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JUST THINKING VISUALLY
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Brad Eastman is all about
action - not only the action that he captures in his shots but in the steps
he’s taken to create more exposure for Australian artists.  A prominent theme in Eastman’s work is skateboarding. To get some of the shots that Eastman has captured requires knowledge, timing, and a willingness to get your hands (and the rest of you) dirty. Fortunately Eastman is fueled by his passion for the work. ‘I've been skating since I was about 8, the first photos I can remember taking were of skateboarding as well. My mum loaded a film in her camera for me and let me take it out skating with my mates when I was about 14 or 15. I shot a whole roll of mistimed shots because my mum’s auto Konica camera had some nasty shutter delay. But that only made me want to try and try again. Shooting skating is so different from shooting other subjects - you end up lying in some gutter in some seedy street to get the right angle, and you definitely need to be able to skate to take good skate photos, because you need to know which way the subject is going to move and face, and how to place them in the frame in relation to the spot they're skating, and the timing as well. And I also think photos of people skating just look so rad! So full of action and style, I just can't get enough.’ While Eastman’s friends provide most of his models, skaters should be prepared to see Eastman on the sidelines of skate parks waiting to snap the best doing their stuff. ‘I pretty much just shoot photos of my friends that I skate with. And they have no choice in it, I just shoot away. Sometimes I'll watch someone skating, and if they're ripping I'll just go up and ask them if I can take a shot, and I've never had anyone say no. I've also shot photos at demos - I don't ask, I just shoot away. Come to think of it, I've never had anyone come up to me and ask me not to take photos.’  It’s not just the great skaters that drive Eastman after photos - rather, he’s all about capturing and freezing forever those perfect moments in time. ‘I try and capture the moment more than the person. Photos are moments in time, it's all about pressing your shutter at the right time, with your lens pointing in the right place. Some of my favourite photos I've shot at random with no time to set up. I don't really like shooting posed photos, I like the candid life. All day everyday I'm just thinking visually. I always thought it would be cool to be able to take photos just by thinking, like you could just blink your eyes or something and it would take a photo and store it in a hard drive in your head or something... that would be crazy. Soooo many photo opportunities I've missed out on just cause I either don't have my camera with me or I'm too lazy to get it out, or I'd rather skate than stop skating to shoot a photo.’ An interesting, and unexpected sideline to Eastman’s skateboard photography is his macro work, which comes from the delicacies and intricacies of nature. It’s at the other end of the spectrum from his more action-packed worked, and uses different techniques and technology accordingly. ‘I don't shoot much macro stuff. I have a little Canon Digicam that has a good macro focus setting. I like textures and patterns in nature. Most of the macro stuff I've shot has come from me just daydreaming and staring at something, then realising it would make a cool photo, so I shoot it.’ Regardless of the subjects a characteristic of all of Eastman’s photos is the use of light - there is an abundance of it that brightens every piece. It’s an entirely intentional use of lighting.  ‘Yeah I think so, especially in my skate shots, I like to use strong flash lighting from the side, it kinda makes them look harsh and gritty. Lately I've also been shooting fast transparency film and cross processing it, looks all dirty like, with strong contrast.’ Eastman has recently been turning his hands to other artistic work besides photography, the results of which will soon be unleashed upon the world. But his heart remains in the use of a camera. ‘I rarely setup photos to be like an artwork, I definitely prefer capturing other people, places and moments in my life. A lot of my photography is very personal-almost all the people I shoot are friends or family. If I'm going to create art, I will draw or paint. I've been drawing a lot lately, probably more than shooting photos. But I'm yet to unleash my pen creations to the world. I figured I would draw and paint a shitload of images and maybe exhibit them all in a year or two. So look out for Beastman art coming soon...’ |
Eastman’s
future artistic works may well follow on from present projects, as
even now the mediums of photography, art, and graphic design cross
over for him. ‘Yes definitely. I've always been very active in all three mediums, which I think is both good and bad. I mean I love shooting photos just as much as I love drawing, painting and designing. Sometimes I feel that if I stuck to one medium in particular the whole time, I might be more successful commercially in that area. but whatever... I do what I like. I like to mix up my photos, drawings and designs together, I just like making images. And it's also good to be able to express yourself through different mediums.’ Another creation of Eastman’s is weAREtheIMAGEmakers, a project designed to bring Australian visual work into the spotlight. Basically, Eastman saw a lack of promotional outlets for Australians and realized that if you want something done, you have to do it yourself. ‘I started weAREtheIMAGEmakers in late 2005. Basically I wanted to create a site or publication which focuses on promoting Australian artists, designers, illustrators and photographers. At the time I felt there was a lack of sites/magazines purely focusing on the growing Aussie creative scene.  Since mid 2005 I've been working in a design position in which I have a bit of spare time, so rather than really focus on bringing in extra freelance work, I thought it would be rad to just create work for myself and help promote all the amazing creative talent we have in Australia. Up until I started WATIM I didn't realize how many great artists we have down under. So in late 2005 I launched the site asking for submissions, and after an overwhelming response I launched the first issue on early 2006. The whole project is pretty much just myself, but I have had a bit of help from my friend Sarah Holmes who has helped me with promotion and funding the hosting.’ weAREtheIMAGEmakers has drawn interest from numerous Australian groups. The support coming from all corners means that that weAREtheIMAGEmakers is starting to develop momentum and go places. ‘We've had an really strong, positive response to the project, locally and internationally. I get a LOT of email from artists wanting to be involved and wanting to have their work featured on the site, which is awesome. The whole project is going really well, and has become a great database or source for the Australian creative community.  It has also been a great help having support from sites like Design Is Kinky and Australian Infront, who have flowed a lot of traffic across to WATIM. And from magazines such as Frankie, Design Graphics, Desktop, Wooden Toy, Pop and Slam, who have given us support also. The success of the site is beginning to open up more opportunities now, so I want to start focusing on doing more than just the website, like publishing books and putting on events etc. I can only do so much though, because it's not like we're making any money from the site, and I still gotta work to pay the bills. But look out in 2007 for some WATIM side projects.’ 
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