Part of being a good rider is knowing how to utilize a spot. Part (most) of being a good video editor is knowing how to utilize a soundtrack. This is a great example. Edited by Oleg Lyubimov.
Category Archives: Art
Photo of the Week: Paul Turns
“This shot came about due to the shitty UK weather. I had called Matti that morning and said I was free, but the weather was pretty damn bad so after some discussions as to where we could go, I made a call to Motion skatepark the owner Tom is a damn cool guy.
We arrived at Motion and I guess i’m lucky insofar as it’s a place I know really well so I knew what and where may look ok. I really enjoy shooting with Matti as due to him being a flatland rider it makes me think more about composition, we never really went with any sort of plan or trick in mind it was just chilled.
Matti was trying a few things and I was playing around with lighting when I found this angle, at first I was using just two flashes one to the right and slightly behind which you can make out and one to the left, I decided to use another to fill just to my right and low down. I was using my Canon 60D with the 10-22 @ 10mm which for me works if I get really close to the ground. I ended up setting the shutter at 1/250 f8 and the ISO at 500, the flashes were as above, the one right, slightly behind and high on the stand @ 1/2 power and 80mm, the flash left, @ 1/4 power and 50mm, the one to my right and below @1/4 and 50mm (I think) and fired with Elinchrom Skyports.”
Check out more of Paul’s work here.
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Posted in Art, BMX, Gear, Photo, Tech
Tagged Canon, Elinchrom, Matti Hemmings, Paul Turns
Photo of the Week: Dylan Alvarado
This week’s photo is a strange one, with on-camera flash usage and mysterious crystal-like orbs. I thought it was rain, but Dylan vehemently denies any precipitation… Could be dust? I don’t know. Whatever it is created an appealing effect. The colors of that skatepark are wonderful as well.
“Joyce Park’s skate park, also known as [JP], is my local skate park and I go there just about every day I can. Ray Coleman, a good friend of mine, is also a local there and seriously kills it every time he rides. He’s the guy that all the kids talk about and they always ask if I know him or if I’m as good as him which is usually followed by the typical little kid “Can you do a backflip” question.
The day I shot this picture was just like any other day at [JP]. Ray was shredding and boosting the park as usual and since I don’t take pictures nearly as much as I should, I decided to whip out the camera. The sun was starting to go down so it was getting darker and the only type of flash I have is the one built on top of the camera. I started to use it just messing around but started to get some decent shots. The only problem I was having was the arc shadow from the fisheye lens. So when I shot this picture of Ray boosting an invert on one of the quarters in the bowl, I made sure to aim the camera to where the arc shadow wouldn’t look as noticeable. The arc fit perfectly in the shot just at the bottom of the bowl with the quarters lit up from the flash, making this the result.
Nikon D5000
Rokinon 8mm f 3.5
1/160
ISO 500”
View more of Dylan’s work here.
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The Albion Issue 16 Out Now
Issue 16 of The Albion is out today, with cover artwork by Mat Waudby. You can read an interview with him about his work on The Albion website.
Contents of Issue 16 include:
Harry Mills-Wakley – Colts
Grimaldo Duran – Back On A Promise
Josh Bedford – A Family Trait
Harry Main – Stepping Out Of A Crowd
Waffle – Hard Target
Kevin Kalkoff – Je Ne Sais Quoi
Tyrone Williams – “You Gotta Love It”
“The Albion is available for FREE in all good BMX shops in the UK. Click here to find your local stockist.
Subscribe: If live outside the UK or would like each issue delivered to your door subscriptions are available here.”
Posted in Art, BMX, Gear, Photo
Tagged Grimaldo Duran, Harry Main, Harry Mills Wakley, Josh Bedford, Kevin Kalkoff, The Albion, Tyrone Williams, Waffle
Photo of the Week: Matt Hildebrand
In an increasingly colorful and digital world, it’s good that people like Matt are going against the grain shooting black and white film.
“Every city has its staple street spots, the kind of spots that riders from out of town ask about. The 23rd street trannies fall into this category, they also take some time to get comfortable on. The bump where the ground and brick meet can bump and frustrate you while you’re concentrating on the lip. The transition is really quick and there’s a brick of vert at the top which makes any slip up’s painfully unforgiving. James got this toothpick stall right after pulling up to the spot. He locked in and held it for a second making my job easier and Jacob Hope filmed the clip since he was in town. Keep an eye out for the clip and visit delicvision.tumblr.com for more photos/edits from us.
