Interview by Zach Moeller

What came first for you, a love of skating or a love of photography?
Taking photos. I got my first camera when I was a little kid and I really enjoyed it. I was probably 10 or 11. It was somewhere in Italy, and I remember being at the zoo with my mom, taking photos of all the animals. After that, I kept taking photos for a long time until my camera broke and I had to stop for a while.

When did you start skating?
I wanted to start skating when I was young. I remember going home and telling my mom “I want a skateboard!” She told me no, unless I wore full pads. I didn’t want to do that. So basically, there were a few years after that where I didn’t skate, and at that point, I wasn’t taking photos. Both started around the same time though. I’ve always had an interest in taking photos of architecture, so skateboarding was really interesting because eventually, architecture got boring.

Tell me about the first time you shot skateboarding.
I broke my ankle and didn’t have anything to do. A friend of mine asked if I had ever shot skateboarding and encouraged me to try it. It sounded interesting. I looked at a lot of skate magazines for inspiration. Then I started going around and asking people if I could shoot them skating.

Do you think that Berlin is a good city to be productive in?
That’s a tough question. I feel more productive when I travel somewhere else, but I do like to come back to Berlin to finish the project, develop and scan my film, and put all the stuff together. But as far as creating? Most of the time that doesn’t happen for me in Berlin.

How often are you on the road compared to at home?
It depends on how much time and money I have. I used to travel quite often. There were definitely a couple of years where I left every other month, even if it was just to go and see the homies somewhere. But during Covid I kind of had to stay in Germany. I’m still traveling at least a few times a year, and when I do it’s usually to stay for around four weeks.

Did you study photography in school?
I always was interested in studying photography, but I was also really into furniture design. When I went to university I ended up studying graphic and product design, but there were also lessons on artistic photography, where I did my best work. So, I went to study a lot, but photography was what I liked the most and where I produced my best projects. Also, with furniture design, you get to travel a lot less. I felt like photography would give me more freedom. So I started leaning more into that and finished school.

Can you tell me about the book you had published, 548 Days? It seems like you took a unique approach with how you shot the photos for it. 
When I was finishing my bachelor’s degree I wanted to make my thesis a project about skateboarding and architecture, but my teachers didn’t like it and didn’t want me to do it the way I had in mind. So I submitted something else, and after I graduated I decided to keep working on my original idea of making a photo book and went traveling for six months. I went all over trying to shoot skate photos, which was pretty hard at that time. I’m not the best skater myself, which could make it hard to approach certain people. After shooting while traveling, I came back to Berlin and had to figure out how to make a book. I looked into publishing houses behind some of my favorite books and started sending them messages. One of them got back to me and was like, “Yeah, this looks nice. Maybe we can meet you for a coffee?” I ended up getting the book published. It was pretty sick. The book shows the materials that make
different spots unique and how the skater is interacting in it. I think it’s important to show people who don’t skate that skaters don’t destroy their environment, but are just finding new ways to interpret it. That’s why I wanted to give a more artistic point of view to the whole thing – not just using a fisheye to show the craziest trick. If I look at photos shot with a fisheye, they look dope, but sometimes it’s hard to tell what the spot actually looks like.

Where did you go while you were shooting the content for the book?
It’s crazy, I don’t even remember all the places I’ve been to. I think I went to at least 20 different cities. I ended up in places where I didn’t get a single skate photo, like in Sydney for example. I was there for three weeks, but it was raining and I wasn’t able to meet people to go skate with. But then I went to the States, where I went to Seattle, San Francisco, Portland, and New York where I was able to get skate photos everywhere. And I’ve been all over the place in Europe.

Have you had a favorite city to shoot in? What makes somewhere good for getting photos?
There are so many sick spots everywhere. I love places where I can walk around and find spots myself, and I’ll get someone to skate it. That’s basically what I did with my first book. Now it’s a little different because some people know my name, so it’s easier to hit people up to skate or get contacts to reach out to. Also, now I can show people my photos and it normally gives them a good idea of the types of spots I’m looking for. I am open to trying different things. I think my favorite types of spots have brutalist architecture, lots of shapes. I try to avoid going the classic route of shooting skate photos. I don’t think you always need to show the run up or landing, maybe just a unique perspective of the spot and the trick.

Is there anywhere on your list of places you want to travel to shoot where you haven’t been yet? 
Yes, Tokyo! Going to Japan, with all of the nice tiles and architecture, where everything just looks amazing. But it’s crazy because you can’t really skate during the day. I’m curious how different that would be because I don’t usually like shooting with a flash. There I’d have to, and obviously I will. I already have a project in mind that I’d like to do once I get to Japan.

Outside of skateboarding, what are some other subjects you enjoy shooting?
I still really like shooting photos of architecture, but also lately I’ve been enjoying shooting photos of tourists in different cities, so I guess street photography. I like going to the busiest spots. It’s not really portraits. I prefer to shoot from the back, maybe if they’re wearing nice hats or outfits. You start to wonder “What have they been up to?” My new book I’m working on, which will hopefully be out by the end of the year, will have a lot of random stuff. Of course, there will be a lot of skateboarding, but also things I shot photos of while looking for spots, during travel, or on rainy days.

What’s your camera set up?
I am mostly using my Canon A-1, with different lenses. I love switching between 35, 50, and 17mm. It’s always different. I just came back from Paris, and I shot an entire roll of film with my 17mm lens, which is basically a wide-angle, of tourists in front of the Eiffel Tower.

Where can people see your work?
You can check it out either on Instagram or on my website delacharles.com.

Who are some of your photography inspirations?
I really love Martin Parr’s photos. He has great style. He uses flash a lot and his photos are really colorful. I don’t really like shooting that way myself, but I really like to look at how he does it. There’s a lot of people whose work I like, but a lot of it isn’t skate photography.

Last question. Best place to get a beer in Berlin?
Any Späti.