Behind the lens: Nao Oka

Where in the world are you currently and where to next?
I’m currently in New Zealand. My next place is Australia to live and skate with DNL again. I would also like to travel to Canada, US and Mexico to take some photos.

Why did you decide to move from Japan to Australia?
I always wanted to live in another country and to be surrounded by a different culture. I was deciding between Australia and Canada. I picked Australia because of the warm weather and I found out one of my relatives lived in Perth. Five days after I made it to Australia, I broke my femur skateboarding. I was so frustrated to have to go back to Japan for two months to heal my leg. However that made me resolute to skate and even to live in Australia.

How did you meet DNL crew?
DNL crew didn’t exist when I met Tobi and Estelle. We started hanging out for a skate every Sunday and more girls began to gather. Tobi and Estelle named the group DNL (the abbreviation of Did Not Land). So I was lucky to be one of them from the start.

What inspired you to create Now Zine?
Most of my inspiration was initially from another local skater in Melbourne. I often went to Hemley Skate Shop and saw the their zine there. One of my friends saw my photos and came up with the idea that I should make a zine using them.

All the photos are showing the moment “now”. And by putting “Now” as the title, everyone would recognize who took the photos in the zine—“Now” comes from my name, Nao. Every time I explain how to pronounce my name to someone in English, I always tell them it’s pronounced like “now”.

What camera do you shoot with?
I shoot with an Olympus OM1-n.

Do you shoot entirely on film? Why?
Yes, because I just couldn’t afford to buy a digital camera! So I bought the Olympus camera and started using it and I found it so fun and simple to use.

Is there something in particular that you aim to capture in your photos?
I had been taking street photos to capture moments in the present or “now” that people may have seen before but not paid attention to. These normal moments might usually seem boring so I hope people might see them in a new way.

When I began skateboarding, I noticed that the moments spent doing tricks and hanging out were special. The moments seem normal because it’s our life. We don’t stop to notice how cool it is. The photos capture these moments for us and show how skateboarding brings people together as a community. This is important for us as skateboarders and for other people to understand our community.

Interview: Sarah Huston
Photos: Nao Oka