Under Exposed with Corey Greengage

Photo by Ian Ostrowski

In this Under Exposed interview we chat with Corey Greengage, a freelance photographer from Seattle.

Hey Corey! I want to start by saying thank you for taking the time to answer some questions with us. As an amateur photographer myself, I've always looked to other folks shooting here in the NW, and your work specifically has always stood out and been inspiring for me. 

Thanks for the kind words and thanks for having me. I’m excited to chat about skateboarding and photography and the NW. All of my favorite things (laughs).  

For sure! Let's knock out some basics, where did you grow up and how did you find skateboarding?

I grew up in north Seattle and spent a lot of my life there. I was first introduced to skateboarding through some of my buddies in elementary school. They both had skateboards with spider man graphics and were riding down the sidewalk one morning. I don’t think skateboarding was on my radar back then. I felt late to the party and remember thinking “shit I guess this is what we’re doing now.” I got my own board from Toys-R-Us shortly after. I feel like as a kid you’re just trying different things and seeing what sticks.  

Absolutely. We’re all just kinda trying on different things, seeing how it all fits. Who were you skating with in your early years?

Back then I always had an evolving crew. I’d have my friends I skated with in middle school and then it would be a different crew by high school. I was always envious of growing up around one solid crew like the Genesis guys for example. They’re all best friends and I think it shows through the videos, it’s pretty sick. But for me coming up a lot of people in the early days would stop skating and phase out. So I would just find new people who wanted similar things out of skating as I did. The only name you might know from back then is Alex Greenberg. We became best friends in high school and skated every day. He’s living in New York now filming for Violet and Supreme and stuff like that so he’s killing it, and I’m really stoked for him.

Photo by Corey Greengage featuring Genesis crew’s Dylan Clark

I feel that, I had a pretty similar experience with friends coming and going over the years. I read in an earlier interview that you started shooting photos at around the age of 19 or 20 when you were given a camera. Care to share that story?

I think my aunt gave me my first SLR film camera right before I turned 20. It was cool to start on film because it kind of forces you to learn the basics right away. You figure out really quickly how shutter speed, aperture, and ISO work because you don’t have much room for error. 

That’s true, I never really thought of it like that but it sorta makes the camera functions less conceptual and more real. What was it about photography that drew you to it back then?

By the time I got that first camera I was starting to become friends with a lot of really good skaters. So I already had a subject to shoot. I started street skating a lot more around that time. I was never the best skater but I still wanted to contribute something to skateboarding at a high level and feel involved. Seattle never had that many people shooting skating so at that time I felt like it was a void that had the potential to be filled. I was noticing all the amazing tricks happening around me and thought photography could be where I fit in. 

Ok that makes sense. I’ve always been surprised at the lack of skate photographers (and filmers probably too) in relation to the abundance of talent in our zone. We have so many good skaters, and so few people dedicated to capturing it, there’s really a lot of room for new folks to contribute and shoot / film. What specifically were you shooting with in those early days? 

That first camera I received was a Pentax p30t. I like it a lot it’s actually still in my camera bag and works great. But after about a year of just shooting film with that camera I knew I was limiting myself by not getting a digital camera. For shooting something like skating which is so finicky and specific it’s really nice to have digital at your disposal. So I got a Nikon d700 with a 50mm and a fisheye lens and some cheap speedlights. I always felt fairly confident composing and timing skate photos but using the flashes was a big learning curve for me. 

Yeah digital really is kinda necessary with skating these days, although film still has a place if you have the luxury of shooting with it. So, once you got the Nikon what were you shooting mostly at that time?

Like I mentioned earlier I was already friends with a lot of really talented skaters at this point. Which was lucky for me because I got to shoot good tricks right away but it was probably rough for them as a lot of those early images are hard to look back on (laughs). But I think that made me learn faster. I’ve always just shot photos of my friends so a lot of those early days were with Sean Motaghedi and Chris Jameson. Going out filming for Jake Menne’s ‘Friend Zone’ video was basically my photography school. Except I was just teaching myself. 

