Ok, i have to lay my cards on the table here. I’m both a big fan and friend of Grant Robinson. I met him years ago working for Dirt showing him around Wharncliffe Woods in Sheffield scouting for the cover shoot of the 100th issue of the Mag. I can’t say we instantly hit it off, but once we’d taken the piss out of each other for a while we gelled and I’ve been ripping it out of him ever since. Working with him on many photo shoots this piss taking has mainly consisted of pointing out that all of his photos are blurry (this is actually a complete exaggeration) and that he had a ‘blur dial’ on his camera that no one else had.
But therein lies the point. No one else shoots photos like Grant. You could open up an issue of Dirt and instantly recognise which articles were graced with his images. His style is his own and its brilliant. I’ve talked at great length with him (more piss taking) about this and, as he talks about in this film, his memories are not sharp. When he thinks back to moments he has enjoyed; they’re fuzzy, full of feelings and images. This is what he is able to convey in his photography so well, and because of it, they’re a fuller documentation of that moment in time .
When I asked Grant about Seb Kemps documentation of him he said “I stay behind a camera for a reason… and especially after seeing his piece on Jordan Manley, which is one of the most beautiful short films I’ve watched in a long time, I come across as a meathead dumbdumb”. I might call him grumpy but the Last thing I would call Grant is a ‘meathead’ or a ‘DumbDumb’ but this comes across in the film anyway. He’s so passionate about images, especially of bikes (both motor and pedal powered), about capturing those moments and doing them justice.
Grants body of work speaks for itself. He’s been a stalwart on the pages of Dirt Magazine for a very long time and hopefully will be again for a long time to come. He’s moved back to his native Canadia recently and is currently under metres of snow but he will never stop opening his shutter. Check his Instagram feed for more.
So to the Film itself. I’m very much enjoying Seb’s videography. He’s able to document his subject beautifully and at a great pace. Seb’s a gifted interviewer, both written and seemingly off camera. He allows his subjects to shine through showing off their passions and talents. Lets hope there is a lot more to come in this new series about ‘Togs.
Enough of the sycophancy, just enjoy the film.
I’ll confess, I’m a big fan of Grant Robinson’s photography. His work demonstrates that there’s many ways to take a good photo and there’s no such thing as the perfect way to do so.
While many action sport photographers create beautiful, pixel-perfect photos, Grant is one of the few who doesn’t just document the act but the emotion and feeling of the moment. He doesn’t often attempt to stage perfectly choreographed action sequences. While some photographers and their subject work tirelessly to manipulate the surroundings and reproduce The Moment, Grant is more than happy to snap and move on, avoiding recreating a synthetic representation of The Moment. Rather than trying to capture the action he lets it wildly dance all across the image. Rather than freeze-framing a millisecond, wrangling and seizing it forcefully, he allows the motion of the moment, the many moments, to truly show themselves. The result is what some people consider imperfect images and perhaps sloppy technique, but a closer look reveals a story about the warmth of the act, the adrenaline of being on the edge, and the dance of skill and chance, both for the subject and the shooter. Life isn’t perfect so why should every image be so? Some of Grant’s photos are far from some people’s categorization of excellence, but by being imperfect they display feeling or emotion that is much harder to place deliberately.
As he says, “It’s all a blur, it’s never perfect. I’m just trying to show that there is some life and some movement.”
His images contain a fashion and art aesthetic. Or perhaps more correctly, he allows the art and fashion of the activities in his photos to shine through. His photos also deliver a sense of empathy for the viewer because they are relatable scenarios, moments between the great moments that portray a personal or intimate milieu. There’s a sense of summer childishness, reminders of the halcyon days of youth, and invitations for us all to try and get away with something.
Many of Grant’s close friends get great entertainment from telling him that all of his images are blurry and that he can’t hold focus on his camera, but they truly know that if Grant takes a blurry image, it’s because he feels that it will do the subject more justice to show movement and energy in the photo, rather than stopping it dead in its tracks and taking away the motion inherent in the moment it was taken.
You have to know the rules before you can break them, and Grant certainly knows the rules. He just chooses to play on the edge a little. It would be easy to write Grant’s work off as lucky shots, accidents and uneducated guesswork, but he gained a formal education in photography, has studied the works of many masters, and understands the techniques, craft, science and theory of photography better than he lets on. When he does get his camera out he makes sure to understand the subject matter and where to stand in order to be sympathetic to the subcultural nuances. He has the ability to build a rapport with his subjects and appreciates and understands the source of their passion enough to let that shine through.
The flip side to Grant Robinson is his other photographic work which is conducted within the relative calm of a studio where he can orchestrate his subjects and light thoroughly. This side of his work contrasts completely with his action photography. Likewise, Grant is a juxtaposition. He can appear gruff, coarse and unruly, but he is also extremely well-mannered, very neat and ordered (despite his appearance) and is a very caring father to his two children.
One of Grant’s ongoing projects of passion is We Have Served Thee Well, a collection of uncluttered portraits of old, well-used tools and personal possessions. These simple images give the viewer chance to pause, appreciate and take pleasure in often overlooked and underappreciated objects and the life that they have lived. It started as a way of Grant holding onto things that he simply didn’t have room for anymore (he recently moved from Britain back to his homeland of Canada) and he wanted to preserve the beauty in these undecorated, disregarded items. For this film I traveled with Grant to Vancouver, BC where he shot pieces of Myk Rok’s and Reverend Norman’s personal, and extremely vast, vintage and custom motorcycle collection. This exposed me to another of Grant’s intriguing beliefs: that nerds are the best kinds
grantrobinson.com
The second soundtrack in the video is by The Vicious Cycles ‘Born Wild’ from their album ‘The Strange and Terrible Saga of…’ (Available HERE theviciouscycles.bandcamp.com/album/the-strange-and-terrible-saga-of)
Filmed and edited by Seb Kemp (2Flat)
“Between The Eyes” is an ongoing series of short videos that hope toe explore and communicate some of the fascinating stories behind photographers and their craft.
