Interview with Photographer Phil Gallagher

January 7th, 2010

Ian Macdonald recently caught up with Phil Gallagher to discuss his new venture just as le boogie issue 2 hit his mailbox.

After self publishing his ‘book about bodyboarding’, called DLUX, Australian and world renowned surf photographer Phil Gallagher is now self publishing his own ‘magazine about bodyboarding’ called le Boogie.

Your new mag le Boogie, what is the reason behind it, and why subscription only?

I wanted to try my hand at producing my own magazine after working for so long for other titles around the globe. I had planned to do this a few years back but the timing just did not seem right, I did how ever produce a hardcover book, which then gave me the confidence to go ahead and take the gamble of branching out on my own. I guess the main point of difference with my magazine is that you cannot buy it from a newsagent. I choose to make it an online purchase only thing for a few major reasons. 1. the project is so new that jumping straight into large print runs can often bring new titles down in the early issues. With only printing 2000 copies and reaching my core market through a medium I know they use on a daily basis just made sense. 2. There is no middle man its all me. I do not have to pay a distributor or newsagent all the sales go direct to me and this in turn helps the title survive off a lot smaller print runs than other magazines. 3. I really hate reading a great magazine and having it tainted with so many advertisements it feels like they are the feature of the title. Now don’t get me wrong I have adverts too in my magazine but they are limited to only 4 pages and they are positioned at the front and rear of the magazine to not interfere with the guts of the title. Also my clients like this as their adverts are exclusive and not drowned amongst their competitions promotions.

Are Riptide or Movement or other bodyboarding mags fans of le boogie?

I know it’s a hard thing for them to be totally stoked on it as suddenly all my best images are now being run else where, but I am sure there is a part of them which appreciates it in some way.

Are you now saving the best shots for le boogie instead of the other mags?

Its my little baby so I am pouring all of my time, money and skills into it at this stage. If I shoot a great image my first response is how can I run it in le BOOGIE. I do however still contribute to Riptide magazine and all the international titles still and I am still very focused on my advertising work within the industry.

How did DLUX perform? Will there be a DLUX 2 or is le boogie a substitute to that?

DLUX performed well in a lot of areas. It turned out 99% how I had hoped and portrayed what I had set out to very well. People where very excited and they loved the quality of the final product. And of course the actual sales were great. People all over the world purchased the book and it gave me so much confidence in my own work that alone was worth the time spent of producing the book. There are no plans on producing a DLUX 2 at this stage but I have just started a new publishing company called Wild Hearted Press, which is now running le BOOGIE and some other small print run projects for people. I hope to venture into the publishing side of thing a little more in 2010 and help other people create books, magazines and anything else we can help with.

Why primarily BB photography?

I did not really make a decision to only shoot Bodyboarding but it just seemed to work out that way. I guess its like being a big fish in a small pond and then someone asking if you want to be small fish in a big pond? I have so many friends within the industry and built my name up so it makes sense to use all the contacts and respect I have worked to gather for the last ten years. I do shoot a lot of other things, and I also have a studio which you can find me shooting all sorts of things from time to time.

Do you BB much yourself?

I try to whenever I can and the waves are ok, but not that much anymore. I did grow up spending more time at the beach than home or school. I still love good bodyboarding and all that goes along with it. If I rock up to the beach and the waves are average and I am just mucking around on a surfboard I always try to give waves to the young bodyboarders who are out there. It gets me feeling old looking at these 13yr old kids riding their bikes to the beach but I love it at the same time.

How’s married life? Does the missus travel with you for shoots? Is she a creative person too?

It’s a rare thing if we can travel together on shoots, but she has been lucky enough to come along once or twice a lot of the time its not really set up for travelling with partners and it can become a little unfair on them with how busy and hectic things can get. I am very lucky as she is very creative and has a pretty unstructured lifestyle / work life. This means we can often spend usual working hours relaxing with each other.

Where have you travelled recently? Has it all been for photos?

I have been to the Pacific a lot this year not all for work, some holiday time with friends who live in Tonga. I have been to Bali twice, Samoa, Tonga and the Cook islands. Across to WA at least 8 times chasing waves. SA four times. Driven across the Nullabor twice. American west coast right up to Canada chasing waves. Mexico. Vico a few times and well all over OZ really for a few different reasons. I actually have not been travelling that much the last 12 months due to le BOOGIE just getting this sorted out and up and running.

Did you study photography?

Not formally but I studied a lot of books and spent a lot of time asking questions and listening to the answers which in a way is what you would do at university I think. You never really know it all when it comes to photography as there is so many types and skills for any different moment or type of equipment to capture it with. So I am still learning everyday.

Equipment used. Favourite piece of equipment?

When it comes to Camera equipment I choose to use Canon for no real reason besides It’s what I learnt on and I have just been a fan since then really. I use all Apple computers ranging from laptops to desk tops to towers and apple monitors. And of course the trusty iphone is a pretty good business tool these days for updating blogs to checking weather and booking flights and well it makes calls which is what you want from a phone really.
As for the piece of equipment I love? I would have to say just a point and shoot old film camera I travel with all the time. It’s a Pentax K1000 with a straight 50mm lens. I have had it for years and I love using for the sounds it makes and the way the buttons feel and the shear weight. It’s a non intrusive camera for those moments when pulling out a high end flashy DSLR might not bring the attention you are asking for.

How’s the blog going?

Oh I feel a little guilty sometimes as its at a long list of things to do on the daily list of late. I do enjoy just having that little outlet to write and promote other peoples things. They are an important thing these days if you are trying to reach people without mainstream media. They are free, easy to maintain and no one can tell you what to do. I hope to make a more interactive blog soon which links all my working projects so people can go to one place rather than swapping between pages. philthedistraction.blogspot.com

Anything you would like to add?

I would like to thank everyone who has supported my work wether it be buying magazines or emailing me for advice. I have tried for along time to really find where I fit in the working world and only recently have I felt content doing what I do. Also a big thank you to my wife for supporting my dreams and new projects, we are a team but she does not get the credit she deserves a lot of the time.
You can check out my new magazine at www.leboogie.com

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Interview with Photographer Phil Gallagher