Category Winner 2007: wings

Fred Mortagne

I’m mostly known for skateboarding videography — I’ve been making videos for major companies (éS Footwear, Flip and Cliché skateboards), since 1999 and have contributed to many other projects. I started to shoot a bit of photography in 2001, fueled by the frustration of visualizing photographs that none of the photographers I was collaborating with were shooting. I realized I found some kind of unseen photographic style and had to develop it. Trying to produce unformatted and unique photographs, I have a hard time getting them published in skateboard magazines, which generally focus on crisp color shots with standard angles of very good tricks. Skateboard tricks in my pictures are usually easy ones, as I’m more in a quest for style and aesthetics than action and performance. I don’t produce a huge amount of photographs; I try to give privilege to quality, and I attach a critical importance to things that I have fun doing. My pictures are usually displayed in portfolio articles, photo issues, ads, catalogs, and art exhibitions. 

I try to travel the world as much as I can from my home in Lyon, France. Skateboarding remains my main subject, as it is my primary passion. I still use both mediums — videography and photography — and I always will.

Nationality: France