Category Archives: Photo of the Week

Photo of the Week: Rudy Rodriquez

Posted on May 12, 2014 by | Leave a comment

Aj bars

The first thing I noticed about this photo was the unique perspective – how Rudy chose to shoot from behind the ramp. If the rider hadn’t gotten high enough to clear that back railing, the shot would be a wash. Luckily the nicely lit barspin was thrown at a perfect height and this photograph was a success.

“Pretty much, this prefab park isn’t too far from where I’m now staying and is located in a parking lot of a cop station. I recently just started hanging out with A.j whose riding abilities are on another level. He got off at 8 pm and we met up at the cop station park & just did bikes on it. As usual, I got hyped at around 9:04 pm, before going to this other spot, when I saw him doing tucks & bars on the neat green little quarter pipe. Well crap at that point, my monkey instincts kicked in naturally & began noticing this tree I could climb like a damn ape that has been injected with heavy doses of caffeine. I originally was getting a snap of the tuck no-hands but he did this barspin, which caught me off guard, but was able to get lucky enough to snap this at a decent time or at least what I think is a decent time. I think my settings were ISO: 400, Shutter: 60, aperture: maybe 7.1 (p.c is acting up to get correct info.) Also, I’ve never owned a legitimate camera bag but hopefully one day that will change that I can get to experience that. And using a vivitar & sunpack off camera flash and still shooting with that canon t3 but i think maybe that might be changing soon.”

Check out more of Rudy’s work here.

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Photo of the Week: Jon Matalavage

Posted on May 5, 2014 by | Leave a comment

curved_wall

What I like most about this photo is the lighting- a lot of times when shooting wallrides, the shadows created by flashes are very distracting and unpleasant. The best way to solve this is to put the light exactly perpendicular to the wall so that the shadow does not spread across the wall. Of course this is just a guideline and is not always going to create the best lighting- however in this case it worked like a charm. The addition of the flash from above makes an almost seamless rim light continuous with the flash on the left.

“I shot this photo of Jake Hanczar in State College PA, we were out pedaling around one night about 9:30pm trying to come up with a spot to shoot when I mentioned the curved wall. It has been a wall I’ve always wanted to shoot and not being able to think of an other spots we headed to the wall, Jake had never ridden this wall before but after a couple goes at it he had it unlocked.
It’s kind of a strange location because the wall is located down at basement level to the building it’s connected to, unfortunately for Jake this gave him very little run up for speed. Fortunately for me it allowed me to be above him at ground level to get the angle I wanted. I played around with different lighting a few times before getting it how I wanted. I placed one flash to the left of him in between the wall and the AC unit, the second flash is located right above Jake extended out on a tripod that I connected with a pallet that was laying around to keep the tripod from tipping over and falling off the wall. We were both stoked on how it turned out.

Canon 40D

Canon 50mm 1.8

1/250 @ f/4.0

ISO 500

2 Sunpak PZ42X (flash on the left @ 1/4 power, flash above @ 1/8 power)

2 Vello Freewave Fusion triggers”

Check out more of Jon’s work here.

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Photo of the Week: Jonny Clarke

Posted on April 28, 2014 by | Leave a comment

jonny clarke potw

This photo was a huge hit in the Push It A Stop Flickr pool for obvious reasons. First off- that sunset is gorgeous. Those are the colors that everyone wants from a sky at dusk. So the timing with that (and the timing on the trick) could not have been much better. The bright green leaves pop amazingly against the sky without distracting from the action. Composition is on point with the landing of the previous set framed in the bottom left which guides your eye directly to the tire marks launching straight off that lip. Then boom, there’s the rider, lit so nicely, portraying a beautiful 360 table. He is framed perfectly in the sky between the dark tree line in the background and a small branch of lit leaves closer to us.

“Most of the time at Redbox I will ride, as it’s one of the few lines in Austin that I can make it through. Scott Glannan was throwing some awesome sauce on this last set, so I got out my camera just before the sun went away.

I set up an AB800 far right at ¼ power and a 285HV at ½ power, behind the landing in the foreground. I was using a Rebel T2i w/17-40L. I am currently looking for a new camera body but haven’t come upon the right deal for me yet (anyone selling a 5D MkII hit me up!)

