Warren Bolster
Encyclopedia
Warren Edward Bolster (11 June 1947, Arlington, Virginia – 6 September 2006, Mokuleia, Hawaii) was a skateboard photographer during the mid-1970s rebirth of skateboarding
.
He was responsible for reviving Skateboarder Magazine
, considered "the bible" of skate magazine
s, and his skateboarding photojournalism
helped popularize and define the wheeled sport during its explosive rebirth in the 1970s. Later in his career, he became an accomplished surfboard
photographer in Hawaii.
. Bolster moved with his parents and sister to Sydney, Australia in 1963. It was here that he learned to surfboard
and skateboard
for the first time, in 1965.
Bolster had been interested in cameras and photography
from an early age. This was especially nurtured by his parents' regular slide-shows of family holidays and the many hand-down cameras they gave to him.
In 1967, he moved to Cocoa Beach, Florida
, attended Brevard Community College
and earned a reputation as one of the state's top surfers. He also began photographing surfing while in Florida.
By 1970, Bolster had migrated to San Diego and made skateboards out of old water skis to ensure there was "a surfboard-like alternative for the few days lacking surf," he later recalled.
In 1972, he started to be published in and became associate editor at Surfer Magazine, from 1976-77. During his time at Surfer Magazine, he was given the task of resurrecting Skateboarder Magazine by Steve Pezman, at the time publisher and editor
of Surfer. Skateboarder Magazine had released only four quarterly issues in 1964-65, and then ceased publication. When the skateboard craze subsided, the magazine was dropped due to low sales.
In 1976, with the advent of the urethane
wheel revolution in skateboarding, which provided greater traction and speed, Bolster had six months to get Skateboarder Magazine running again. As an associate editor, he teamed up with Kurt Ledterman, the other associate editor at Surfer Magazine. Secretary Chris Maxwell
(nicknamed Max Criswell by Kurt) made the final member of a trio that would become the re-creators of Skateboarder Magazine.
Photographically, Bolster was among the first to use fish-eye lenses, motor-drive sequences and strobes while documenting California's skateboarding culture. For example, Ty Page
's multi-faceted, rapid-fire technique and footwork were nothing short of incredible. After trying many times to photograph his footwork, Bolster was forced to purchase a new $3,000 high-speed camera to catch him on film to publish in the August and September 1977 issues of Skateboarder Magazine. Superstar professional skateboarder Tony Hawk
said the magazine was the only one worth reading at the time. "The pictures were always dreamy and left me full of disbelief…. If it weren't for SkateBoarder, I would have never realized what was really possible on my four-wheeled plank," Hawk said in the book The Legacy of Warren Bolster: Master of Skateboard Photography.
Bolster remained a staff photographer for Surfer Magazine until 1992.
He moved to Hawaii in 1978, where he established himself as an accomplished and widely published freelance surf photographer. Bolster was constantly on the lookout for new angles, shooting from helicopters and often using a deck-mounted camera to get spectacular photos from behind the surfer, or photos from in front of the surfer’s board. However, for non-surfers, one of Bolster's best known images is the un-broken wave that formed the cover image of Ride
's classic shoegazing
album Nowhere
.
As a free-lance photographer, Bolster often struggled financially between assignments. He was known for putting himself dangerously close to the action he was photographing, often colliding with his subjects or their speeding platforms. He had endured at least a dozen surgeries and many broken bones participating in and documenting surfing activities. As a result, Bolster battled chronic pain and addiction to a painkiller.
"I almost destroyed myself to give a larger life to the sport," he wrote in The Legacy of Warren Bolster: Master of Skateboard Photography, a 2004 book.
He also suffered from long bouts of depression. Nonetheless, despite his health issues, Bolster remained on the cutting edge of surf photography.
Nine days before his death, Bolster was injured when his car was rear-ended in a serious collision. He died at the age of 59 on September 6, 2006, of a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
Stacy Peralta
, a filmmaker, featured Bolster's work in Riding Giants (2004) and Dogtown and Z-Boys (2001).
Bolster's sister, Janet Barnes Tramonte, was the administrative assistant to U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice William Rehnquist
for many years.
Skateboarding
Skateboarding is an action sport which involves riding and performing tricks using a skateboard.Skateboarding can be a recreational activity, an art form, a job, or a method of transportation. Skateboarding has been shaped and influenced by many skateboarders throughout the years. A 2002 report...
