Photolyfe: Margarita Salyak

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! 

Margarita Salyak’s imagery has been gracing our inboxes for some time now. Whenever there’s colour on the charts bound for Indonesia, we know that a dreamy care package of pixels from the front lines isn’t far away. Her shots are always vibrant, without having that artificially oversaturated smear (see: MySpace DP’s circa 2001), instead they have an organic and inviting appeal.

Obviously the twenty-four year-old Russian wasn’t born into the surf world, and it’s for this very reason she has such a unique and refreshing eye.

“I travelled a lot growing up,” Margarita tells Stab. “Since I was a kid I was into skateboarding and snowboarding, windsurfing later. There was a moment in my life when I felt I wanted to just go for a trip for a while without a ticket back… I chose Bali, Indonesia.

On the very first day I saw the Indian Ocean and was hooked. There was a huge swell at Padang Padang – they called it a ’15 year swell’. I snapped my first ‘surf photo’ at that time on my iPhone without any idea what was waiting for me.

I didn’t have a camera so I had to borrow one off my friend, photography was never my thing, but people were saying I had an eye for it.

Not long later friends said they needed a photographer for a boat trip in the Mentawais, so I went and it became my work right away. Two months later I was working in resorts and surf charters all over the Mentawais.

There’s nothing better than when you’re in the water somewhere like Pipe or Kandui, capturing those moments and sharing the stoke through your own eyes.”

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?

You can follow Margarita’s wanderings on Instagram, here.