I started with iso100 but changed it up to 200 as the natural light faded. I also cranked the 285HV to full power to get that tree lit up better. Final settings were 1/200th f4 with iso200. I was really stoked on how Scott folded himself in between the tree lines, a few people asked to see the photo on my LCD and I got some great feedback, much appreciated guys!

Thanks to Scott for giving me time to set up, and being an all around rad dude. Also, thanks to all the people I’ve been shooting with recently, you rule!

Gear used:
Rebel T2i w/17-40L @29mm
Alienbees B800 w/ vagabond
Vivitar 285HV
3 x Pocket wizard Plus X”

Check out more of Jonny’s work here and here.

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Photo of the Week: Graham Howe

Posted on April 21, 2014 by | Leave a comment

graham howe potw

This is a great example of what makes a photo of the week- the trick is a simple feeble grind on a small ledge but the way it’s shot makes it much more spectacular. The first thing I noticed was the composition- the rule-of-thirds is clearly adhered to and the way the sunlight is dividing the building almost makes a frame within a frame for the rider to be placed in. The subtle blue reflections in the windows really work with the red brick (also working with the rider’s outfit) and the even more subtle greens add a nice accent. The next thing I noticed was the strong rimlight (of course then I noticed the lightstand peeking out from under the rider’s left foot, but hey- that’s just me). That light pops him out amazingly from the dark brick background, in which he’s placed perfectly. The ratio of lighting (between fill and rim) is impeccable.

“The snow had just started melting here in Ontario, So me and some friends had been out riding most of the week testing some of my new flash equipment. It was mid day, the skatepark still had about a foot of snow so we went to find some street spots. This is a pretty well known ledge in Barrie’s downtown but it’s in an alley and on a fairly steep hill, so theres not a lot of footage or stills from the spot. Once we got to the spot I took a look around and picked my angle, I was feeling the half shade, half sun on the wall behind the ledge so I decided to shoot up the hill. Once I got my flashes setup, (yongnuo 500ex on 622c receivers) One behind facing toward the camera and one just right of Jordan on the ground just out of frame, Jordan did a few smiths that were cool but just weren’t working for the angle. As we were looking at the pictures a car came up behind us and I surely thought we were going to get kicked out, The man just rolled down his window and said “Oh sorry if I saw your flashes I would have gone the other way.” then happily carried on with his day. Which was a nice change from our usual meetings on private property, maybe it was the spring in the air. So I set my flash back up and Jordan and Landon started hitting the ledge again. I asked Jordan if he could try a feeble and it seemed to work good for the angle but my timing was a little off. It took a few tries to get the flash directly behind jordan as it kept being right between his legs, and we all know how shitty that looks. I moved my flash behind him a little bit to the right and he tried it again, and this was the outcome.

Rider – Jordan Gervais
Picture – Shot at ISO 100 1/500th f2.8 on a Canon 60D with a 50mm and Yongnuo flash setup.”

Check out more of Graham’s work here.

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Photo of the Week: Brendan Mulrooney

Posted on April 14, 2014 by | 1 comment

Paul Horan wallride

I chose this photo mostly because of the precise composition, with the vertical columns pretty much exactly vertical and the amount of geometry in the frame. The vents that he is wallriding over mimic the lights on the inside of the building almost perfectly and the palm tree is a great balance for the edge of the car on the right side of the frame. The riders blue bike sticks out amazingly as it is the only object in the photo of that color.

“I shot this photo of Paul Horan in Daytona Beach, FL while on a spring break trip we took a few weeks back. I knew exactly how I wanted to shoot this when we pulled up to it but in order to get back far enough to frame the shot how I wanted I had to go down a hill a bit which then put a big ass hedge right in my way. I was getting all pissed off because I didn’t have my tripod or any type of ladder so my friend actually volunteered to be a human step stool. I wasn’t about to break my home boys back so I just stood my bike and framed it the best I could. It was an amazing trip and I was so happy with the way this one turned out.

