Skip Hunt

Tell us a bit of your history. How did you get to where you are (in a thumbnail version)?
I was born in Oklahoma City. My mother was a child psychologist, and my father sold advertising. They both have passed… around the holidays actually… so this time of year I try to occupy my time with creative endeavours as much as possible to keep my mind off it. Strange, but the hardest time of the year… has also become my most creative time of the year. Strange isn’t it?

My parents both shared a passion for travelling, guess that’s where I get it. I have continued that tradition with 16 countries under my belt so far. Several more than once.

I originally thought I’d get my feet wet travelling by joining the U.S. Navy, but ended up spending the majority of the time in Jacksonville, Florida helping to deliver babies in a Naval Hospital. I must’ve helped deliver at least 300 babies during my tour, and a few dozen on my own when it got busy during full moons. But did almost no travelling at all. Again, funny ain’t it?

When I got out of the Navy, I moved to Austin, Texas and fell in love with the place. It makes the perfect base for me. I love living in Austin, so it’s not so difficult coming home when the trip is finished.

How did you find your way to RedBubble, and now that you’re here, what keeps you coming back?
I can’t recall how I found my way to RB. I think I followed someone’s link to check out their work… and really liked the layout and interface. I also like how you don’t really have to spend so much time on the socializing part. I like to get in… and get out… so that I can get off the bloody computer and go make more images and “live”.

I do really like the ease of use, and the general clean layout and design of Red Bubble. It’s very intuitive and the design doesn’t distract from the work. I also like the fact that you can get involved in the social side if you want, but it’s the same action of merely adding a new image to offer for sale. On many artist community sites, your gallery is one part… and the socializing is a completely other part. On RB, it feels more like a hybrid and more efficient in that respect.

Who are your absolute favourite artists? Are they from RB? If not, who are your favourite RB artists?

A favourite RB artist? That’s impossible for me to select. One of the many reasons I’m proud to be a member of Red Bubble, is that there is just so much magnificent talent here. Frankly, on any given day, my favourites change.

At the moment though… there’s an abstract painter named Dale Witherow whose work I’m quite intrigued by. Possibly because I think his work looks like what I might produce if I painted. ;-)

That reminds me… there’s a photographer here in Austin, Texas who does fantastic work. Great commercial work and splendid fine art work as well. I’m just amazed at his range and library of work. This guy just goes on and on about my work and how much he likes it. I’d seen some of his work before, but not until recently when I was in his studio did I fully realize just how much of his work just really grabs me.

I then became a little suspicious and just asked the guy point blank, “Your body of work is quite amazing. Why are you giving ME so many glorious compliments when your work is just as good, if not better? What’s your game dude?” He simply answered, “I like your work so much… because it looks like mine.”

I can’t think of a better compliment. :-)

Also, I’ve only recently discovered the work of Andre Kertesz. What an amazing, underrated master this guy was! Especially his colour work with Polaroids before anyone really knew what to do with Polaroids. But, all of his work inspires me.

I have to also mention that most recently, a fellow photographer turned me onto the film Decasia: Directed by Bill Morrison that has been my most recent inspiration. If you haven’t seen the film, it’s worth multiple viewings. Quite haunting and achingly beautiful.

Looking at your profile, you’ve clocked up some miles in your lifetime. Have you always felt the need to see other places?

My motivation for travel is a fascination and love of all the diversity between cultures, and learning that with all our differences we’re all basically the same. I oftentimes wonder if everyone could find a way to travel and immerse themselves in different cultures, if that alone might end wars. The more you travel the more you see that we really are ALL part of the same world community.

It really angers me when I hear others coldly state that they think the U.S. should just “nuke all of those people”. Actually, it infuriates me! I can’t understand how many of these people can’t see that the lives crushed by those countless bombs are just people no different than you or me. They all just want to make a nice life for themselves and their families. They’re all just trying to get through this life and trying to figure out what it all means just like the rest of us. I often wonder if these people could just live with some of these “other” people for a few days, if they’d still be so quick to champion the use of bombs as diplomacy. I think that’s what I’d like to do more of with my work… try to show others that we’re ALL part of the same world family. And ALL deserve the best life has to offer.

A lot of your work seems to be defined by strong contrasts, either in colour or light and shade. How much effort to you put into composition (ie: do you set up the shots, or does your eye draw you to them)?

I think the images from any image-makers are basically graphic representations of that artist’s “self” and influences. That’s probably why it sometimes hurts a bit when people don’t respond at all to your work or respond with indifference. It’s as if your “self” is being rejected.

However, with regard the images I’ve made I think they not only represent elements of my “self”, but are also a manifestation of my particular cultural input. For example, personal aesthetic choices I’ve made based on the galleries I’ve been to… the art in advertising I’ve been exposed to… the movies I’ve chosen to see… art in other cultures I’ve experienced from a traveller’s perspective…. etc.

