An Interview with Ray Barbee.
Back in December 2021 I had the pleasure of sitting down to chat with multi hyphenate and man of many talents Ray Barbee via a Zoom. Beneath is the full interview as published on HANON’s blog to coincide with the eponymous collection he launched with Vans Vault.
Nate and I put it together, he was my guy that helped me out with stuff like asking what we might not want to do again, materials and colour options stuff like that, but for the most part it was 100% freedom for me and Nate, thankfully there was no issues with our ideas.
That’s always a bonus isn’t it when the brand is like that’s cool
Ah dude it’s the best!
Straight through the sample rounds no drama
I mean on vans side, because they have such a history and relationship culturally very little translation y you know that’s not that uncommon for them to function like that, all my projects and collaborations with Vans it’s always been this way, it’s pretty much par for the course in that respect.
What did impress me though was on Leica’s end where they actually allowed me to have such freedom with how we wanted the camera to look how the film was going to look. It was equal 100%
Working with likeminded people is always good.
yeah, I guess that’s what im saying it was so nice to see another brand work like that, it was cool they trusted me and Vans to produce this, as its not the same language as vans you know. Lecia function so different I was happy with the whole process and our results.
Its cool to see that checkerboard
yeah again very grateful everything turned out the way it did the process was fun too!
So talking Leica how did you first get into using Leica Cameras?
So I got a first got into shooting photos in I want to say around 95 ish I was on a two-month skateboarding tour. Early on that tour we were on the East Coast and the photographer who was on the tour with us, my friend Joe bruit ? He had this along with his big cameras, had this point and shoot camera - A Yashica T4 and it was you know it was a point and shoot so its pretty much all auto it is doing auto focus for you its does the metering for you. So anyways probably a couple of weeks into this trip I say to myself man I blowing it, I should be shooting photos of all the fun we’re having and the experience and seeing Joe with this little camera I enquired about “like what camera is that” “where can I get one” and Joe says we’re gonna be in New York in a couple of days ill take you to my favourite camera shop and tell you what one to get. So we went to the store, it was called B&H, went to the counter and joe asked for a Yashica T4 and then that camera became probably, it went with me on every trip for 6 years.
Nice so that’s the one that got you started!
”Yeah, I still have a T4 to this day but it was through that experience or I don’t know how you want to say it but it gave me that desire to do what all those photographers I grew up with were doing and to like learn the craft of photography because I knew I was kind of cheating you know in that the sense that the camera was making all the choices for me, I could see the limitations like I would want things to look a certain way but with that shooting I was doing I was stuck getting what the camera wanted to give me. And so basically fast forward to probably about like what was it 2007 /08 ish I finally gave in to this desire to want to learn to shoot on a manual camera but that was also spurred on by a deep desire to want to make black and white prints in the dark room.”
”So when the time came to use a manual camera I was using a Pentax K1000 and that’s an SLR, which stands for single lens reflex so it has a mirror and so the mirror has to lift up so the light and come through and hit the film plane when it comes back it has a loud sound to it and because the mirror needs room to move so those cameras tend to be bigger so it was a combination of size and how loud it was made me realise this wasn’t the tool for me, cause I was used to this point and shoot that was super quiet. And not the mirror was there for the single lens reflect, the mirrors there’s so it reflects what the lens sees through the viewfinder.”
“So, you’re looking through the lens so the system I was used t was closer to a rangefinder which doesn’t have a mirror which tends allow the camera to be smaller and you look through a window so a view finder that approximates the frame of the lens but you’re not looking through the lens so I was I used to that viewfinder aspect as opposed to looking a reflection of a mirror through a lens”
“So, I had my wife’s Pentax 1000 and the moments id catch with this noise would end up altering the moment everyone looking who’s shooting??
And my friend John Humphries, one of my favourite photographers a skate photographer or I know him through skating he turned me on to the range finder camera and when you start looking you end up at Leica. They’re the kings when it comes to rangefinders. They make the best. “
Amazing, it’s fascinating and nicely leads on to the next question I’ve started carrying around a point and shoot camera recently wanting to replace filling up iPhone storage with silly chuck away images you won’t look at again and get back to physical photos. What’s the best advice you could give an amateur like me on cameras and the whole world of shooting on film?
