Surf Photographer Ollie Wan Finds the Harmony Between People and Nature
Surf Photographer Ollie Wan Finds the Harmony Between People and Nature
Delsey Paris x VISUALPLEASURE
NEW HORIZONS - WORLD TOUR 2024
COSTA RICAN Artist of the week - Ollie Wan
Name:
Delsey Paris x VISUALPLEASURE
NEW HORIZONS - WORLD TOUR 2024
COSTA RICAN Artist of the week - Ollie Wan
Photography:
Ollie Wan
Words:
Erica Nichols
It may not feel instinctive for a photographer to release control, but Ollie Wan knows that oftentimes, letting go is the deciding factor between a good photo, and a great one. The nomadic photographer lets his travels guide his lens, leaning into longer-term stays to truly understand a place. Most recently, that’s been in Costa Rica, where he spends his days following local surfers as they navigate the rewarding and unpredictable nature of the ocean. We spoke with Ollie about his start with photography, the lessons the water has taught him, and what he created for our DELSEY Paris collaboration.
What first drew you to photography and how has your relationship with your art developed to where it’s at today?
Ollie Wan: It all started when I was 11, when my dad gave me one of his cameras. Photography has always been a thing in my family; even though it was never something that we considered as an actual career, it was a way to cherish and treasure moments.
The discipline I fell in love with was street photography. I would live close enough to Barcelona to practice it frequently, and spend most of my savings on short trips around Europe just to wander with my camera. At some point I had the chance to move to the Canary Islands, where I discovered the surf culture. I met lots of new people and some of them were way ahead of me in their surfing journey, so I decided to get a water housing for the camera and catch up to them in the lineup. Little I knew that I had just found my biggest passion.
What are some of the most important qualities of a photo to you?
The immortality of it. And having things to say. What I think is one of the most important qualities of an image is the gift to perdure. When someone decides that a moment should be remembered — the chance to grasp a glimpse of time and freeze it for eternity — it creates a message between the person who lived it and the person who’s looking at it. So if you can add some kind of special value or meaning to your photography, it is more likely to reach more people and become immortal.
What do you hope people see or feel in your work?
Photos become memories and memories take us back. Most of my favorite moments in life have a picture of it. Having this collection of memories has encouraged me to build a ‘life’s work’ project, seeing what my eyes saw. Even If it’s just for me, I will be happy to look at it years from now and see all these adventures, experiences, and friends I got along the way.
You describe yourself as ‘non-commercial.’ Why did you choose that route and what’s the effect that has on your work?
I see my photography journey as a never-ending process of self discovery. Living in this world means being constantly blasted by thousands of images and information that we didn’t ask for, through advertisement or social media. I like to keep my life private and my photography mine, separating myself from any trends and numbers.
This can sound awkward but to put it somehow, I’ve always seen my work as my baby. The way of caring about it felt natural to me and I took that route. I thought it would be wise to have fun with it early in my career, and later I got to the stage of working, but still having my head in the clouds, so it was easier to reject projects that didn’t fulfill me. Later on I got to start making some art and now I’m starting to have a lot of freedom with it.
Can you share a little bit about what surf culture means to you?
I grew up with a basketball in my hands. The concrete was part of my daily life. So naturally, when I found out about surfing, it really changed me. To center your life around a wave, it just makes so much sense to me now. There’re so many things to talk about the surf culture, but to point just a few, the fact that it happens not on some concrete but on the ocean itself, and not when you want it but when the conditions are right, it just makes it extra fun. You see the value of how lucky you are and you focus on staying present. It reminds you that nature is always in charge. When you surf a wave, you know it’s going to end at some point, but that doesn’t make you stop enjoying it. Maybe you could have gotten a better one, sometimes you get the bomb of the day, but in the end, there’s always one more wave coming. I believe this as one of the most important teachings surf culture has shared with me, and the deeper you get, the more you discover.
When you need a dose of inspiration, where do you find it?
In the ocean, easy. There are days that I grab my camera and I go for a swim. Even without a camera, the ocean provides every single time. You’re making your way into the lineup and you think you know more or less what to expect from the session. You say hi to your friends. You find your position, but this current takes you this way, and you consider maybe you are too stiff, so you loosen up a bit. You’re not deep enough and a wave comes to rock your world upside down, you come up and fill your lungs with air, you feel awake. Now it’s been more than an hour swimming around and nothing great has happened and you found some peace between sets. You see the people on the shore and behind them, the jungle spreads along the coast line. The light hits the palm trees, pelicans soar through empty waves, and the gaze from the crash of the waves makes it look like you’re watching some 90’s movie. But it’s real life and now all of the sudden you see something. That’s where I find my inspiration. There’s an infinite amount of possibilities in the ocean, you just got to let it show you.
How do you continue to grow or challenge yourself as an artist?
I like something David Bowie said. He said if you are safe in the area you are working in, you are not in the right area. So I always seek challenges, twisting things a bit every once in a while. It can come from something simple, like trying out different lenses. It can be about going on a spontaneous trip or moving to the other side of the planet. Sometimes I made all the wrong decisions, wondering how I messed up so bad. Maybe I was trying a new route and ended up running out of gas. But that’s the beauty of it and it makes everything better, even yourself.
What drew you to Costa Rica?
I moved to Costa Rica after the pandemic happened. The idea was to stay here for a few months and keep on traveling, but the sunsets and the people of this country stole my heart and now it’s impossible not to think of Costa Rica as my home. It’s the place I will always come back to.
How does travel influence your work and world view as an artist? Any specific travel stories that have stayed with you or informed your work?
I’m curious by nature, so I’ve always thought that travel as a lifestyle would be a dream life. Now I understand that we are not invincible, and neither is our planet, so I try to keep my carbon footprint low. I don’t travel to many countries, but I do live in many countries. Long stays are my vibe and I like to cook it slowly, even if there’s not enough time in life to see all that this planet has to offer. Why should I see a country in two weeks when I could stay there for six months? That’s the privilege I found through surf photography, that anywhere with a wave could be called home at some point and I’m looking forward to it.
Talk to us about what you’re creating DELSEY.
We were talking about challenges before, and DELSEY brought me one of their own. When Delsey pitched the idea, I was thrilled. What they were asking me was a challenge in so many ways, and an excellent opportunity to do something new. I chose the surf town of Santa Teresa as the main location for the photoshoot because it’s very singular for me. Here is one of the few places left, that I know, with a harmonic relationship between jungle and people. It’s also home to so many really talented people I call friends. I called Tavo Rio, a professional native surfer from Santa Teresa, with this idea to take DELSEY’s new Turene Soft Backpack for a surf. We loaded it up with all sorts of goodies and got tons of waves with it. We wiped out, passed it around, and the rollover backpack pulled it off.
