“UN VRAI ARTISTE”

December 21, 2022

An Interview with Alex Patrick of Higher Latitude Films

 

 

Foreword by Grey Lockwood:

 

Alex Patrick is an artist in every sense of the word. He is well versed in still photography and cinematography, has a true love for cinema, and will travel to the ends of the earth to find the perfect shot. But, the thing we appreciate most about him is that he’s not in a hurry. Unlike most new-age digital content creators, he believes in the process and could care less about any deadline or being a part of any new social media trend. His imagery has a subtle hint of romance that stems from his unwavering love for light in all forms. Alex has been a part of the Bing family for quite a few years, so we decided to sit down with him and see what he’s been up to…    

 

 

1. Name and where you're from/where you live now?

 

My name is Alex Patrick. I am French from a small beach town in France, but I moved to Mexico almost 20 years ago now.

 

2. Give us some insight on how you got started with photography and making films.

 

I started when I was around 15 years old with an old Camcorder we used for filming our skate crew "Les enfants de la Tache verte" back in the 90's. At that time, we didn't have money, so we were editing the videos with two VCR’s, then filming live music, and filming the T.V. to have the music on the movies we made. 

I was already into surfing before skating and I was obsessed by the old surfing and skateboarding videos. We would literally watch the same videos 100 times on our VHS until we had access to a new one. At that time, where I'm from, it was complicated to have access to those videos, so we were always searching for new ones along with new music. At some point we found a French dude, Eric Obre, who owned a skate shop in downtown San Diego. We were ordering all our stuff from him and 18 years later I figured out that Eric was a really close friend of Israel Preciado when the 3 of us met in Paris during a Europe trip. 

I didn't film or do photography for a long period of time when I was traveling, i didn't have money 

 

3. Why did you choose to live in Mexico as your home base? Tell us about life and the people of Mexico.

 

That is a pretty deep question…  I didn't have a good relationship with my dad, so I left when I was young and started traveling all over. The surfers of my hometown were already working in the summertime and traveling in winter. I followed their paths after listening to their amazing stories from all over the continent. I traveled a lot in Europe and then the entire world. I was in Central America for a time and I decided to take a Tica bus to Mexico. When I arrived in Mexico I felt that I had found a new home immediately, as I fell in love with the people, the food, the culture and the weather.

 

 

 

 

4. What type of camera equipment do you use and how do you choose which cameras to use when creating new projects?

 

I don't own a lot of camera gear to be honest. I have used the same camera and lenses for over 4 years. I own 2 lenses, a Sigma 19-35 and a Sigma 150-600 and the GH5. They are all beaten up and I should invest in new gear, but being an artist in Mexico is hard sometimes... LOL

 

5. Who are some of your favorite surf photographers and filmmakers?

 

I am really into cinema and it’s a big dream of mine to create movies. One of my favorite filmmakers is Spike Jones. I was watching his skateboard videos way before he was a big name in Hollywood. Guys like Alejandro Fuentevilla, Mark Kronemeyer, Octavio Coutino, Alex Mayto are my favorites in Mexico. I love the photography work of Dane Peterson, Thomas Lodin, Ed Templeton, and Nick Lavecchia. Video wise, your guy Purpletoaster is amazing, Andy Woodward, Morgan Maassen and so many more!

 

6. What type of waves can you find in Mexico? Do you have any surf spots that are special to you?

 

You can literally find any kind of spot in Mexico. This is the beauty of it… Point breaks, reefs, and amazing beach breaks!

We have an iconic right point break 2 hours north of we live in Mexico. It's really rare when it breaks, but when you have get it good, it's an amazing wave! 

 

7. You always have quite a few new projects in the works. What are some of the films that you've finished and what type of new films are you working on?

 

We just finished a new edit with my good friend Miguel Sinclair. The idea started when a few years back I was filming with Lola Mignot for her introduction to the Vans team. I was letting Miguel know where we were filming for him to show up and start to stack clips. We got a bunch of really good clips and I did a mini Instagram edit named “In Search of Balance”. Our really good friend Brennan, who is an amazing sound designer, saw the clip and he told us that  we should do a piece all together. Not long after that Miguel got sponsored by Bing Surfboards and Vissla, so all the clips we had stacked were obsolete. We started to film again, created the original music and we just finished it a few weeks ago.

Otherwise, I've been working on a personal project named “OCEAN GROWN: A Family Raised by the Sea”.  It’s something I wrote, I am directing, and filming all by myself. A lot of people are helping me along the way since it's a really complex story about surfing in Mexico, the struggles and the reality here, and I took my really good friend Diego Cadena as the protagonist of the movie.

 

8. It seems like the level of surfing in Mexico is really on the rise over the last 10 years. Who are some of your favorite surfers to see in the water?

 

For me, Miguel is one of the most pleasant to watch, we are really good friends and it's why it's so natural for us to work together. Lola is my favorite one, I have known her since she was really young. I was in Sayulita when she started to surf and she was a shortboard rat. I love Dan Palacio style, Gordo and his brother are pretty rad to watch too, then a bunch of other Sayulita locals like Israel, Joel, Luis.

 

9. Tell us about some of the companies that you create imagery for and any fun surf trips you've been on recently.

 

I've had the chance to work with a bunch of different brands like Patagonia, Vans, Billabong, Roxy, Quiksilver, The Seea, New Balance among others. I do some stuff for Bing Surfboards, that is pretty neat LOL. Nothing in view right now. I really want to finish my short film, so I am not taking any jobs or planning any surf trips. Actually, we are going to do a quick one with Miguel for 8 days down south during Christmas and New Year’s vacation. Sayulita gets way too hectic at that time of the year, but actually all year long it’s crazy now!

 

10. What does the future look like for Alex Patrick?

 

I really don't know to be honest. Sometimes I feel like quitting everything and doing something different. I am getting a little bit annoyed seeing all these new people doing the same shit with no originality. It’s become very trendy to be a surf photographer/videographer (I will call them digital creator) since Instagram made it easy. My long-term goal is to write and direct more big projects, so that’s where my focus is these days. Inshallah!!! 

 

 

To view more of Alex’s portfolio please visit:

 

www.higherlatitudefilms.com

 

@higherlatitude_films

 


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