.
He was responsible for reviving Skateboarder Magazine
Skateboarder magazine
Skateboarder Magazine was first published in 1964 as a quarterly during the first skateboarding boom by Surfer Publications out of Dana Point, California. After an initial release of only four issues in 1964–65, it ceased publication until the first big skateboard revival of the early 1970s...
, considered "the bible" of skate magazine
Magazine
Magazines, periodicals, glossies or serials are publications, generally published on a regular schedule, containing a variety of articles. They are generally financed by advertising, by a purchase price, by pre-paid magazine subscriptions, or all three...
s, and his skateboarding photojournalism
Photojournalism
Photojournalism is a particular form of journalism that creates images in order to tell a news story. It is now usually understood to refer only to still images, but in some cases the term also refers to video used in broadcast journalism...
helped popularize and define the wheeled sport during its explosive rebirth in the 1970s. Later in his career, he became an accomplished surfboard
Surfing
Surfing' is a surface water sport in which the surfer rides a surfboard on the crest and face of a wave which is carrying the surfer towards the shore...
photographer in Hawaii.
Biography
His father was a U.S. foreign service officer and traveled extensively as a diplomatDiplomat
A diplomat is a person appointed by a state to conduct diplomacy with another state or international organization. The main functions of diplomats revolve around the representation and protection of the interests and nationals of the sending state, as well as the promotion of information and...
. Bolster moved with his parents and sister to Sydney, Australia in 1963. It was here that he learned to surfboard
Surfing
Surfing' is a surface water sport in which the surfer rides a surfboard on the crest and face of a wave which is carrying the surfer towards the shore...
and skateboard
Skateboarding
Skateboarding is an action sport which involves riding and performing tricks using a skateboard.Skateboarding can be a recreational activity, an art form, a job, or a method of transportation. Skateboarding has been shaped and influenced by many skateboarders throughout the years. A 2002 report...
for the first time, in 1965.
Bolster had been interested in cameras and photography
Photography
Photography is the art, science and practice of creating durable images by recording light or other electromagnetic radiation, either electronically by means of an image sensor or chemically by means of a light-sensitive material such as photographic film...
from an early age. This was especially nurtured by his parents' regular slide-shows of family holidays and the many hand-down cameras they gave to him.
In 1967, he moved to Cocoa Beach, Florida
Cocoa Beach, Florida
Cocoa Beach is a city in Brevard County, Florida, United States. The population was 12,482 at the 2000 census. According to the U.S. Census Bureau estimates of 2008, the city had a population of 11,920...
, attended Brevard Community College
Brevard Community College
Brevard Community College, founded in 1960, is a community college on Florida's Space Coast, in Brevard County, Florida. It has four campuses in Cocoa, Melbourne, Palm Bay, and Titusville, as well as an Aerospace program at Kennedy Space Center and a Virtual Campus...
and earned a reputation as one of the state's top surfers. He also began photographing surfing while in Florida.
By 1970, Bolster had migrated to San Diego and made skateboards out of old water skis to ensure there was "a surfboard-like alternative for the few days lacking surf," he later recalled.
In 1972, he started to be published in and became associate editor at Surfer Magazine, from 1976-77. During his time at Surfer Magazine, he was given the task of resurrecting Skateboarder Magazine by Steve Pezman, at the time publisher and editor
Editing
Editing is the process of selecting and preparing written, visual, audible, and film media used to convey information through the processes of correction, condensation, organization, and other modifications performed with an intention of producing a correct, consistent, accurate, and complete...
of Surfer. Skateboarder Magazine had released only four quarterly issues in 1964-65, and then ceased publication. When the skateboard craze subsided, the magazine was dropped due to low sales.
In 1976, with the advent of the urethane
Polyurethane
A polyurethane is any polymer composed of a chain of organic units joined by carbamate links. Polyurethane polymers are formed through step-growth polymerization, by reacting a monomer with another monomer in the presence of a catalyst.Polyurethanes are...
wheel revolution in skateboarding, which provided greater traction and speed, Bolster had six months to get Skateboarder Magazine running again. As an associate editor, he teamed up with Kurt Ledterman, the other associate editor at Surfer Magazine. Secretary Chris Maxwell
Chris Maxwell
Chris Maxwell BA , LLB , BPhil , QC is an Australian jurist.Maxwell has been President of the Victorian Court of Appeal since 16 July 2005, succeeding Justice John Winneke....
