Ed Sloane - Photographer

Ed Sloane captures the beauty of the ocean and surfing through his lens. A mix of art and action in a perfect aesthetic composition is what makes his photography unique. 

What is it that you like about the surf and the ocean?

It’s full of negative ions and they’re good for your soul haha. I think that the ocean is probably the most captivating place to spend time, it’s a mix of beautiful, frightening and wondrous and that’s what draws me in.

You worked in environmental science prior to photography. How did you start doing what you do?

I’ve always surfed so when photography became a kind of minor interest one day I pretty quickly tried it in the ocean and it just really gelled with me. I didn’t have an artistic bone in my body before I found photography (still not sure I do actually haha), but I really quickly got inspired to shoot a lot of things I had in my head. I guess it was a kind of release from the high school – uni – career that was for me, 100% left brain

Do you travel much because of work?

It kind of varies, sometimes a lot, sometimes not so much. I certainly travel a lot more in this job than I used to. I love being at home and travelling equally, when I’m doing one I always want the other, you know how it is…

From the places you have surfed/visited, which one is your favourite so far?

Hard question! The world is amazing, everywhere is amazing haha! Some places like Tahiti just take your breath away, then there’s other trips or spots where it’s the people you were there with that make it. France is pretty high on the list for me for both reasons.

What do you love most about your job?

It’s a creative outlet but it also requires a bunch of skills and experience that have nothing to do with being creative. So it’s a good mix.

What is the scariest moment of your career?

Three large waves directly on the head at pipeline, it really had me worn down. I didn’t move out of the impact zone at all and thought I was in real trouble after the third one.

What sort of projects do you work with?

I’m 100% freelance so whatever arises really. I’ve worked on a wide range of projects around the ocean, another reason it’s such an interesting line of work.

Is there a particular project you will always remember?

Oh yeah…“The Reef”, an amazing and unique collaboration between Jon Frank and Richard Tognetti with the Australian Chamber Orchestra. It was a wild time in the desert.

There are a lot of good surf photographers out there, how do you make your work stand out from the rest?

I’m not sure I do, Instagram has us all looking fairly similar these days haha.

You are at the 2016 Rip Curl Pro Bells at the moment. Do you go to all the events on the Tour?

No, I’ve done quite a few events but not all of them and certainly not all in one year.

What sort of work do you do in surfing events?

It depends on the client really, in the past I’ve worked a lot with Surfline which has been a great editorial perspective at events. At the moment I’m working for the WSL which is really fun.

Where can we find you online?

Posted by: Marta Gallardo, on April 21, 2016
Categories: Interviews

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