Insight on Toronto born Skateboarder and Photographer, Justin Graham.

Justin Graham's Portfolio: I-Candy Instagram:@Ctrl_System

Artist Statement: Justin Graham

First and for-most, My name is Justin Graham. I am an 18 year old Skateboarder/Photographer (and soon to be entrepreneur) born and raised in Rexdale, Toronto Ontario.

Here is a little insight and some personal details on when I started Skateboarding and how it had a huge impact on me taking up photography.

As a kid, I was always fascinated by little things that most kids my age wouldn’t even bother to acknowledge. I was always trying to show somebody “look, look at how the sunset looks right now,” “look at how the light is glowing on the water.” Growing up watching anime shows, playing video games and taking in the sceneries that the animation artists were portraying on the screen was one of the reasons why I started to sort of question my perspective on how I viewed what I was seeing through my very eyes. I started to analyze everything a lot more which made me start to have deeper thoughts about the world around me and what I really wanted to be when I grew up.

When I was 13 years old, I picked up skateboarding. That’s when I really started to pick up on the vastness of our world. As a skateboarder, you are constantly looking around, analyzing your environment and keeping an eye out for new pieces of architecture to express your creativity on. I have been skateboarding for 5 or 6 years now and it has had a huge impact on my life in a positive way. There are so many, if not, unlimited amounts of spots to skate around the world. That’s what I enjoy about skateboarding. You can express your talent in anyway you want and ultimately, be yourself.

Skateboarding allows you to express yourself physically. Photography has pretty much the same concept as skateboarding. But instead of expressing yourself physically, you express yourself mentally. You as the photographer are responsible for what your camera captures, not the other way around. The similarities of skateboarding and photography really start to show with how many places and architecture, people and wildlife that you could capture and freeze time in any manner you want with just a click of a button. (Yes you have to check your iso and shutter speed etc, but that’s not the point!) There are so many ways to express your talent it is unbelievably overwhelming at times. A lot of thought processes go through your head as a photographer. Everywhere you go is a canvas of opportunity.

For instance, when I leave my house with my camera, my thoughts are how the lighting is today, is it sunny or is it cloudy, the location of where I’m shooting at, the architecture around me, the plantation, watching as people go about their daily lives on the busy streets, the expressions on people’s faces. You also have to think about what mood you’re trying to portray in your capture. Those are just some thought processes that run through my mind when leave my home with my camera. Then all of those thoughts form together and create an image in your head. And at the click of the shutter button, (click, snap, captured) all of those thoughts and sometimes, your emotions, are literally captured into a vision which is the photo you just took.

A lot of thought goes into that photo you take no matter how minuscule you think it is. As someone views your work, you want your work to provoke their thoughts. Your work should make them feel some type of emotion or feeling, like the nostalgic feeling of looking at an old photo of yourself when you were in diapers, or an old relative that passed away. I realized all of these things a while back before I even bought a camera. My state of mind has changed a lot because of skateboarding and photography, because they both allow me to express myself in many different ways. Both of these things give me a bit of a challenge everyday, which is a perfect opportunity to craft your talent into something you can truly be proud of. And the positive feedback I have been getting is honestly amazing. It gets me hyped and motivated to continue down the path that I am on. It Makes me feel like i’m doing something right. I never thought I would produce quality art that people would actually like.

Sometimes I just sit back and think about all the accomplishments I have done, the goals I set and for filled in skateboarding and photography, and just smile.

You know, they say money can’t buy you happiness, but I bought multiple skateboards and a camera... These two things have impacted my life in such a positive way. I don’t know where I’d be without them. I don’t think I can express how grateful I am for them. All I can say is, thank you skateboarding and photography for changing my life for the better and I can’t wait to see where else it will be taking me next. They are not just hobbies or professions, they are my life.

If I see something that catches my eye, either i'm skating it, or i'm capturing it. ~ Justin Graham

Thank everyone that has been supportive of me.

Instagram; @Ctrl_System

Instagram @Ctrl_System