(nicknamed Max Criswell by Kurt) made the final member of a trio that would become the re-creators of Skateboarder Magazine.
Photographically, Bolster was among the first to use fish-eye lenses, motor-drive sequences and strobes while documenting California's skateboarding culture. For example, Ty Page
Ty Page
Ty Scott Page is a professional skateboarder who was known as one of the most innovative skateboarder in the world. Ty Page was a leader in the skateboard world during "the golden era" of skateboarding in the early 1970s....
's multi-faceted, rapid-fire technique and footwork were nothing short of incredible. After trying many times to photograph his footwork, Bolster was forced to purchase a new $3,000 high-speed camera to catch him on film to publish in the August and September 1977 issues of Skateboarder Magazine. Superstar professional skateboarder Tony Hawk
Tony Hawk
Anthony Frank "Tony" Hawk , nicknamed "The Birdman" is an American retired professional skateboarder and actor. Hawk gained significant fame for completing the first 900 as well as his licensed video game titles distributed by Activision...
said the magazine was the only one worth reading at the time. "The pictures were always dreamy and left me full of disbelief…. If it weren't for SkateBoarder, I would have never realized what was really possible on my four-wheeled plank," Hawk said in the book The Legacy of Warren Bolster: Master of Skateboard Photography.
Bolster remained a staff photographer for Surfer Magazine until 1992.
He moved to Hawaii in 1978, where he established himself as an accomplished and widely published freelance surf photographer. Bolster was constantly on the lookout for new angles, shooting from helicopters and often using a deck-mounted camera to get spectacular photos from behind the surfer, or photos from in front of the surfer’s board. However, for non-surfers, one of Bolster's best known images is the un-broken wave that formed the cover image of Ride
Ride (band)
Ride were a British alternative rock band that formed in 1988 in Oxford, England, consisting of Andy Bell, Mark Gardener, Laurence "Loz" Colbert, and Steve Queralt. The band were initially part of the "shoegazing" scene. Following the break-up of the band in 1996, members moved on to various other...
's classic shoegazing
Shoegazing
Shoegazing is a subgenre of alternative rock that emerged from the United Kingdom in the late 1980s. It lasted there until the mid 1990s, with a critical zenith reached in 1990 and 1991...
album Nowhere
Nowhere (album)
Nowhere is the debut album by British shoegazing band Ride. The album was released by Creation Records on 15 October 1990. Allmusic has cited the album as one of the greatest albums of the shoegazing genre, second only to My Bloody Valentine's Loveless...
.
As a free-lance photographer, Bolster often struggled financially between assignments. He was known for putting himself dangerously close to the action he was photographing, often colliding with his subjects or their speeding platforms. He had endured at least a dozen surgeries and many broken bones participating in and documenting surfing activities. As a result, Bolster battled chronic pain and addiction to a painkiller.
"I almost destroyed myself to give a larger life to the sport," he wrote in The Legacy of Warren Bolster: Master of Skateboard Photography, a 2004 book.
He also suffered from long bouts of depression. Nonetheless, despite his health issues, Bolster remained on the cutting edge of surf photography.
Nine days before his death, Bolster was injured when his car was rear-ended in a serious collision. He died at the age of 59 on September 6, 2006, of a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
Stacy Peralta
Stacy Peralta
Stacy Peralta is an American director and entrepreneur. Peralta was previously a professional skateboarder and surfer with the professional skateboarding group, the Z-Boys.-Early life:...
, a filmmaker, featured Bolster's work in Riding Giants (2004) and Dogtown and Z-Boys (2001).
Bolster's sister, Janet Barnes Tramonte, was the administrative assistant to U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice William Rehnquist
William Rehnquist
William Hubbs Rehnquist was an American lawyer, jurist, and political figure who served as an Associate Justice on the Supreme Court of the United States and later as the 16th Chief Justice of the United States...
for many years.
Further reading
- Gesmer, Daniel (2004) The Legacy of Warren Bolster: Master of Skateboard Photography
- Marcus, Ben (2006) The Surf World Loses a Legend: Warren Bolster - 1947-2006 obituary