One wallpaper and 2 interviews. All at once. Say hello to how second wallpaper collaboration project with WA photographer Chris Gurney. We worked with Chris a little while ago on this collab and it was time for a new collab. This time Chris had a sick shot of dropkneer Liam O’Keefe in the pit and the choice for a cool DK wallpaper was made easy ! We also interviewed Liam O’Keefe and Chris Gurney to make that wallpaper collab more interesting to you readers and learn more about Liam, Chris and the shot we used for those wallpapers.

The SPONGERCITY™ x Chris Gurney Wallpaper Co-Lab – Second Edition

We’ve included 10 different sizes for all computer screens, from 1920px wide to 800px wide, and have a choice between WIDE or 4:3 size resolution. Check at the bottom of the list the iPhone / iPodTouch special size. We designed it taking into account the iPhone interface to make sure the wallpaper is gonna look sick and won’t mess with the rest of the iPhone user interface like Time/Date and Unlock buttons.

Choose a screen resolution and download for it for FREE right now:

• Screen resolution: 1920×1200 pixels [Wide]
• Screen resolution: 1680×1050 pixels [Wide]
• Screen resolution: 1600×1200 pixels [4:3]
• Screen resolution: 1440×900 pixels [Wide]
• Screen resolution: 1400×1050 pixels [4:3]
• Screen resolution: 1280×960 pixels [4:3]
• Screen resolution: 1280×800 pixels [Wide]
• Screen resolution: 1024×768 pixels [4:3]
• Screen resolution: 320×480 pixels [iPhone]

PCINSTRUCTIONS: Click on the wallpaper you want, wait until it’s downloaded in its new window, then control-click the wallpaper : choose “Save as wallpaper”. Close the window once you’ve got your wallpaper.
MACINSTRUCTIONS: Click on the wallpaper you want, wait until it’s downloaded in its new window, then you can simply drag the wallpaper onto the desktop. Or you can also control-click the wallpaper and choose “Download image to disk” which works fine as well. Close the window once you’ve got your wallpaper. Go to your Mac preferences panel to customize the settings of your desktop.
iPhoneINSTRUCTIONS: Download the wallpaper (iPhone size of course) and drop it on your computer in any folder (or on your iPhoto library if you’re using iPhoto on a Mac). Then open iTunes, go to the “Photos” tab while you synchronize your iPhone with your computer and choose to sync the folder that contains the wallpaper (or sync the wallpaper directly from iPhoto if you’re on a Mac). Once the wallpaper is uploaded on your iPhone and the synchronisation is over just go to your iPhone settings > Wallpaper then choose the wallpaper and validate. Boom! Done !

First interview:

LIAM O’KEEFE INTERVIEW

Can you introduce yourself ? Age ? Home town ?
Hello, my name is Liam O’Keefe. I am 17 years old and live in Perth Western Australia.

What’s your home spot ?
Trigg point. This wave can have a fun sucky left inside. However, the point is often overrun with surfers.

Do you only DK ?
Yeah. When I do go prone it is not pretty…

Who inspires you ?
Paul Roach – Unmatchable power and control
Matt Lackey – Pushes drop knee in both heavy waves and technical riding.
Kim Feast – Works hard on his surfing and is at the forefront of big wave drop knee riding.

Who do you surf with ?
Locally I tend to find myself surfing with my mates Tom Lockyer, Chris Gurney, Charlie Carter , Patrick Meyers and a bunch of other dudes. When I surf outside Perth I tend to surf a lot with Kim feast. Surfing with Kim has definitely helped me improve my riding and has made me want to draw smoother more controlled lines.

What kinda board(s) do you use ?

I ride PE QCDs with mesh and one stringer, and these dimensions. Which I have been really happy with.

Nose 9 3/8
20 1/4 wide @ 18 3/4
Tail 17 5/8
Length 41 1/4

Do you remember Chris actually taking that sequence and particular shot ?
Ah I think so, we just got a pretty cool link up and were both stoked.

Were you guys trying to shoot a good one and you got heaps of waves and close outs until you got this one or did Chris let you surf and try to do his best to shoot a good one ?
This spot is one of mine and Chris’s favourite beach breaks in the Margaret River region. Therefore we were both really amped to have the chance to muck around with a fish eye out there. At first I was just pulling into a lot of closeouts and just trying to link up with Chris. Then this one came through that had a bit of a run on it before closing out. Which me and Chris managed to link up on pretty good.

