OA: How does - or doesn't - Cleveland foster a community for creative entrepreneurs like yourself?
BD: Cleveland is a place that I grew up with. I appreciate Cleveland for what it has to offer. It's a smaller market than our neighbors, but it has something for me that other places may have less of. A lot of people leave Cleveland, but I find the ones that come back or stay all have something in common. They want to make the place better. For me, it has been bringing back what I have learned in new York and at Tri-C. I learned from many talented and successful people, all of whom believe that if you want it bad enough, you have to work hard to get it.
OA: How has living in Cleveland affected your aesthetic and compositions?
BD: I look for the positives in Cleveland. Many people talk down on the city, but I find a wealth of strength and determination from the people here. I pull from those who live here and those who left. The ones that went on to other places still have an admiration for the city. Half my friends left, but they still love Cleveland, and I try to show some of the great parts and the people.
OA:How did you become interested in the city's surfers?
BD: I drove past Edgewater [Park] six or seven years ago and saw them. Ever since, I find what they do during the long winter months inspiring. Most of us stay indoors and hibernate for six months and they embrace the climate. It inspires me to go out and and have something great to photograph – people, landscape, action.
OA: Do you feel this is coming back to where you started, documenting "extreme" sports?
BD: A little. With the BMX, it started as me photographing my friends. It is similar, because they embrace what is given to them, so it relates. But my thing has always been to photograph people like that. They do it no matter if any one is watching or not. It's a lifestyle for them, and they would be there no matter if I was there or not.
[All images courtesy of Billy Delfs Photography]