“Well, it kind of sounds like there two questions in there or at least two answers from my point of view if your just excited about shooting and getting out there shooting, I think more important than anything id finding out and exploring you’re interests and what excites you. And not being too caught up on I feel like before you can get a good idea on what tool can serve you best you’ve got to have a good idea about what interests you in photography if you know what I mean.”
“So, I was like okay the tool I need has gotta serve how I like to shoot but it took years of using the first camera I got to develop and understand what I wanted to do and that informed the camera of choice. When I had the rangefinder SLR and I was like this is cool but this isn’t what I want
I guess what im saying is that when your first starting it kind of doesn’t matter what you have but whatever you have use it to get an idea of what you want to be doing. Like what interest you like that dictates whether you move on to another camera or it dictates if you stick with film, or you move to digital. Vice versa guess what im trying to say is put photography first and what excites you and let that guide you and help you to figure out what tool to invest in. A lot of time people work backwards and spend a lot of money and waste a lot of time.”
You’re right it is a lot of money, focus on putting the subject and experience first
”Yeah, the interest comes first, like you could be interested in shooting trash but as long as you understand and know what you’re excited about. Like if you like getting really in close to stuff and shooting detailed shots a range finder won’t work. You need a SLR with a macro lens so you can get that. But I would say even with film, there’s a lot of ways has this allure to it you know it’s seen as dare I say it trendy and hip but the reality is its hard man hahah.”
I’ve got too many rolls undeveloped!
“It’s a labour of love you know, it’s not for the faint of heart or more what I mean to say is it’s not cost effective there’s a lot involved with shooting film with prices rising. It seems like the perfect situation to be in like man I want to shoot film, but unless your ready or you have the budget its pretty spendy. Its not low dough. Unless of course you end up having a setup at home for processing other wise you’re gonna have to pay to get it processed, pay for the scans. There’s a steep learning curve when you’re starting out on film, factor in those costs.”
“I feel like digital is really good in sense that it lets you do a lot of the ‘groundwork’ ahead of time just learning just how you know light works with these cameras with the shutter and the iso the speed, the sensor speed sorry or how you manage your noise. I guess what I’m saying is you can learn about the light flow through a camera without having to spend money on film to do that. You can do it and have a quick immediate look on your computer and be like Oh that’s what depth of field means and looks like.”
Those are some wise words to live by indeed I guess our next question is a bit like asking someone to pick their favourite film or album of all time, but of all the shots you’ve taken is there one that sticks out as a favourite?
“Not at all I’m hoping it’ll come one day hahah”
Yeah that’s quite a good way of looking at it almost like a motivation to go out and shoot if you need it.
”Yeah I think its like what you said it’s almost like asking your favourite album, I play music and it’s a bit like what ones your favourite song, for me you know if I was excited about something or like in the case of an album all those songs are like your kids. Like I would never say I’m grateful and appreciate of all of them. they’re all different and that’s the beauty of it.”
”I mean there’s certain images in the dark room I might be a little bit more excited about compared to others as its got that sort of skateboarding pulling off a trick aspect to them. Like that one was kinda hard to pull off. So Darkroom printing can function a little different as there’s a a lot of labouring involved and it reminds me a bit of skating and filming like trying to get a trick off. Skating you could have a hundred attempts at pulling a trick off and in the dark room its kinda the same there’s some negs where it’ll take me half a box! Just to get the burn right get the contrast just right and all of that.”
That’s a pretty nice parallel with skating, obviously we briefly touched on it earlier that as well as all the skating and photography you some how manage to fit making music into the schedule as well?! That jam you laid down with Danny Garcia (Shoutout the Reverend Barron!) was lush!
“Right on! Danny’s awesome man that was fun”
So how did the musical side to your creativity come out?