You must have been stoked when you saw those shots ?
Yeah, this shot would have to be my favourite barrel shot I have.

Do you guys often shoot together ?
Not really, hopefully this will change in the future though.

What does is take you reckon to get a good shot ?
I guess the right conditions and a good working relationship between rider and photographer.

Have you had any coverage in the mags yet ?
Nah, its definitely something I want to work on though. Through working more with photographers and attempting to raise my profile a bit more.

What are your plans for 2010 ? Travelling ? Get more shots ?
Trips wise I am pretty limited because I am completing Year 12.So one of my major goals for this year is to get a university level entrance mark that will allow me to live a more comfortable life. When I do have time off school though, I do wish to try and rack up more photos and footage surfing good waves.

Any last words ?
Just thanks to Chris for teeing this interview up and also my mum and dad for supporting me.

Second interview:

CHRIS GURNEY INTERVIEW

Do you remember actually taking that sequence and particular shot ?
It was from a weekend trip I did to margaret river with Liam and our filmer friend Tom Jennings. This beachy is my favourite one down there, its a 2nd home for me. This day it was like 3-4ft, hollow and pretty uncrowded early, so much fun. Liam got this runner fairly early on and there is about 5 frames after this one too, he went right past me. I remember getting sucked over and then popping up and swimming back out again and shooting for another 3 or so hours before we went in and got some food.

Do you guys often shoot together ?
Not heaps, we tend to mostly shoot fisheye stuff. Liam is a good friend of mine so its always easy to just go shoot some photos and not have to worry about any dramas. i think its good to mix it up a bit with dropknee also, instead of every shot being a prone rider.

What does it take you reckon to get a good shot ?
In terms of a fisheye/wide-angle water shot probably just being in the right spot and patience. Its easy enough to stick the camera up and fire off shots but getting in the right place is the hard bit. The rider also plays a part in that. Framing is obviously pretty important too.

What camera and lens did you have that day ?
A canon 1DmkII and canon 15mm 2.8 fisheye. Its great but is a pretty heavy set-up also so you tend to get pulled in with the wave a lot. The camera actually errored on me this day, had to swim in and undo everything, take out the battery and put it back in then swim back out. Annoying.

Is it cool to work with someone you know well to get good shots you think ?
Definitely, i dont mean this in a hostile way, but you might not be good friends with some people you shoot photos with. Its good to hang with a friend and shoot photos and have fun at the same time.

You told me you surf a lot as well, can you tell us where you surf and what board you surf ?
I surf way more than I shoot, but when the waves are good/photogenic then i’ll be behind the lens. I usually surf at my local wave in Perth. I only really get to surf when its shit because when its pumping im down the coast somewhere shooting. The board i have is pretty old, its a morey mach 7x i think. From when they brought them back in like 2007/8 or so.

What do you prefer ? Shooting or bbing ?
It depends, i’d much rather surf some waves than shoot them. Blackrock for instance that wave looks so much fun im not sure i could handle shooting it unless someone like BP was out there going mental. It depends on whether or not anyone good is out surfing (if there is then i’ll shoot) and whether or not there are lots of other photographers shooting.

What else do you do when you dont shoot or bodyboard ?
Mainly just doing a media course at university and i work part time

Have you considered making a living out of photography ?
Not really, its hard to make money in bodyboarding and I’m not interested enough in any other forms of photography to have considered them as career paths. To completely contradict myself im going to major in photography at Uni though so hopefully something comes of that. If it was a possibility though, (who knows what will happen in the future) id love to shoot bodyboarding full time like Phil or someone like that.

Who do you like shooting in particular ? Or which spots ?
Well firstly Hardy and Hubb i have shot with a little bit and both of them are just so good and legends as well. Also with the good friends I have who surf really well, those would be Alex Halsey, Ryan Donovan and Liam. Thats good because its just fun hanging with them out of the water as well and theres not as much pressure. As for spots, Tahiti and some of the waves there were the best ive ever seen. Back home I think Mitchells wedge is the best wave to shoot locally.

Do you shoot portraits and landscape and other subjects as well ?
I dont really shoot much landscape stuff. I dont find it that appealing. As for portraits, i love shooting photos of people. Nothing is as interesting than good portraiture, especially candid stuff. I want to shoot more of it.

What are your plans for 2010 ? Travelling ? New gear ? New projects ?
Just at Uni pretty much, hopefully get back to Tahiti mid year and then Hawaii for early 2011, see how it pans out anyway.

Any last words ?
Thanks Theo