Film at its finest.
You know that feeling when someone is good at something and you kinda resent them for it? Don’t pretend like don’t. If you are the kinda person that gets a little jealous, you might not want to check out this week’s Frames by Gus Faithfull. It’s a bit of a double-whammy of resentment because not only is the 32-year-old a rad skater, but he also takes amazing film photos. Oh, and he only started taking photography seriously a couple of years ago, so you can make that a triple-whammy, I suppose.
Quitting his job to travel, skate and shoot about 18 months ago, armed with his Canonet QL17 GIII, the Wangaratta native spent the bulk of last year on the road abroad before returning home at Christmas. Between now and then he somehow has built up a portfolio that most snappers would aspire to, demonstrating a knack for capturing the emptiness of the world with a surrealist wash.
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Seemingly on an ambitious mission to shoot nonstop whilst travelling has definitely got him into some hot water, including a stint in a Mexican jail. “I skateboarded to this basketball court to take a photo and have a roll, and about 30 minutes in a squad of cops strolled up and casually cuffed me and threw me in the truck,” he says. “They put me in the cell with some locals that looked like they had spent some time there, and I later found out that it was due to being in a public recreation space during covid (which they gave us no warning about). There was talk of being inside for 36 hours, but I think they took pity on me as I was an oblivious foreigner and they let me go a few hours later.”
Safely back on Australian soil, Gus loaded up his Landrover Defender and has been road tripping around the country photographing it in all its beautiful isolation. “I don’t take enough portraits to know what I like most about that field, but it’s something I have really enjoyed doing when I did. I would say the classic road trip style of photography is where my heart lies,” he says.
Jealous yet? You bet you are. Head here to follow Gus Faithfull on Instagram and feast your envious eyes on his epic snaps below:
