We caught up with adventure photographer Tobias MacPhee to discuss his recent success, his newest endeavors and his foundation that started him in the industry.
Maintaining a wild fascination with athleticism, adventure and adrenalin, MacPhee tends to shoot bodies in motion. Many, in extreme environments. As a youngster, MacPhee used to imagine what it must have been like to be alive in moments of old, archived black and white photography. He would place himself amongst those in the photographs, trying to envision life back then. Growing up, he told us, he often “played” around with photography but never took it too seriously. Although, he admitted, it was always on the back of his mind in some capacity. Eventually, MacPhee said, “It too became this voice that wouldn’t go away and I had no choice but to listen.”
For Tobias, communicating his vision from conception to completion despite the complexities of shooting imagery in motion has kept him incredibly motivated. Captioning a photograph of a smiling skier, MacPhee wrote: “It’s the energy a person brings to a project or a moment that inspires me to push myself creatively.”
Once, while shooting the sport beside an old friend, he was asked if Wyoming’s fly fishing lived up to his expectations. MacPhee responded that beyond the physical sport, he was most impressed by the community’s passionate dedication to the action itself. “…And that’s what I love to photograph, people in their element doing what they love.” It is this fueled desire to showcase the individual thriving in their environment that defines much of MacPhee’s work. In this same interview, when asked if he wanted to try out the sport next time, Tobias responded, “Although I would really love to try fly fishing and learn to catch fish like the ones I saw while in Wyoming, the truth is that I’m a slave to my camera and can never put it down.”
In a separate interview, when asked to make a distinction between ordinary and extraordinary photography, MacPhee once said, “The difference between an average photo and a great photo is often a fraction of a second. A great photo has the ability to send a message, express emotion, inspire, motivate or tell a story. A split second too early or late and you can lose that message or emotion. As a photographer you must have the vision of what you want to express and the patience to let that moment present itself.”
As an impassioned athlete himself, MacPhee not only understands but lives and breathes the energetic experience day in and day out. He magnificently seizes the spirit and stamina paramount to getting that perfect run, climb, hike, stretch, ride or action shot. His love for the land is abundantly visible in all of his work, particularly his personal project, The Clean Air Project. His work touts a bold and vivid stylistic approach inspired by Tim Tadder, Chase Jarvis and Joey L. Whether it’s the anticipation, the excitement, the fear or the pure bliss - there is a heightened sense of accomplishment, experience and fulfillment ubiquitously tying MacPhee’s photos together.
Boasting a client list including Climbing Magazine, Patagonia, The New York Times and Black Diamond Equipment - Tobias Macphee has no plans of slowing down any time soon.
To check out more of Tobias MacPhee’s work, visit his website