Welcome to Behind the Scene, a monthly series where Flagpole and DTproductions  profile the people who work offstage to make Athens music matter.

WHO HE IS: Jason Thrasher

WHAT HE DOES: Owner, Thrasher Photo

WATCH:

ON GETTING STARTED:

I got started as a skateboard photographer in the '80s. When I was a teenager, I was out street skating with my friends and was interested in having a camera, but didn’t know what it meant to be a photographer. I got my first SLR when I was 15 and really just started documenting my friends and our scene skateboarding in Alabama. 

ON ATHENS:

I moved to Athens around ’94… I really came here for the arts and music scenes and later found out that Jim Herbert taught at UGA… Back then, I always photographed my friends' bands on the side… But, I wasn’t really pursing music photography. I really just wanted to make my own art and was friends with musicians. 

When I first moved here, there was R.E.M. and a handful of other bands that were doing great work and searching for record deals. I was in love with Vic Chestnutt and the Martians. There were people doing things, but it seemed like you needed a record deal. Now, people can put stuff out on your own and tour the world…

It’s still the same, though—people are working at The Grit and playing at the 40 Watt. There are a lot more venues and a lot more bands. But everyone back then was in a band, and that’s still the same. It’s still the same creative town. 

ON HIS WORK:

My whole philosophy on what I do is that I just wing it, really. The preparation is in the body of work or life’s work—the familiarity of the camera. The technical part is there.