Photo by Corey Greengage featuring Chris Jameson

Love it, having rippers all around you definitely helps! Let’s talk skate shops a bit, what was or is your local?

35th North is my local shop. I’ve been shopping there since middle school. After my first Toys-R-Us board I got an Innerspace board which was the local indoor park and after that I discovered 35th North at the Capital Hill block party one year. Early on I had a really good experience with Peter Starrs working there. He kept the shop open late for me one night and sold me a board and gave me an All City Showdown 2007 DVD. That video really opened my eyes to the Seattle skate scene. Tony was also really friendly and accommodating right away. Even at a young age before I had anything to contribute he always made me feel included and I think he’s done that for a lot of people. I don’t think the Seattle skate scene would be what it is without Tony. Eventually he opened a sister shop to 35th in Lynwood, that was North End. I started meeting a lot of those guys through Sean and Jake and just skating parks around town. They felt like a cohesive unit like the crews I admired growing up. They were all friends and ripping skaters. A lot of them were involved in Brandon Jensens ‘Beware of Sasquatch’ video which really inspired me back then. I was just consuming all the local skateboarding I could and was super impressionable at that time. I was really into anything 35th, North End, Manik, Innerspace, Vic’s Market, all of that. I think Seattle had a lot of incredible skateboarding going on and I feel lucky to have grown up around that. There was a lot to draw inspiration from. 

Yes to all of that, I fully relate man. Dave at 35th played a similar role for us growing up that Tony did for you. Actually speaking of Dave, he told me you worked at Kens with some other local skaters like Sean, Chris and Luke. Care to share a bit about those times?

Yeah it’s funny to think back on those times. It feels like so long ago. I was probably a year or so out of high school and kind of directionless. I had tried community college for a little bit but didn’t really know what I was doing there, all I knew was I wanted to be around skateboarding. All those guys already worked at Kens and I was skating with Sean a lot so he put in a good word to Luke the produce manager and he hired me. So we all worked in the produce department together. It sounds fun on paper but my shifts were usually the evenings so I’d see those guys for an hour or two and they’d get off work and go skate and I’d be manning the produce department on my own for the rest of the night. One summer Chris and I convinced the store manager we needed two closers in our department so we’d work together and fuck around and that’s when we became really close friends. Luke also lived in the house that’s attached to the back of the market which was a funny dynamic. Eventually my back started hurting and I was over my schedule there. I wanted something that allowed me to skate every day so I quit while all those guys still worked there. Probably a mistake because Chris is still there getting treated really well and my back is still fucked (laughs).

Haha, sounds like that shit could've been a WKND skit. I think a lot of people get stoked on photography for a bit, and then get overwhelmed with what to do with it, how to progress or how to keep moving forward in skating with it, especially these days. How do you manage to stay inspired and keep going all of these years?

Good question. Like anyone I can get burnt out or go through phases where I don’t like what I’m shooting or I’m not shooting anything at all. I think it’s normal for any creator to go through that. You just have to stick with it. Skateboarding moves so fast these days, I’ll get one photo published and be excited for such a short amount of time and immediately think “okay what’s next?” I still have goals shooting skating that I’d like to accomplish. Whether it’s healthy or not this is a big part of my identity right now and I want to stay consistent with it. My friends inspire me a lot. Finding new spots inspires me a lot too. 

Spots really are everything. There are weeks where I’ll spend more time hunting for new spots, fixing spots, cleaning spots, etc than I do actually skating. So is the goal to do skate photography full time? Or is shooting more a passion project for you?

I think it would be amazing to be able to fully support myself shooting skating but I don’t know how realistic that is. I deliver doordash to supplement my income. I’ve been doing that for around four and a half years now. It’s  definitely a goal to earn a living in the skate space in some capacity but I’m open to other roles. Skate photography was a hobby first so I’ll always do that regardless. The fact that I’m able to make any money from it now is pretty amazing. I never expected that. But it does get a little tricky when your passion becomes your job. You can start thinking about skating in the wrong ways. At the end of the day you just have to remember why you’re doing it. 

