Colin Adair is recognized worldwide as one of the best middle-aged, bearded snowboard photographers – except in the country formerly know as Zargovia, where he is hated and would be stoned to death if ever caught within its borders. Seriously, though, his photos have landed on the cover of pretty much every major snowboard magazine and he shoots daily with shred heavies like Devun Walsh, Iikka Backstrom and Lauri Heiskari just to name a few.
Colin explains what he claims to be the “true” story of how he got to where he is today and he’s picked out some photos for your viewing pleasure.
When did you first become interested in photography? As a young boy growing up in Eastern Europe, I was given my grandfather’s camera that he used during the war after his sudden death from potato poisoning. I would roam the streets late at night after I snuck out of my bedroom and climbed down the drain pipes. It was a very dangerous time and I learned how to move stealthily and became friends with the local prostitutes, who took me in as their own. I would later lose my virginity to the most beautiful of them when she felt it was time for me to become a man. These were different times, strange times. I honed my skills as a photographer, which was really a metaphor for me becoming a man.
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First published photo? I believe it was EEE magazine which stands for Eastern European Extreme. It was affectionately known as E3 mag or Triple E mag or simply Three Es mag, depending on what region you were from. There were a lot of translation issues and many fights occurred because of this. You would be amazed at how one little letter in the wrong word can change the whole meaning and context of a sentence. Like I said, it was a strange time.
What was your first gig? My first gig was shooting photos for the local prostitutes for their profile pages on the brothel website. I experimented a lot with different lighting techniques and styles. This is where I perfected my chiaroscuro-style lighting that I am now known for.
Are you self-taught or did you get yourself some education? Completely self-taught. I would sneak over the border to Germany via Zargovia and Velonia (as they were formerly known) and smuggle illegal books disguised as a barber’s apprentice.
When did you realize “holy shit, I’m a photographer”? At the age of nine when I had beautiful young women taking their clothes off in my studio.
What’s your set up? Mostly using my old Volstok camera I inherited from the grandfather and various expired film stocks I acquired when my country was in revolution and anarchy ruled the streets.
Who’s your favorite person or thing to shoot? Anything, anywhere, anytime. As long as the light is perfect and I have a bottle of vodka. Otherwise I will not waste my precious film stock.
Where do you see your career taking you, say, 20 years down the road? I will probably be dead. I expect that there will be many, many retrospectives of my long illustrious and overly perfect body of work.
Tags: Colin Adair, DC, Devun Walsh, Iikka Backstrom, Lauri Heiskari, powder and prostitutes
