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INTERVIEW WITH RYAN HEYWOOD // Interview by Jay Chapman

You just have to love a nice black and white photo shot on film. There is just something about it.
A "charm" if you will. Another person we happen to know that loves a black and white shot is Australian photographer Ryan Heywood, and we were lucky enough to be able to catch up with Ryan to have a chat about his shot's, his sticker remixing and nude beaches. So WTQ readers,
we are pleased to be able to introduce you to our shutterbug friend, Mr. Ryan Heywood Esquire.

Hi Ryan, how was your day? Anything exciting? Hi J, it was good, yeah i made a pattern!

Tell us a little about yourself. Ok , im 28, and grew up in a coastal town, I work as a designer, i also take photographs. I live in torquay, victoria. I surf when i can & i skate to work.

You work across mary formats and film types. Whats your favorite? Do you like to play favorites? Or give the whole team a run? Why? My favourite is 35 mm film, yeah its great, workable & compact. But to capture anything you just need to have a camera with you, doesnt matter what kind, results may vary, and thats the fun.

Your based down the victorian surf coast in torquay, this is obviously a big influence. Has it always been this way? Yeah its pretty mysterious, an influence for its landscape, stories and character. But not always, i just needed to leave my comfort zone, so i moved here, change things up. I dig it down here. Its cool.

You created the the web photo site bodysurf. How did this come about? Were you surprised at the response it received? Yeah i made this, because i love doing it and i thought it would be cool if i layed out a few shots from people based around enjoying the ocean, its a pretty basic thing to do, its accessible to anyone and its fun. Kinda like the website, so it was kinda mirroring the act of bodysurfing. Im so stoked with the response, very surprised. I get photos sent to me from all around the world, its epic. Im putting up the next one soon, it looks amazing.

You shoot a lot in the water. How is this achieved? I have a a few custom made housings by ocean wizard, Dave Kelly in newcastle. He is a problem solver and talented artist. So my camera go's in the housing made of plexglass & resin and assorted gadgets, i shoot a roll or two and there you go.

Have you got a favorite place on earth? Yes! A place i found on a road trip, a secret beach. It has a great little wave in the corner, and its surrounded by land so it looks odd that waves break there at all. Plus its a nude beach, so you have this wierd environment where waves break from no where and people that have nothing on but sunnies and zinc. Haha.

You recently made a small run of zien's for the zine fair in byron bay. You make them often? I make little scrap books of my stuff, i make some zines here and there, it was fun making the one for that show.

Tell us about sticker remixing. Ok! Haha its pretty simple, basically if you have multiple stickers of the same sticker you cut and stick it into something else. An example is when i was in year 6 a radio station did promotions in the area and they handed out a load of stickers and they said coast Rock FM, it was pretty easy to turn it in to Roast cock fm. Haha.

whats your favorite vegetable? Pumpkin for sure.

What was the last album you purchased? Any good? Dethklok's Dethalbum. A brutal album. Good.

Besides your photography, are you into any other art-forms? Yep i really enjoy the arts, all sorts. Id like to do everything! Performing arts is not on the list.

Who's for favorite Simpsons character? Moe Syslak, breakdance fighting.

Do you have any formal training? Yes i do, but it was more really smart casual training, a little less formal. I met a bunch of inspiring people.

Do you exhibit your work? Have anything in the works we should know about? I do show my work, when i have something complete and a real story. Im working on my stuff all the time, but i would really like to team up with some people and do a slide night. I havent done that for ages. Anyone keen? Bags not organizing.

Michael Keaton Batman or Christian Bale Batman? Michael Keaton, though Warren Miller's Matman was the best. Batman is pretty lame however.

What does Ryan Heywood do to chillax? Paddle away from the crowd. Or stare... Staring is pretty good.

Do you try to portray a message or feeling in work work, or just let it all happen in the camera? Nah, there's no message, thats for the viewers to deliberate, i just take photographs of moments or things i really think need a little more time to examine or adore.

Are there any artists your digging you think we should be keeping an eye on? Yep, i really enjoy the work of Brad Troemel, i think he is from Chicago, USA. Awesome

Whats your favorite wooden object? Shelves.

More of Ryan Heywood here