really great. The barbed wire (on left) mixed with the perfect blue sky, also retains the two different faces of the country. During an exhibition in Tunisia, some of my pictures have been bought by the Tunisian Ministry of Culture for their contemporary art department. I will try to sell some skateboard photos this year.
What kit do you use personally?
I don’t use 24×36 anymore, except an Hasselblad Xpan which uses 35mm film in 24x65mm format, with outstanding 45mm & 90mm lenses. The medium format quality on a standard film format. My Hasselblad 500C from 1967 remains my favorite with the classic and beautiful planar 80mm. I also use a Sonnar 150mm for portraits. A Pentax 67 that I use with a 55mm wide angle for landscape, action… and a 35mm fisheye. For professional applications and commercial assignments, I use a Canon 50D with 16-35 L mainly for reportage, and a 60mm macro lens for products, packshots and portraits. In the street I use several Metz flashes with Pocket Wizards, and some lightboxes + handmade stuff in studio and sometimes I’m wandering outside with my Holga.
What main advice would you give to upcoming skate photographers?
Find yourself the camera equipment which will fit best with your vision. Find and develop your own style. Experiment. Don’t focus on heavy, expensive equipment. Keep your money for traveling. Just like skateboarding, go out, explore and progress and take photos and learn by making mistakes. Forge your own culture outside skateboarding and keep your eyes open.
Where can we find your work online?
Skate Site which has a portfolio section but its mainly an anthology of skateboarding since the 1960’s through collectors items : vintage records, books, movies, magazines. I’m currently working on a full English version. Enjoy.