”Well you know I always wanted to play the guitar even before I knew I wanted to skate, I just turned 50 this year so when I got in skateboarding it was around 84 about then and a little bit before I got into skating MTV came out and I was probably in 5th grade and all of a sudden theres this cahnnel on tv that has all thing music and rock! Like Rock music it when it was first on it was mostly rock and metal I saw, I grew up in a household with a lot of soul and lot of jazz.”
Yeah, I read in an interview your dad used to play in bands?
“Yeah he was he played Sax! So I wasn’t around much rock music much at that point in 5th grade then all of a sudden here’s this music channel with 24/7 music haha! The crazy thing was at that point there wasn’t many music videos they hadn’t started making them yet by this point. So a lot of the content was from concerts or things the record labels made to promote their bands so it was a lot of live performances. So, I’m seeing all these live performances from Van Halen, Led Zeppelin, ACDC Black sabbath iron Madden, scorpion the list goes on and on. I got enamoured by the lead guitarist the guitar hero! The guitar seemed so cool the energy of it just everything. I remember one of my favourite bands then and still to this day really ACDC, one of my guitar heroes is Angus Young and so I remember for the 5th grade talent show I wanted to be Angus Young I tried to find an electric guitar for it but I couldn’t find one, I ended up using a broom but there was one guy at my school who I knew had an electric guitar and he was like “my dad will never let you borrow that guitar” that kind of thing and that was kind of it there was no accessibility or way to experience a guitar until I got into skateboarding. And the guys I was skating with at the time had guitars and were playing in punk bands at the time in their bands. They had all the instruments and that’s when I can say I got into music. When I got into skating. It would take a back seat over the years because of skateboarding but I’d always come back to it.”
Just as this thing there to pick up where you left off
”Yeah just because it was more a case of doing what was in front of you at the time and skateboarding had so much momentum and energy with it and also the fact, I didn’t have my own guitar for a long time. So, I would only play when I was hanging out jamming with the guys in the band. So when I didn’t have that it easy not too and they were super expensive.”
”it probably wasn’t until like senior year of high school where I came back to it and wanted to play again and my friends who played in bands invited me to come play and then Stacey Peralta got me my first guitar after a tour with Powell Peralta. Then when I had that guitar with me id have that guitar at interviews, they’d always ask to shoot a portrait with the guitar, then when people found out I could play the guitar they’d be like let’s jam or come to house and bring the guitar and we’ll play so I guess it was super cool how it was all a part of it.”
It’s so inspiring that eco system that lives on the West Coast, skating and bands how everything coexists and is connected.
”Yeah, it’s the landscape you know what I mean its just what you’re doing anyways like you don’t have to work too hard to incorporate the two. So, I’m very grateful as photography too its just all apart of what makes the culture and what it is!”
So what’s been playing recently listened to anything good whilst you’ve been on the move?
”What have I been listening to… Its more like guitarists that I dig. I’ve just been playing more! The listening has just been techniques and people doing lessons on Youtube really. Yeah, it’s been funny man most of the time it’s just been going back and listening to older things I like the Menahan Street Band, there’s actually a trio I forget the name they come from that same sort of world they play organs man what is the name! I’m so bad at names. With that algorithm on YouTube they’re just there.”
I know the feeling all these worlds of new music fresh to your ears to explore
“Not only the exploring, I leave the tabs open the whole time, so I don’t forget but do, it allows you to be lazy, like I don’t remember peoples phone numbers anymore you just go to the screen hahah. I’ve always been bad with song names it’s like I dig number 5 on the album and it’s the same with bands I go let me open this tab and then go over here and start listening to this but im not paying attention to the names and written content it makes it easy to not commit things to memory is what im trying to say haha.”
Yeah, I’ve found that too recently I was in a record store at the weekend for the first time in a while, it was quite nice to have to think and take in a sleeve and see who’s playing what on an album
“Totally it becomes easy to find out about something new and not commit straight to your memory online because you don’t need that memory to get back and find it again it’s there waiting for you. “
I’m guilty of that too just leaving tabs open too and giving something attention for a bit and not retaining what it was, the way of modern consumption I guess its all so easy and at your fingertips.