Agreed. I have this thing where I kinda hate anything that I “have” to do, I noticed it first with work or chores and shit, but also creatively, so it seems like having things be a choice, if possible, makes it fun and less stressful, so I can do it how I want and at my own pace. But we gotta eat too, so… Ok, we discussed what you started shooting with, but what are you shooting with these days? Can we get a detailed breakdown for all the camera gear dorks like myself?

It’s funny because I’m really not a camera nerd at all. Almost to an embarrassing degree. I have what I have and it’s worked well for me but it’s mostly just what others have recommended. I shoot on a Nikon d800 now which is one model newer than what I started with but still a really old camera at this point. But it’s a tank, I’ve had it forever and it gets the job done. I use two Godox AD360 flashes and the Godox X1 wireless trigger. Then I also keep some random little film cameras in my bag. I want to get a little digital compact point and shoot but haven’t decided on the right one yet. 

Corey in the streets. Photo by Shane Auckland

Word. Is there anything gear wise you wish you knew back in the day, that you know now?

Not really. I remember messaging Alex Papke on Facebook asking for advice on what gear to get. That was really helpful. Later on he sold me some of his flashes which was a big upgrade from the speedlights I was using at the time. Andy Froberg had this Lightroom tutorial on YouTube that I watched to learn how to edit. So all of a sudden I had the proper gear and knew the basics of editing. 

YouTube University is horrible and wonderful, but I’ve really learned a lot from the old YouTube though. Shit, I built a tiny house a few years back mostly off things I learned on Youtube Haha. What about Instagram? Did IG ruin photography? Or are we going to be all good?

That’s a good question that I think is open for debate. It’s a bit of a double edged sword. On one hand Instagram is great for getting your work out there. It puts the most eyes on your photos. No one these days is gonna check your blog or website. Skaters live on Instagram and it allows you to connect with people easily. I’ve gotten work and met people through Instagram. On the other hand, the way your photos are being viewed is very small and compressed. It’s not how you envision your work being seen. Also I don’t think Instagram is celebrating photography the same way it used to. Short form video content is what I see them pushing the most. Sometimes posting a skate photo on there just feels like you’re throwing it out into the ether. Instagram is sort of like a last resort, I still post all my photos on there because I use it as a portfolio but getting a photo in print first is always the goal. 

That’s funny you said “throwing it out in the ether” because I have quite literally said those exact same words to a friend previously. Crazy how we feel that same thing independently. How did you develop your photography style and perspective? Was it thought out and deliberate? Mimicking your inspirations? Completely random? Just going with the flow? All of the above?

I think just growing up reading mags and watching skate videos helped a lot. I consumed a lot of skate media so I knew what I thought looked good. I grew up on these huge videos like Fully Flared, Stay Gold, and Mindfield so I kind of wanted to make skating look cinematic if that makes sense. I mentioned him earlier, but Andy Froberg was a big inspiration to me. He was the one shooting skateboarding in Seattle prior to me. I always loved his photos and tried my best to pick up where he left off. And the more you shoot the more you refine your style and realize what you like. I just always try to imagine how a photo would look printed in a magazine. 

S/O to Andy, sounds like we need to talk to him someday too! What photographers are you hyped on currently?

There’s so many amazing skate photographers now. That’s another positive about Instagram. We have access to photographers all over the world. I follow a lot of skate photographers. One of my all time favorites who continues to impress me is Oliver Barton. All of his photos have a pretty timeless look that I try to emulate. 

Oliver rips. So good. So how about regular life. Where are you living? Down in LA now or just visiting often? How has living/visiting been and what’s it like spending time away from home?

No one ever knows where I live but I kind of like it that way (laughs). I’ve bounced back and forth between here and Seattle but yeah I live in LA currently. I have an apartment with Shane Aukland who you interviewed recently. I’ve been here about a year this time around but I just spent the whole summer in Seattle. I like to mix it up. I feel more inspired when I’m in Seattle but it’s nice to be in LA where you can skate year round and be near the industry. Both places have their pros and cons. 

Ok that makes sense, it’s been hard to guess from your social media. And that’s rad to hear, we love Shane and everything he does. Who are you skating with most up with out there? 

