Popular Photography - February 2015 USA

Examples
from Hogan’s
theFINproject
include
Dave Sweet
longboards
from the early
1950s (above,
top left) and
1970s (center
left) as well as
newer models
such as the
Kelly Slater
Millennium
Board (center
right).
he doesn’t display them chronologically.
Instead, he shuffles
them into groups that trace both
subtle and drastic shifts in design
as well as concepts that have been
revived, repurposed, or discarded.
To keep the focus on this evolution,
Hogan maintains certain
constraints. He typically uses a
Hasselblad H4D-50MS to shoot
each fin on a white background,
adjusting his lights to emphasize
the most unique characteristic—
hard lights to bring out the texture
of the wood; a highlight on the
top edge of a fiberglass fin for
extra shine, backlighting to show
off transluscent colors. Hogan
cites Bernd and Hilla Becher’s
industrial typologies as a major
influence, noting how isolation
and repetition can highlight the
idiosyncrasies of everyday objects.
But it can also be tedious. In
part to fight the monotony of
staring down yet another wedge
of blue fiberglass, Hogan also
arranges fins into careful patterns.
“Sometimes you get, for lack of
a better word, bored,” he admits,
but adds: “Most of these are made
by hand so a lot of the creativity is
in honoring each piece as unique.”
At the outset of theFINproject,
Hogan sought to address the state
of individual craftsmanship in a
time of mass production. Now,
working closely with artifacts of
the sport he loves, Hogan hopes
his documentary and photographs
will encourage creativity and
experimentation. —Jon Blistein
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