“Yeah, which is lame and unfortunate hahah but anyways not too much new, I wanna hear Dear hoof I really dig that band and I heard they have a new album, so I haven’t had a chance to check that out yet.”
Always exciting when you’ve got a new album to look forward to and to soundtrack something your going to do. So I guess leading on to Skating!
Our store [HANON] was birthed out of skateboarding in the late 1980’s into the 90’s obviously yourself and the whole scene out there was a huge inspiration starting out what’s your memories of that time?
“Yeah I mean when I got into skateboarding it was on the tail end of the back yard ramp era and that era came on the heels of the 70’s skate park era where a lot of those places got torn down because of insurance premiums or just costing too much to run these places. So I started after all this on back yard ramps you know but I’d say probably around 85 late 85 I broke my wrist when I lived in San Jose and the ramp I was skating was pretty far away I want to say like an hours bus ride, me and my friend would get on the bus to go skate it back then but anyway my parents took away my skateboard when I had my cast on and I knew I couldn’t sneak out to go skate the ramp again as it was so far but my buddy had a back up board but we’d stay local and as that happened I remember Jump ramps starting to happen and we’d find out about skaters bringing jump ramps to school yards so I’d hide my board there and we’d skate there and on anything that people brought along it was during that time that I got more excited about skating street. Because with ramps and all the history with it and the bowl style of skating a lot of those tricks transferred over and it became like a new list of tricks to learn and try out. With ramps it was like cool I’ve learnt how to do rock and rolls learned to 50 50’s in the airs etc the list is so long you’re like what’s next but with street skating what I thought was cooler was the list was short and with that a bit of freedom to be like ill try this or what’s that I’ve never seen that.”
this whole new world of freedom
“Yeah it wasn’t like what its like now, so I’m very grateful for that experience and to be a part of skateboarding at the point of when it was a new thing and got to see that Not only see it but have some sort of input.”
I guess in Scotland one of the best known ‘traditional’ spots a bit like the ones you touched on pre them getting demolished is the bowl. The bowl in Livingston has a special place in our memories so what in your mind makes a great skate spot?
”I mean at the top of it it’s the level of fun you can have skating it you know what I mean it could be a lot of things in some ways its no different to the question earlier what’s your favourite image, for me its more general its what is the experience and emotional connection because of what happens. A lot of times the best places are the things that let me experience it the most enjoyable way so any spot I can have a lot of fun at and challenge myself. Sometimes it can be smooth sometimes it can be rough. It just depends on how things come together sometimes a raw spot that is unassuming can be super fun the more you skate it and try things I don’t think I can pin point one specific thing I think its more of a general like if fun and challenging are there that’s good, maybe its got some newness to it both the spot and the trick, it can inspire a trick you’ve just never done. I would say its about the ingredients the factors that make it for me rather than specific spots.”
That makes total sense!
”Sometimes the curb cut is cut just right that can be super fun but I wouldn’t put that over another spot.”
Well I think that’s just about our time done for today and time to wrap things up before we leave you to enjoy the sun whats the plans on the horizon for you any more projects with Vans any tours?
”Yeah nothing on the tour front, lot of the concerns with new variants just now people are still only slowly exploring so nothing major maybe just some spot dates checking out some places over a weekend so there’s some stuff in the works but nothing solidified. There is actually another project In the works a collab with a ** little teaser** Crooked with Vans with a special guest I’m really excited about and super honoured and grateful he’d even want to be in the mix and do it with me and I think people will be equally as excited as I am! So that’s happening around February!”
Nice! We’ll keep our eyes peeled for that in the future! Thanks for taking the time out to chat with us today it’s been a privilege!
”Thanks its been good stay warm out there have a good holidays hopefully one day I’ll get a chance to come and check out the shop!”
Ray’s Instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/r.barbee/?hl=en
Listen to some tunes by Ray:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCw1lxULRrDJXi63VHezvXuw
Revel in some all time great skating here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ytAF2A_sA7M