Nikon D3100

Nikon 24-70 lens

1/200 @ f/6.3

ISO 800

1 Nikon SB-800 to the left (triggered by pocket wizard)

1 Nikon SB-24 to the right (triggered by pocket wizard)”

Check out more of Brendan’s work here.

See Paul’s riding here.

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Photo of the Week: Łukasz Suszczenko

Posted on April 7, 2014 by | Leave a comment

luk potw

You might recognize the name as the winner of the Hop Photo Contest. Łukasz has a pretty impressive portfolio and this moody 180 caught my eye in the Flickr feed immediately. A cloudy day is a photographer’s dream because it’s so easy to create your own lighting when the sun isn’t there to interfere. Łukasz took full advantage of the conditions and created this dramatic 180 with just one borrowed flash.

“The photo was taken quite spontaneously. I bought my first professional camera in May 2013 and as soon as the weather got better, together with a few guys we visited one of our favorite spots – California Pool Bemowo, an old irrigation pool situated in a military-owned area. I brought with me a camera and a lamp that I borrowed from a fellow Slovenian photographer (Uros Rojc). After a few hours of riding, when I got tired, I decided to take some pictures, accompanied by Skater, who is always eager to participate in such projects. I set the lamp intuitively and we got down to the business. Skater made a turndown, a onefoot table and a 180 barspin. After one ore two attempts we were perfectly satisfied with the outcomes. Finally, I asked Skater to jump over an old tire that we’d found in a pile of trash. We dragged it all the way up to the slope, Skater made some bunny hops and said that he was able to make a 180. The first few attempts were quite painful – Skater injured his knee in a fall the previous day, so our shots were accompanied by great amounts of “FUCK, my kneeeeeeee”s. I thought that we were finished, since we didn’t want to risk any serious injury. But when I showed Skater the pictures I took, despite his condition, he decided to try once again. After only 3 more attempts I finally found what I had been looking for. I quickly returned home and for the first time decided to use Lightroom. After an hour or so I learned all the tools, made some adjustments and the photo was ready.



Rider: Łukasz „Skater” Wysokiński
Location: California Pool Bemowo, Warsaw, Poland
Time of day: Around 3PM
Gear: Nikon D600, Nikon 24-70mm 2.8, 1 x Nikon SB-900, Pixel King Trigger
Settings: 1/640s, f3,5, ISO 640

Website: www.suszczen.tumblr.com
Instagram: @suszczen”

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Photo of the Week: Van Charles

Posted on March 31, 2014 by | Leave a comment

van charles potw

I found this photo after Van had entered a photo of himself in the bunnyhop photo contest, popping a stylish hop in the middle of a pristine, fragile-looking living room. I was intrigued and looked through some of his other work and found this. I thought it was funny and original and asked him about it.

“Damn. It’s been over four years since I shot this. The marks on the wall are long since gone, despite having persisted in randomly appearing briefly every now and then over the years. Riding in unusual places is something I’ve always enjoyed. Or maybe I just go crazy on rainy/freezing days. Self-shooting with a “stock10” timer is a fun challenge for me, it’s like, “Shit, what can I do, when I gotta do it, now.” I’ve done shots in my room, the living room, the basement, and here, the hallway. I tried setting up a shot for a cave-man into the stairs. Fell trying to get everything set up, so that idea died quickly.There’s a full series I’ve wanted to do, just never got around to finishing it. I probably should.

This was at 1/125, f/8 my gold standard back in the day. Iso was probably 100. The flashes were high left, low right, probably something like a 1/4 power Vivi285 and a 1/8 powerSun555, respectively. I had my 20D with a Tokina 10-17 + 1.4 tele-conv. at about 35mm, all said and done. This was a meager attempt at imitating film, something I love, respect, but can’t bring myself to have an ongoing relationship with; shoot me.”

Check out more of Van’s work here.

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Photo of the Week: Alex Herzog

Posted on March 24, 2014 by | 1 comment

Nick Table Ditch

A textbook example of great framing, this week’s photo is as clean as they come. All of the rider (minus a shoelace) is placed neatly in the sky just above the horizon. The coastline contours the form of the rider and his bike quite nicely too. A classic trick at a beautiful spot makes for a timeless BMX photograph. The only thing that makes me mad about this photo is that I can’t be there right now riding the spot.