I’m lucky to have a lot of friends from Washington in LA. The crew lately has been Johnny Matarazzo from Seattle, Mitchell Meuser from Spokane and Travis Harrison who’s from out here. Shane has been filming a part with Shawn Hale so we’ve been skating with him a lot too. Then I’ll be on sessions with some of the WKND guys or the Tum Yeto guys. It can be really random but it’s nice to live somewhere that has a lot of motivated skateboarders. Plus, LA is a destination for skaters year round so there’s always friends coming to town. 

Photo by Corey Greengage featuring Johnny Matarazzo

That’s nice to have some NW homies around, and we love the WKND crew and everything they do too! What are some of the challenges with being a skate photographer in 2023?

I’d say being a skate photographer in 2023 is better than it was three or four years ago but probably a lot worse than it was maybe fifteen years ago. Back then there were five big skate mags in the states, all published monthly. I would have loved to be doing what I do now during the time Thrasher, Slap, Transworld, Skateboarder, and the Skateboard Mag were all thriving. I’m curious what the opportunities would have been like back then. All those mags slowly started to go away and for a few years it seemed like it was just Thrasher. Then during the end of the pandemic I had a lot of friends starting their own new independent mags like Jaime Owens ‘Closer’ and Kristin, Shari, and Jessie’s ‘Mess.’ I’ve been really fortunate to have new outlets for my work that I’m excited about. But finding a home for my photos can still be a struggle. As a freelancer I’m just shopping images around and seeing who bites. 

Well if you ever have something NW related you want to share somewhere, we got you ;) What are some of your favorite things about shooting photos in general?

I like the whole process from start to finish. The physical act of shooting the photo can feel uncomfortable and tedious at times but it gets my adrenaline going and feels suspenseful and exciting in the moment because you don’t know if your friend is gonna make this gnarly trick or not. But taking the photos from the day and editing them in Lightroom is really where I see them come to life. I enjoy that part a lot. Seeing a photo make it to print is the cherry on top. 

Alright, let's switch it up a bit for some fun NW stuff to bring it home... Who are a few of your favorite NW skaters of all time? Fav photos (or video parts) from them?

I could probably go on forever with this question but I’ll try to keep it concise. Growing up for me it was always the Manik dudes. Jordan Sanchez, Josh Jones, and Josh Anderson were my favorites from an early age. Outside of his photography I always really liked all the videos Froberg made. So Jordan Sanchez’ part in ‘Shoot your Friends’ and Josh Anderson’s part in the ‘Manik world fair no promo’ video were some of my favorites. I think everyone coming up around that time would agree Cory Kennedy’s part in Brandon Jensens ‘Beware of Sasquatch’ was a game changer. I remember that one being on repeat a lot. Joe Andrew’s part in Kyle Steneide’s ‘About Time’ was also in heavy rotation. As of more recently I thought Dylan Clark’s part in ‘Genesis 3’ was really special. I was more involved with that one so it was cool to see it all come together.

All classics. And Dylan’s part was really good. What photography projects are you working on or helping with currently?

Nothing too specific at the moment. I did a little photo book called ‘Gutter’ last year which was a really cool experience. It was great to have full creative control over my photos. I wouldn’t mind doing something like that again but right now I’m just submitting to the various mags. I mentioned Shane is filming a part with Shawn Hale so we’ve been shooting a lot. Hoping that can turn into an interview somewhere. Other than that I should have some new stuff of Dylan and Romel coming out soon. I always have new Chris Jameson photos too, it’s just a matter of finding the right way to release them. There’s no way he’d let me interview him again like we did for ‘Gutter’ (laughs).

I haven’t had a chance to peep Gutter yet, I need to get my hands on that one! If you had to choose 3-5 favorite photos you've shot over the years, what would they be? And why are they meaningful?

Well while we’re on the subject of Chris, one that really sticks out for me is this front feeble we shot on a ping pong table. He had found that spot and sent me a selfie clip skating it. And like a lot of what we’d shoot I’d make him go back and do something harder. I just thought the spot looked really cool the way you’d grind the metal net part of table. This was around the time Sean had passed away so after we shot the photo I went back to Chris’s apartment and he tattood “smotag” on my leg. So that will always stand out as a special day. 

