Posted by
Robert J. Ballantyne
Venice Pier surf
Venice Beach wave (photo courtesy of Michael Graydon and Nikole Herriott)Michael Graydon: When we shoot commercially, one of the unique parts of our job is that it has to happen that day.
Nikole Herriott: In front of people.
Michael Graydon: There’s no, like, I ain’t feeling it today, do you guys want to go to the beach? Normally, it wouldn’t happen for a book either, but with Travis, if it wasn’t there, he’d tell us to stop banging out heads against the wall trying to make it happen.
Nikole Herriott: That’s how shots like this happen.
Michael Graydon: It was one of the first shots of the book and Travis fell in love with it immediately. That was just us wandering around the Venice Pier. You don’t get shots like this by saying, “Let’s go to the beach and shoot a contrast-y photo of the surf.”
Nikole Herriott: I think also as we got to know Travis more, it was possible to represent what he does and what his vision is, because he has a very distinct vision. By getting to know him and getting to know the people he chooses to work with and the food he makes – everything he’s about you get to know from being there. In order to represent him and represent him well, I think he knew that we needed time. Because you didn’t want it to be like the traditional Venice beach vibe of surfboards and skateboards.