So, I guess I identify with my images as the net result of what I’ve been exposed to and have chosen to retain at this point in my life. I think in the beginning, you tend to emulate other artist’s work that you like. You go through phases of emulating and copying different styles while keeping favoured little bits of the styles you’ve already been through. Eventually, the combination of different bits of style that have influenced you over time become something unique to you, or your visual signature/identity.

Here’s a bit of something marginally poetic that I wrote to describe my relationship with colour:

“Studied in logic and form I bear down to trudge the day’s first steps…

I calculate each stride with purpose and intent…

…never lifting my eyes to witness beyond my lonely sphere.

A swallow calls in lavender and I pause. How can that be?

I lift my steel vision to inspect the preposterous oddity and am blinded.

A cornucopia of something called colour sends me whirling and tumbling into a new candied world vibrating with organic visual symphonic bliss.

Finally, I am awake!”

Looking through your folio here, there are sometimes visual motifs that run through a small group (eg: colonial Spanish colours, up close portraits, obscure objects, black and white). Do you go out with your camera with the intention of taking a type of shot?

No, not really. I just try to go out with my mind completely open and focused on everything. I’ll try to pay attention to how many architectural shots I’ve already taken, and force myself to shoot more close up details… then realize I haven’t shot any human elements yet, so I’ll shift gears once again… etc. I like to document for myself all of the elements in a location that draw my attention, and work to look past the usual elements most people would be intrigued by. I’ll shoot the most obvious elements first, but then focus on showing what most don’t even realize they’re seeing. In other words, I think everyone soaks up ALL of the little details in a location just as I do, but it’s more subliminal. I try to bring those items that colour the subconscious, and bring them into the light of the clear consciousness.

What are you seeking creatively (and are you seeking anything in the first place)?

Some people are driven to accumulate as much material wealth that they can. Some collect cars. Others collect antique dolls. My obsession is collecting a wide variety of life experiences. Capturing images is one method of documenting those memories. When I look through my images, it’s like I’m entering a time machine and am instantly taken back to the moment when I captured the image.

I’m reminded of a line in the movie Blade Runner by the actor Rutger Hauer:

“I’ve seen things you people wouldn’t believe. Attack ships on fire off the shoulder of Orion. I watched C-beams glitter in the darkness at Tan Hauser Gate. All those moments will be lost in time like tears in rain. Time to die.”

Photography is my way of catching those precious moments so that they will NOT be “lost in time like tears in rain.”

I usually pick a new location based on the possibility that I will feel absolutely lost in a strange new world, and that the period of time before it becomes too familiar will be the longest. I really love the feeling of being a strange explorer in a new world.

You seem to draw your creative energies from a variety of sources, what are some of them, and what’s the attraction?

For different kinds of photography, I think the quintessential element(s) change. With portraits, I think the most important element is that you feel like you “see” the subject’s soul. Not just a photo of an inanimate human form, but some evidence there’s some spirit or essence behind the eyes. I think this only happens when subject and photographer connect at some level. You can see it when it happens. A good example would be most of Richard Avedon’s portrait work. Technically, his portraits were typically lit with simple diffused lighting and a plain white background. Very easy to duplicate. But with Avedon’s images, there’s something else. Something that transcends the flat 2-dimensional photo paper. Some evidence of “soul”.

With most other types of photography, I would say the quintessential element(s) would be overall balance between colour, texture, light, shadow, and line. Pretty much the same with any graphic art. Either texture or colour or line that pull the viewer into the image, leads the eye through until the desired emotion is achieved.

It’s hard to pinpoint exactly what it is…only, you know it when you see it. Personally, I think anyone who can recognize “it”, is capable of making “it” happen for themselves in their own work. Doesn’t really matter so much if you have an aptitude for photographic gear or not. What’s important is being able to recognize that “it” or having “the eye”. I think anyone who appreciates and recognizes great photographic images has the aptitude for making great images themselves.

Tell us about the shooting of these images (the shooting conditions, challenges you faced, the methods you used):

Eight
Nothing special about the conditions when I shot this image. I was travelling on a motorcycle in Mexico with a new friend and explaining to him about my photography and how you just have to be always subconsciously observing. I had a little Panasonic point and shoot with me and said, “Like this for example… the orange in this home is amazing, and if composed just right, creates an amazing balance with the stairs leading you further into the image…”

Kinda funny really. As I was explaining the scene as a mere example, I thought, “Hey, this would make a nice image. I think I’ll just go ahead and grab myself one. ;-)"

Coven
I again shot this one while on a motorcycle trip in Mexico. Different trip though. It was twilight and I’d just happened to arrive in this very strange town a day before their biggest festival of the year. The whole town was being transformed into a giant market space and these torsos caught my eye in a somewhat disturbing way, but also comical and intriguing. I think they were actually selling the torsos and weren’t there to display clothing. Something you just don’t normally see for sale in a U.S. festival. ;-) The only challenge was that there wasn’t quite enough light and I have to make do with a light post as a temporary tripod. And, deal with the staring eyes of locals wanting to know why the heck I was taking photos of torsos.

