‘Getting a photo printed in a magazine always stokes me out and motivates me to keep doing what I’m doing.’
Chris Dale
Photographer
March 2023
Where are you from?
I’m originally from a town just outside London but have been living in the city for about ten years now.
Assuming you started off skateboarding at what point did you move to photography and why?
I skated and filmed for a long time before I got into photography. It wasn’t until an injury stopped me riding my board for almost a year, back in 2013, that I picked up an old 35mm camera I’d inherited and started teaching myself. Since then, it’s become something I love just as much as skateboarding.
‘Probably Dan Sturt, one of the most iconic photographers of the 90s and 00s, but also one of the most elusive.’
Is there one skateshot you wish you had taken?
There are many, but I’d probably have to say the ender to a video part I filmed of Javi Fioretto. It was the last day to film for the project before Javi flew back home to Spain for the Summer, and he came through with a beast of a nollie hardflip down London Bridge 10 set. It would have made a banging photo but obviously filming was the priority that day.
Proudest moment as a photographer?
Getting a photo printed in a magazine always stokes me out and motivates me to keep doing what I’m doing. I’m really proud to have shot a bunch of photos for an interview in Dogpiss Magazine of one of the homies, Adam Keys. The photos are all from skate trips and missions we’ve done across Spain and the UK over the past year so there are lots of good memories behind each photo too.
Most embarrassing?
Honestly, I don’t have any moments I’m that embarrassed about. I’ve missed shots or gotten home to find a photo is blurred or out of focus before, but I try to learn from my mistakes rather than dwell on them.
Your pictures are rock solid, and you seem to take them at great locations all around the world. Yet, your following (if this is important to you) is not huge. It should be in the thousands based on what quality pictures you are producing. Is this something you pay attention to?
It’s not something I pay much attention to. I’d like my work to reach a wider audience as I continue to shoot but my focus is on progressing as a photographer, getting my work published in mags where possible and having fun with it along the way.
What is on your wish list?
To skate and travel more. Failing that new knees, please.
Last question. If you could interview one person, who would it be and why?
Probably Dan Sturt, one of the most iconic photographers of the 90s and 00s, but also one of the most elusive. There are a ton of mythical stories about the dude. I would love to hear his take on skateboard photography, such as his condition to only come out shooting photos if there is a ‘potential for death’, wearing disguises and poaching other photographers’ photos, and some of the pranks he played in the skate industry, like concealing fake blood packs in his clothing during contests and slamming on purpose so they burst.
‘It’s not something I pay much attention to.’
