30% OFF YOUR FIRST ITEM*
Sign up to get all the latest news and exclusive offers.
While we love shooting with many different photographers, Steve Baccon and Mike Calvino have been shooting the Billabong campaigns for what feels like forever and the bromance is a real thing. We have been around the world and back again together and so decided to ask them a few questions, as you probably don’t know them as well as we do!
Read on below for what makes these two legends tick and why we love them so much!
You have both been shooting Billabong campaigns for a while now, can you tell us one that has stuck in your memory and stood out from the rest?
Mike: Every shoot has been amazing in its own way and the list is long! It’s probably gonna be between surf in the Maldives or swimming with sharks in Bora Bora Tahiti. Those are super special memories for life
Steve: I have definitely got a few trips that are so memorable - but the one that stands out the most is shooting in Bora Bora, Tahiti…what a place, water so clear it’s like a pool, local people who are kind and generous and always a great crew of people...
How was shooting most of this years campaigns in Australia, from Byron to Gerringong?
Mike: This year we travelled to some pretty iconic surf destinations in Australia which was really cool, it’s all so familiar which makes it kinda easy but by having to look at it all through the lens it makes you realise how good we have it here!
Steve: Like most people, I don’t see enough of Australia, so seeing Australia is awesome. Gerringong was amazing, the place we stayed at had the most comfortable bed ever. My mother is from the South Coast of New South Wales and I have always had a great time surfing down there.
What is your dream shoot destination for the next Billabong campaign?
Mike: Again the list is long! but a couple of places I've always wanted to shoot at is in the Canary Islands and Mallorca
Steve: Dream destination - Zanzibar and Sri Lanka are places I have always wanted to visit…they are like a paradise but also have a local culture very different to our own
How did you get into your respective fields?
Mike: It’s a long story.... but basically about 25 years ago whilst I was undertaking a job skills program for troubled youth I was given an opportunity to undertake work experience with a film production company in Sydney, which I loved and worked super hard (for Free) but they ended up giving me a job and I haven’t looked back since.
Steve: My career began with art school but then I was lucky enough to get a cadetship with FAIRFAX newspapers which eventually led me to working with the Sydney Morning Herald and Sun Herald…the best training grounds.
Any advice for budding photographers/filmers out there ?
Mike: Reach out and get involved with the people who do the kind of work you want to do and then give it everything you got.
Steve: Just shoot…and shoot….and shoot.
What is your absolute dream email to wake up to? From which brand and why?
Mike: Oooh thats a good one. It would probably be an email from The Directors Bureau offering a job, any job, evening making coffee id be stoked.
Steve: I have always wanted an assignment from Vanity Fair but now I’m not sure, I get the best emails a few times a year from Steph (Billabong Marketing Manager) now, I am kind of living my dream shoots.
Proudest achievement to date?
Mike: Probably just making that initial decision and getting to where I am today. It's been a journey and keeps surprising me all the time
Steve: Hmmmm….I don’t really like competitions but love it when I become a finalist…a great achievement was becoming a finalist in the 2019 National Photographic Portrait Prize at the National Portrait Gallery in Canberra.
What is your favourite gear to use?
Mike: Opportunities for shots will present themselves to you all the time and so just need to be able to capture them before they disappear forever, and for this you need gear that allows you to work quickly and your familiar with and get the shot
Steve: I use Nikon.
Camera D850
Most used lens 24 - 70mm f2.8
Aquatec Sports Housing
Favourite Lens is my 58mm f1.4
Any tips for travelling with so much heavy equipment?
Mike: Try not too. Try to really learn your way are basic tools or score some big budget jobs so someone else has to deal with it!
Steve: Travel light !!! And good luggage with wheels
What place could you go back to time and time again and not get sick of?
Mike: Tahiti and Queenstown NZ are both dream locations.
Steve: The Maldives.
Three people you would want at your dinner party?
Mike: Picasso, John Coltrane and Haruki Murakami (which means we would have Spaghetti for dinner)
Steve: My wife, Karen ( because she is great with banter ), Wes Anderson and Bill Murray…I could really have more….
What's keeping you sane during this period of 'staying home' ?
Mike: Surfing. Reading. Gardening, Hanging with Family and Talking with Friends
Steve: My dog - he’s always happy..
Lastly, your favourite Billabong item in your wardrobe?
Mike: Probably boardies ...def the best boardies ...but also love my Billabong Jackets. built to last for adventure, the elements and forever..seriously they just get better with age.
Steve: My boardshorts - I love the SUNDAYS collabs -plus when I am in board shorts it means that its tropical ( usually ).