Hasselblad 500c
80mm f/2.8
Fuji Acros 100
1/500th @ f/2.8″
Check out more of Matt’s work here. Check out some of James’ riding here.
Add your images to the Flickr group to get some advice and show off your best work.
Posted in Art, BMX, Gear, Photo, Tech
Tagged Fuji, Hasselblad, James Anderson, Matt Hildebrand, Oklahoma City
Figuré Issue 6 Online
Contents include an interview with Sergio Layos, an article with Josh Bedford, a story about pegs, a piece on the Sosh Urban Motion smartphone video contest, lots of French words and really great photographs. Enjoy!
Posted in Art, BMX, Gear, Photo
Tagged Figuré, Josh Bedford, Sergio Layos, Sosh Urban Motion
Photo of the Week: Adam Cook
My favorite part of this photograph is the composition- it’s almost symmetrical (it would be completely if the homies weren’t chilling (but that’s what homies are for- chilling)). I love the tones and textures in the pipe itself. I like sneaky homie holding the flash and quiet homie way in the back. I’m thinking this photo would look great printed big.
“The guys and I were planning on riding this full pipe in our town all summer but never got the chance to (its one of Lake Eries main waterways, its pretty dangerous to be in there apparently). Anyways, towards the end of the summer my buddy Bryan was getting real serious about riding this thing. He and Herby knew what to do because they were the only ones who rode the thing before. I got a text when I was finishing up a music video for a hip hop artist to get down there and ride it that afternoon. Well I couldnt ride it because my shoulder was still seperated and I knew I only had an hour until I had to help my cousin with something so I grabbed the camera bag and flew down there. When I got there they had already set up the ply wood and woodpallets and were riding it so I got right into shooting.
I couldn’t bring a flash stand because the water was 3 inches high and flowing fast so they had to hold it for me. I snapped a few pictures of Tommy. All of those were vertical and I was leaning on a wall hiding everyone else from the shot (also keeping me out of water). I slipped up and totally soaked my shoes so I said screw it and just stood in the deepest part of the water to get one more picture of Tommy. Andy was up and asked me to get another picture of him going as high as he can. Soaked and short on time I was totally reluctant to do it but I did one last one anyways.
I got home later that day and just applied a preset I made that I usually use on my photos and work from there. Turns out this one was pretty underexposed and looked a tad out of focus so I pretty much trashed it from the start. I came back to the computer later and just tried to see how much I could fix it by bumping the exposure up a ton and boosting the whites, all it did was make it worse. Black and white was my last option because I really liked the colors of that place.
I played with every possible adjustment lightroom could offer in attempt to save this photograph and this is what I came up with.
Weird sometimes that the photos you may think are your weakest end up being the best in that set.
Details:
Canon 550D
1/200
f8
ISO: 200
@ 40mm w/ 40mm 2.8
1 Yongnuo 560 @ full power to the left of the rider near the ground.”
See more of Adam’s work here.
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Ricky Adam x Destroying Everything Extended Edition
Ever since I picked up my first Dig, I was inspired by Ricky Adam’s photographs. As I flipped through each new issue I was blown away with the energy he captured with his camera. When I heard his first book “Destroying Everything” was coming out, I knew I had to own it. Now that he’s doing an extended edition, I wanted to catch up with him and ask him a few questions about it. If you missed out on his first book, you won’t want to miss this one. It’s one for the shelves.
For kids who might not know who you are, could just give a little background info on yourself?
Hello. My name is Ricky Adam. I’m from Northern Ireland, although I have been living in mainland U.K. for the last 11+ years. I first picked up a camera in 1997 and haven’t stopped taking photos since.…I really wish I had some coffee right now to kickstart my brain before I answer these Q’s.
What made you want to do an extended edition, or is it going to be completely different than the first book?
Well, I was approached by an Italian arts publisher, ‘Drago Arts & Communications’ and invited to make a 2nd edition of the book. The 1st edition sold out quickly, so the timing was perfect. Since the release of the 1st edition I had taken more photos that fitted well. So, the publisher suggested making an extended version to include these extra photos. Also, I found a few old negatives that I wanted to include in the original book. Typically, after searching for them for months I found them pretty much as soon as the first edition came out. At least they will now see the light of day.
How did you go about sequencing the work?
With ‘Destroying Everything’ it’s quite sporadic. It was a difficult volume to edit as I didn’t have a book in mind when I was taking a lot of these pictures. The time span for the book is 1997 – 2013. I needed to edit a selection of photos that worked with each other as well as the title.
How has your work been received outside the bmx community?