“This was my first time at this secret spot near Santa Cruz, CA. The homie Nick Krauer told me this ditch would be a great spot to shoot photos but that was an understatement. I was pretty bummed on not having any of my flash set up with me, but I made the best of what I had and managed to get some natural lighting shots. The lighting from the sun was perfect; golden hour before sunset. It helped to illuminate Nick as well as the background of Highway 1, the beach, and the hills. This ditch, although more ridable than most DIY spots, is nowhere near perfect, and this quarter has some serious kinks in it’s tranny. But Nick is no stranger to weird trannies, and fired out multiple tricks at proper height. This spot rules and I left a happy camper. Hit up Nick on instagram @nickkrauer and myself @bmxlovephotography. Thanks for reading homies!

Canon 60D
18-55mm kit lens
1/1500 @ f/5.6 ISO 100”

Check out more of Alex’s work here and Nick’s riding here.

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Photo of the Week: Timothy Burkhart

Posted on March 17, 2014 by | Leave a comment

Matthias-Dandois_Timothy-Burkhart

I chose this photo because of the simplicity- blue sky, white puffy clouds, a good balance of ground and water in the composition. The position of the riders arms resembles a bird taking flight and the wide open framing allows for a dramatic proportion between the world and its possibilities.

“Last year was a busy one for me in Chicago and I had the opportunity to shoot with some amazing riders through Brian Kachinsky and the Bakery. It was a bit surreal at times shooting photos with people from all over the world and it was definitely a new experience for me and something I wasn’t accustomed to. During the summer we had Matthias Dandois come to town for a whole week to film for his Bakery edit as well as just spend some time in Chicago.

One afternoon during Matthias’ visit the Bakery crew and friends all met up at the 31st street skatepark on the south side of the city to take a break from being cooped up inside filming. I remember it being a really hot and muggy Chicago summer day and not being too prime for riding. After cruising the park for around an hour everyone headed toward the lakefront to scope out some ledges, but no one was too motivated to ride em’ as the sun was a bit draining.

I noticed Matthias busting out some flatland moves while most of us were sitting around bullshitting and chugging sports drinks and eating slushies trying to stay cool. Just at that moment there were some big clouds that blocked out the sun and were lingering over the water. They provided this great blue hue over everything and the lighting on the water looked crazy from the reflection of the clouds. I thought it would be great to get an almost silhouetted photo of Matthias riding with the water as a backdrop, so I asked if he would do some links by the water. He just did his thing freely and I snapped some photos from a distance just waiting for everything to line up perfectly. He made me so nervous with how close he was getting to the edge of the walkway, but he has some insane bike control and probably didn’t think twice about almost falling in the water. It was just a super casual moment that turned into a great photo opportunity.

Nikon D800
Nikon 70-210 f/4 AF
Shot at 70mm
1/500
f/6.3
ISO 400
Post processing in Photoshop CS6”

See more of Timothy’s work here. More of Matthias’ riding can be seen here.

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Photo of the Week: Shawn Duffield

Posted on March 10, 2014 by | Leave a comment

Evin Reed Footjam 640

I chose this photo because it’s fairly simple and pleasant to look at. The lighting is plain but very clean. I really like the way the rider mimics the form of the buildings in the background, and also the way the rider is composed next to said buildings. The sunset has very nice tones and isn’t too powerful. Overall the photo is simple, clean and easy on the eyes.

“I took this photo of Evin Reed at Chuck Bailey park in Surrey, BC. Honestly I don’t remember the exact date or time, but I took this picture sometime in the summer last year. I’d say it was around 7PM. I used my Canon 7D with my Sigma 10-20mm f/3.5 and a single Canon 430EX flash for this shot. Settings were 1/250 at f.7.1, ISO250 at 20mm. I was cruising around the park with Evin and saw the way the sun was setting and immediately ran to my bag, haha. It took a couple tries to get the exposure right and the shot to “his footjam standard,” but it turned out great nonetheless. We were both pretty stoked on it.”

See more of Shawn’s work here.

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