Photo by Corey Greengage featuring Chris Jameson

This switch ollie of Rafi Dadd was another cool one. I had always wanted to shoot a photo at that spot during sunset as the dock faces west. It’s about an hour and a half away from Seattle in a town called Bellingham so when I went on a quick trip with the Genesis guys I wanted to make a point to end the day there. The sunset was looking perfect but the dock was really crowded with people. It was definitely hectic but that didn’t stop Rafi from skating it. He has a funny way of interacting with people, he’s really quick witted so it was an entertaining process to watch. That trip to Bellingham ended up being really productive, Romel grinded this huge red rail with a head high drop and Dylan back smithed the 15 on the WWU campus, both of which ended up in their respective Lunatic Fringes for Thrasher. I was hyped on all the rail chomping but also really glad I snuck my little artsy sunset photo in there too. 

Photo by Corey Greengage featuring Rafi Dadd.

One more image I was hyped on as of late is this one foot ollie Dylan did in Venice. There’s always something exciting about temporary spots. Dylan has really good one foots, I don’t think it’s any harder than a normal ollie for him so I had him do a few as the sun was going down. I don’t get to shoot at night very often so it was fun to play with some motion blur. Even though it’s not the gnarliest trick I think it ended up looking cool and different from the other photos I saw at that spot. 

Photo by Corey Greengage featuring Dylan Clark

Love to hear the stories behind all these! Alright, I've probably asked way too many questions already, so we’ll wrap it up with this one; You’re elected president of skateboarding today, what changes do you make and why?

Man that’s a crazy question. As long as I can keep skating with my friends and showcase skating how I want it to be seen I’ll be happy. There are a lot of politics in the industry which can get frustrating at times but I’m not one to know the solution for that. Skateboarding doesn’t owe anybody anything, I’m just happy to be involved. I feel lucky to have grown up in what I consider the last golden era of skateboarding. Before social media. There was something really special about getting the mags in the mail or waiting years for the next big video to come out. Stuff like that has a big impact on kids. Everything felt like it held more value back then. Core skate brands had big budgets and could do cool projects. The landscape has changed now, it’s a lot more divided. But there’s also more room for everyone. I’m glad I was influenced the way I was growing up but am still able to understand the current trends now. I feel like I’m at a weird in-between age where I can see both sides. The kids will always dictate what’s cool in skateboarding and you have to be able to adapt. I don’t think there should be a President. The power lies in the current and future generations of skaters. That being said, I would appreciate it if kids did their homework and respected the skaters, filmers, photographers, and brands that came before them. Everything that paved the way for our culture should be celebrated. 

Skate history 101 with Ted Barrow for the kids?! Haha. Any final thoughts? Shoutouts? Anything or anyone to keep an eye out for? 

I want to thank you for showing interest in this stuff and interviewing me. I can talk about skateboarding all day so this is like therapy for me (laughs.) It’s really rad you’re shining a light on NW skateboarding. I can tell you care about it a lot, much like myself. I’d have to shoutout Tony Croghan at 35th North and Dave Waite at 35th Ave. They’ve both helped me tremendously. Shane Aukland, Jake Menne, Kyle Steneide, and Ian Ostrowski have provided me with a lot of opportunities as well. If you do this as long as I have you end up meeting a lot of really cool people in beneficial positions so I’d also have to thank Grant Yansura at WKND, John Erickson at Cons, and Damon Thorley at Deluxe. I’m finally living out my childhood dream of being sponsored but instead of doing hard tricks I just press a button (laughs). Lastly, shoutout to all my friends who trust me to shoot their photos because I literally couldn’t do it without them. If anyone wants to show support or see my work in print there’s still a few copies of my ‘Gutter’ photo book at 35th North in store or online. As for anyone to look out for I’d say Dylan Clark and Romel Torres are both gonna blow up in 2024. That’s who I’m most hyped to watch skate right now. 

Hell yeah, thanks a ton for being down Corey!

Go follow Corey on instagram and you can show some love by buying his book here.