Photolyfe: Luke Williams

Welcome to PhotoLyfe, in which Stab’s favourite photographers answer questions about themselves with their own images. It’s that old picture-tells-a-thousand-words chestnut but with more colour and pop. It’s a way to cut out all the bullshit. It’s like jacking into the main vein of those who supply us with exquisite surf imagery every day. Give thanks by studying each image with a more careful eye than ever!

Breaking this long spell between Photolyfe drinks is 22 year-old, Ventura-based Luke Williams. Luke smashed right into our radar by means of a praise-laden recommendation email from one of his friends. Having a spare moment we tapped a hyperlink to his website, saw what he had hanging on its walls and hit the boy up.

“Living in Arizona, my first subjects were the desert and the people who lived in it,” Mr Williams tells Stab. “A couple of friends and I would drive out into the drylands in between college classes simply because there was no one out there and there was a lot of landscape to explore. I was pursuing a degree in filmmaking at the time, (specifically screenwriting) and at some point bought an old canon film camera in a record store (I know that’s about as hipster as it gets).

“I started shooting the desert, the people and more specifically a couple of friends who could skate pretty well. The skate scene where I was living was amazing, filled with every level of skaterat a person could imagine from professional to me.

“After two years in Arizona I moved back home, purchased a digital camera because film’s too expensive when you don’t know how to shoot a photo, and enrolled in a local community college’s photography program.

“I graduated a year ago, and am now a commercial fisherman and working photographer.”

1. Describe yourself.

2. Where are you from?

3. What got you into photography?

4. Where do you wish you were right now?

5. What inspires you?

6. Who is your favourite person to photograph?

7. What makes the best photograph?

8. What’s your favourite weapon?

9. Describe your mood right now?

10. What else should we know about you?

Time to get social. Follow Luke’s Instagram here, or jump over to his website.