As our appetite for surf porn intensifies buddying surf photographers and videographers fight to pull us into their vortex. But it’s not always about courting the hottest talent to make it go viral. Filmmaker Owen Milne recently profiled photographer John Barton aka Johnny Jungle. Barton spends months of the year posted up at Pitstop Hill in the Mentawai chain shooting surfers and idyllic empties that will leave one click away from dropping everything and booking a trip to Indo. Tracks caught up with the Milne who took a break from shooting pros and trained his lens onto one of his peers for his latest short, ‘Johnny Jungle’.
Johnny Jungle from Owen Milne Media on Vimeo.
Tracks: Who is Owen Milne?
Owen Milne: I am 21 years young and grew up in a small coastal town called Copacabana on the Central Coast of NSW. I moved up to the Byron Bay/Gold Coast area earlier this year and the move up here has been pretty successful so far! It was kind of hard at the start leaving uncrowded reef breaks for over populated point breaks but there is way more opportunity up here than there is back home.
When did you first meet John Barton and discover he was carving out such an idyllic existence?
I had actually been following Johnny on Instagram for the past couple of years. I loved seeing these crazy images come out of the Mentawais. It wasn't until a recent trip I did to Pitstop Hill (Johnny's base in the Mentawais) where I got to shoot alongside him for two weeks during a pretty consistent swell. It was epic getting an insight and appreciation of the area Johnny has called home for many years.
What was the core motivation to embark on a documentary project like this?
This project was never really planned at all actually. I went on a swell mission with Riley Laing and Alex Smith that had been organised through Pitstop Hill. We were told Johnny would be there to shoot stills for the majority of our sessions and he would be with us for the peak of the swell. After hanging with Johnny everyday and learning more about his life it was a no brainer to sit him down and ask a few questions about how it all started.
Back to Johnny Jungle. What makes the man tick? Most surfers (myself included) couldn't think of anything worse than watching other people score perfect waves while sweltering in the Indo sun – especially with such a beard! – but he seems to thrive.
I think Johnny just loves nailing an amazing shot that someone is going to see and lose their mind. He works pretty hard for someone that lives in paradise. He’ll shoot 2-3 sessions a day with guests and it’s not just the fact he shoots perfect waves all day in the hot Indo sun… that night instead of drinking Bintangs and playing cards at the bar he is hiding in the corner milking the limited wifi, editing and sending off photos around the world.
The cinematography in the short is spectacular. Tell me a little bit about that pocket of the Ments. It looks like absolute paradise.
Thank you! The islands around Pitstop Hill are amazing. It doesn't matter what swell or wind direction you always end up surfing a head high wave, which is usually pumping. There are so many islands to explore. One day we went to this coconut plantation island where we were hand feeding a family of wild pigs chopped up coconut on the beach. That was pretty sick!
You’ve done projects with Ricardo Christie, Andrew Mooney and Riley Laing but has this been one of the most satisfying projects to date?
Yeah for sure, I’m pretty stoked on how this little project came out and was stoked to get some good feedback. I think it’s most satisfying because I didn't plan to do it until the second last day of my trip. I was stoked Johnny was keen to have a go with me because it was the first project like this for the both of us.
Personally, it left me craving a little more. Do you plan to pursue more documentary projects like this and uncover the secret lives of fellow photographers, videographers and their life behind the lens?
It kinda left me craving to go shoot another one too haha! It would be sick to create a little series and learn more about other photographers and videographers who live similar lives to Johnny and show them to the world.
Tell me a little known fact about what it takes to pull off a successful 2-3 minute edit?
Telling a story in such a short time can be more successful than you first think!
With our attention spans shortening at a rate of knots how do you think filmmakers will adapt to keep our eyeballs glued to the screen?
You can learn so much in such a short time by watching a short film/doco or you can change your mind on who your favourite surfer is in under three minutes. I think more filmmakers will keep aiming to give these kind of stories a go.
Find more Owen’s work here on Vimeo
Or follow him on Instagram