It’s surprisingly done really well. Although, you have to consider that it’s not strictly a BMX book. It has elements of BMX but the focus is on youth sub culture. So, it’s appeal is more wide reaching. I’ve found that a lot of people who have picked up the book aren’t necessarily into punk or BMX. But they can still relate to it & get something out of it. Which is cool. Apparently, the main demographic who have purchased it, are teenagers (angry teenagers) haha. I’m pretty sure I too would have liked seeing this book when I was younger.
What’s the importance of shooting personal projects outside of bmx?
I really need to. I mean, I’d get burnt out shooting anything over a sustained, long period. It’s good for me to have a few different projects going on simultaneously. This way I can leave one for a while and then go back to it again. Recently, I haven’t been taking that many BMX photos. I’ve been doing other photo work which has meant stepping back a little from BMX. (At least for the time being).
Any other projects in the works at the moment?
Recently, I’ve been going through my archive. Scanning lots of negatives and prints. There’s a lot of pictures, that for some reason I skipped over the first time around. Over the years my eye has become more refined, which in turn helps with editing. So, at the moment, lots of sorting and editing. I’m always taking photos, and the more photographs I accumulate, the more scope there is for shaping other projects. I want to do something with my street photos eventually, as well as the other projects I have going on. I’m not in any rush. When it feels right, I’ll do something with them.
I’m currently working on a book about my time spent in the Midwest of America from 2001-2005. Titled: ” The Freezing Heart Of America”. Until recently, I hadn’t really looked at the photos properly. For the last 8-12 years they have been laying dormant. Partially forgotten about. Prints and negatives messily piled up in the squeaky, bottom drawer of a grey filing cabinet. It’s getting there. i just need to finalize a few things.
A few months ago I made a photo Zine’ about punk jackets titled ‘Glad To See The Back Of You’. Basically snapshots of the back of punk jackets from the region of the U.K. I live in.
When’s your new book being released? and where can people get a copy?
I’m not sure of the exact date. I do know that it’s due to be released soon. By the end of 2013. The extended, 2nd edition of ‘Destroying Everything’ will have more pages, slightly different layout, updated soft cover & it’ll be cheaper and a lot more readily available. It’s being published by Drago Arts & Communications and is currently available for pre – order from Amazon as well as a host of other good bookstores.
I’m not sure of the exact date. I do know that it’s due to be released soon. By the end of 2013. The extended, 2nd edition of ‘Destroying Everything’ will have more pages, slightly different layout, updated soft cover & it’ll be cheaper and a lot more readily available. It’s being published by Drago Arts & Communications and is currently available for pre – order from Amazon as well as a host of other good bookstores.
Photo of the Week: Devon Denham
“I shot this photo about a year ago in Bellflower, CA while I was on a shoot for Redline. We were supposed to be at Woodward West shooting with the team while they were filming the annual “Week At Woodward” that happens every year. However, the team decided to venture back to civilization so we could shoot some street photos. I wanted to show Zack the oh-so-famous Bellflower Ditch so we ended up there mid-day.
The photo was pretty simple to setup with three flashes (2x Quantum Flashes 1x Einstein) bunched up to give one solid source of light to bring out Zack. All flashes were set at 1/4 power to prevent motion blur, but there probably wouldn’t be any cause it’s a stall type of trick. Also the flashes were all setting to the left of the frame, right on the edge. It can really help to bring all the flashes in any photo right to the edge to maximize your capability of getting a faster shutter, lower ISO, or smaller f-stop. I apply this to all of my photos. Basically bring all flashes to the edges of your frame but not in the photo. I shot the photo with some mid grade Nikon lens… 18-105mm at 70mm I think. Shot far enough away to get a compressed look from shooting 70mm but I wanted to get the rest of the ditch in the photo too. I really think a photo can make-it-or-break-it from using the rule of thirds so I placed Zack in the right third of the photo. Here’s a lasting thought though, I feel what makes a BMX photo most eye catching is a properly placed rider according to the background. In this photo I had a dark contrast between Zacks lit body and the overpass in the background. I also had a clean back drop for him on the gray wall. Ideally, I don’t like to have objects behind the rider like poles, trees, signs, etc. I always try and find a open spot in the trees for the sky as a back drop or a clean wall. It takes an eye but I can make your rider pop and become easier to see.
Shot on a Nikon D200
ISO 100
F 5,6
1/250″
Check out more of Devon’s work here.
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Posted in Art, BMX, Gear, Photo, Tech
Tagged Devon Denham, Nikon, Paul C. Buff, Quantum
Push It A Stop 