Another day, another inbox full of tidbits from far and wide. Today, however, we stumbled across a truly creative lensman who dabbles in multiple mediums. Digi and film, stills and vids. We grabbed the man for a few of the basics and have attached some fine examples of his work below.
He is also the founder of a cool project called helpcalifornia. It’s basically a California based non-profit that finds people in need and organizes help and resources. The world needs a few more guys like Dylan. – What Youth
What Youth: Where are you hanging out these days?
Dylan Gordon: Tricky question… right at this moment, I’m in a middle seat on a plane that’s way too hot on my way back from a splitboard/climbing trip to Scotland [Laughs]. Other than that, still living in Ventura, surfing and hanging out with my pup as much as possible!
How did you get into photography?
When I was younger I would always mess around with my moms A1 on the ranch I grew up on and then began to take it on trips when I would travel to skate. Around that time I was going to a community college just taking a lot of random classes to see what clicked. After a bit too long of just kicking rocks I applied to a few schools for journalism, graphic design and photography. They felt like the best way for me to stay in the worlds that I loved and an easy excuse to continue to travel with friends. I got pretty lucky straight out of school and landed a gig with Surfer mag and started hitting the road again.
What/who are some of your favorite subjects/ locations?
Honestly, my absolute favorite trips are the fuck-off galavants with friends. Road trips, camping, surfing. beers, climbing, riding dirtbikes or just a good old run out to a watering hole. Some of my favorite images come about from just hitting the road with good folks and seeing what happens. But I’m also super fortunate now to work with brands like Roark Revival and get to travel with some absolute legends to the far corners of the earth shooting everything I personally love to do.
You shoot both video and photos? Do you do your own editing too?
I used to shoot a lot of motion, it’s always felt like such a natural way to tell a story. But as of late I end up shooting stills more than anything and directing the rest.
Digital or film or both?
For most of my clients I shoot mostly digital, but I constantly find myself with a few different film cameras on every trip. I love exploring mediums and processes with film which then leads me to messing around with different printing methods and mixed media artsy shit.
Tell us a little about Help-California?
I started help-California in 2017 with a few friends in response to the Thomas Fires that rolled through Ventura where I live. It didn’t feel right to stand by while friends homes burnt down knowing we could get to work and help. This resulted in both connecting the industries and brands I worked with to help supply clothing, funds or shelter as well as rallying community to help where needed. Which more often than not has been outer ranch communities. I grew up on horse ranches my whole life so I knew how to help get these folks back on their feet and make it a little easier bit by bit for anyone affected. Now we’ve been helping a lot in Malibu after the Woolsey fires. It’s pretty incredible when you give folks a way to help how effective you can be. – WY