Monk
The only challenge with this image was that it was incredibly windy and I was trying to get a shot of this lone monk taking a break outside of a Wat temple in Bangkok while lighting my cigarette (have now stopped smoking) but I remember I was carrying my boots that I’d taken off to enter the temple, juggling my camera gear to get this shot, and trying to light a cigarette in high wind as you can see by the monk’s robe flying up.

Orizaba Painter
This fellow seemed a bit crazy. At least that’s how everyone seemed to be treating him. I watched him daily show up at this old abandoned building, and start painting abstract shapes here and there. He’d then just stand there posing with his artwork for others to enjoy, and making himself part of the art. He wasn’t even begging or accepting donations. Just making art.

I then realized he wasn’t crazy at all and asked him if he minded if I took his portrait. He seemed over-joyed that anyone was actually paying attention…and that at least one person seemed to understand what he was doing and why.

Raj Guard
The only challenge taking this image posed is that this guard had caught me in an area of a Rajasthani palace that I wasn’t supposed to be in. Sort of like asking a cop who’s caught you back stage without a pass and asking him if you can take his photo. ;) But, I just saw that face… those glasses… that mustache… and simply had to ask if I could make just one image. The fellow was cordial… posed… waited for me to make sure I got the shot… then escorted me away. ;)

It’s often said that with landscape photography at least, the best photographs of a given location come from the photographer being familiar with the area. Do you think that’s true? Why/why not?
I really don’t do much landscape photography. There are so many folks who do that so well already, and I’d like to explore more unchartered waters. Still, if I see something that would just be sacrilege NOT to photograph… I’ll go ahead and shoot it.

I don’t plan it so much though. I’ll notice a landscape, and make a quick mental note of what time of day would be the best to shoot it in. I’ll keep that note in my head… sort of in the background, and when the light is right for the scene… I’ll rush back and try to get a shot in prime light.

I do the same with pretty much all aspects of a given location. I don’t really walk around with a camera around my neck much. I’m just always observing and making informal mental notes. Then when the light and my mood is right, I’ll decide “today in image making day” and will focus my mind solely on making images for several hours straight. I don’t talk much, and prefer to be alone… completely entranced with the process of making images, but sort of concentrating also on the philosophical ideas I’d been thinking about most recently. Or, listening to some music on my headphones. ;-)

When I feel like the location is sufficiently “covered” and or all my creative energy spent, I’ll put away the gear and go have a drink. But still, ALWAYS observing and making mental notes for another day, or possibly a follow-up trip to the same location.

If you had to identify something in your work that you’d like to improve, what would it be?
Hard to say, I’ve reached a point where I’m fairly content with what I’m doing. But if I had to say something… I’d say I’d like to focus primarily on images that move ME and not try to fill it out with cliché images I know others expect and enjoy. Nothing wrong with that, but I’d like to force myself to explore more into other realms without regard to whether or not anyone else is going to like it. I do that most of the time, but if I see something cliché that’s quite good… I’ll shoot it so that I’m “covered”. But, I think I’d like to ignore more of those shots from now on.

What’s ahead for you in the coming year?
Ahead for me? Plans? I never have plans nor do I plan to have a plan in the future.
;-) Seriously, likely more travel… and, one of the most important criteria for my travelling is that I have almost no itinerary. I absolutely love surprises and discovering something new around every corner. A new face, an interesting bit of aged texture, a quality of light that either awakens some familiarity to me, or a quality of light that’s completely new. As soon as I start making plans, I start counting the minutes, hours, and try to control how my time is spent. When you try to control and organize, it sort of shuts down the possibilities of “chance.” A chance meeting…. A trip that was supposed to be around a month that turns into 3 months…. An unfortunate delay that turns into getting stuck in a wonderful town during the biggest festival of the year. etc.

I have no idea what I’ll do next. I’m sort of toying with a long peaceful walk in Kathmandu, getting lost in the Brazilian side of the Amazon, or disappearing into Mexico for awhile and soon. I’ve been there many times, but there’s a surreal, raw, primal, honesty there that I could use a dose of at the moment. Or perhaps the Korn Islands in Nicaragua. Who knows? I’ll drop you a line when I get there. ;-)