“I’m looking at the story,” explains photographer Stephen Mallon to us in an interview. “I hear my editor’s voice in my head, asking for the wide, the detail, the portrait. I try not to focus only on the shots that I think I know I want and cover everything.” Mr. Mallon has quite the background as a photographer and a large list of clients. A project he’s been working on for a while involves creating artificial reefs in an attempt to combat global warming. It’s pretty exciting to think about once you put yourself in his shoes.

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The Essential Photography Gear of Stephen Mallon

Canon 5Ds

Fujifilm GFX 100S

Sigma 70-200mm f2.8

Canon 16-35mm Mk II L

Stephen Mallon

I was shooting with the Canon 5Ds and the Fuji GFX 100s on Sigma lens with a Metabones adaptor. I had the Sigma 70-200 2.8 on the Canon for the faster images with the 16-35 MkII on the Fuji for the wide shots. I’ve gotten hooked on the color science in the Fuji but the AF (at least with the Metabones adapter) isn’t chasing the subject as well as the Canon is. This might also be that fact that with the adapter and me only having the Fuji for a few months I don’t know all of its tricks in staying in focus!

Talk to us about how you first got into photography. What made you fall in love with it?

It started when I was less than three. My dad handed me his Canon AE-1 to take a photo of him and my mom together. I never lost the love of the still image. Immortality drives me now.

We’ve interviewed tons of photographers over the years. Your background is this fascinating combination of editorial and documentary. What sort of influences were there and what paths have you taken to build your specific creative vision?

Thank you! I was determined to find a way to shoot what I wanted and survive on the work at the same time. I have always loved seeing big prints on the wall and part of the drive was figuring out what I could hang and deliver to a client as one. I worked with photo editors at agencies and magazines that helped me refine the work, become more focused, and find stories and projects that I would obsess about. Influences- Selagado, Burtynsky, Chris Jordan, Picasso, and Christo.

You’re photographing all of these scenes where vehicles and things are dumped into the ocean to be made into sustainable, man-made reefs. In the years to come when you retire, what would you like to have accomplished? Is it about education on environmental efforts? The praise for the companies?

I’m thankful that the work has been so widely viewed. The research that I’ve seen is that these reefs can be extremely successful with the right materials. Apparently, they tried tires at one point but the current ripped them off of the wire ropes they were tethered to and ended up washing up on the beaches. My project American Relamatoin began in 2007 after I was approached about making a book. I didn’t feel like I had a solid collection of images to create Stephen Mallon’s coffee table book so my wife and I started looking at the images I had already been drawn towards. We realized i was already finding textural maps at recycling plants and that I had shot while traveling. I found out about the artificial reef project that the MTA was doing in 2007. I was under the impression that I had missed it and when I found out it was ongoing I felt it was a great addition to American Reclamation. Florida is now the third reef project I’ve shot and I want more!

I can imagine that projects like this take a lot of pre-plannng. You’re on a moving boat, the tide might be rough, the boats sometimes go under, and you’ve got a limited amount of time to get THE SHOT. What’s the most difficult part of all this? What’s typically going through your mind creatively? Do you ever wanting to change creative visions at the last minute?

Pre-planning with a touch of being ready in case someone calls and tells you the shoot you t...