Category Archives: Tech

Desktop Wallpaper: Scotty Wemmer

Posted on December 24, 2013 by | Leave a comment

scotty euro 2

2880 x 1800
2048 x 1536
1920 x 1200
1920 x 1080

We shot this photo in Tulsa, OK in March of this year. The spot is called “Hell Ditch” and it’s rather amazing. I had Damian Racut film me setting up and shooting this so that I could make a walkthrough video. I was kinda drowsy, only getting a few hours of sleep on a hotel floor the previous night so I was not 100% mentally acute. My Canon flash wasn’t firing every time and I didn’t realize that. I’m pretty sure it didn’t fire for the final image but oh well.

Thanks to Scotty for doing numerous euro tables, Damian for filming the walkthrough, Rob DiQuattro for comedic relief and Bobby Simmons for moral support.

As a holiday gift, here’s an outtake shot of Rob airing from the other side that you can also have for wallpaper (unfortunately neither of my flashes on the right fired):

rob hell ditch

2880 x 1800
2048 x 1536
1920 x 1200
1920 x 1080

Here is the making of this photograph:

Hasselblad 500 C/M
80mm T* f/2.8 lens
Kodak Ektar 100 film
2x Lumedyne 200w Action Pack
Vivitar 285HV
Canon 580EXII (did not fire)
5x PocketWizard Plus II’s
Digi- Canon 1DIII, 50mm f/1.4 lens

The final image was scanned on an Imacon Flextight X5 scanner and large format prints were made on an Epson 9880 printer (prints are available for purchase)

Leave a comment

Posted in Art, BMX, Gear, Photo, Tech

Tagged , , , , , , , , ,

Photo of the Week: Alex Herzog

Posted on December 23, 2013 by | Leave a comment

Nolan Wallrdie 640 for Scott

“The only downside to the sport of BMX is that it is inherently illegal. Even if you ride in skateparks, most don’t allow bikes, so you are technically breaking the law by riding there. But it is especially hard for us street riders. This day, Nolan [Santana], Joe and I were pedaling around the sketchier parts of South San Francisco in search for new spots. While cruising down the street, I saw Nolan hit this little wallride and thought it would make a good photo, as the wall framed him quite well with his black t-shirt and jeans. However as I was setting up my camera, the tenant came out and started to yell at us to leave after he heard the ruckus. Nolan and I really wanted this photo so we asked if we could just get one more go, and he said in his most terrifying voice “No, now I’m going inside to get my gun, and when I come out, ya’ll better be gone.” We gave it one more go and got this shot, and proceeded to get as far away from this spot as possible. This photo was shot on a 35mm Nikon FTN with no external flashes. I had the camera set at f5.6 with a shuterspeed of 1/250th. In the darkroom I had the enlarger set on a higher filter of 4.5 to really get that contrast and make Nolan pop off that wall. I also did some burning on the tops of the buildings to seperate them from the blown out foggy sky.”

Check out more of Alex’s work here and follow him here.

Join the Flickr group and add your images to the pool to be next week’s photo.

Leave a comment

Posted in Art, BMX, Gear, Photo, Tech

Tagged , , ,

Photo of the Week: Nick Hayday

Posted on December 16, 2013 by | Leave a comment

jim-cool

This photo… What is there to say that can’t be said by simply looking at it? It’s cool, it’s great, it’s clean, it’s pleasing. It’s fun, it’s simple, it’s trails, it’s BMX.

“A not so typical Sunday at some trails in the darkest depths of Surrey, UK. I met Jimmy Rushmore (United, Bicycle Union, Volt BMX) and a couple of others at the trails, to find the locals had gone on a day trip somewhere else. After a bit of patching and some watering, Jimmy started jumping the “Cool Runnings” line, which runs counter to all the other lines. The jump he’s hitting is a big step down, and from this angle is hidden behind some trees and just makes me laugh every time I see someone hit it and appear in the clearing, so I thought I’d try to capture it, with the hope that the foreground lines would give the shot some context.

I usually shoot a 2 or 3 flash setup, but purposely only took one flash aiming to practice controlling the fall off of light on to the trees, fairly successfully on this shot. Photo was shot in early August around 7.00pm on a Nikon D7000 using a 35mm f1.8 lens at f2.2 1/160 , flash (a Nikon SB-26 at 1/4 +0.7) was placed below and to left of the rider.

Massive thanks to the locals for letting us ride and shoot at some amazing trails.”

Check out more of Nick’s work here.

See more of Jimmy’s riding here.

Join the Flickr group for a chance to be next week’s photo!

Leave a comment

Posted in BMX, Gear, Photo, Tech

Tagged , , ,

Photo of the Week: Rudy Rodriquez

Posted on December 9, 2013 by | Leave a comment

Untitled-1

The lighting and framing of this photograph are pretty much what had me sold. That clearance of black sky was made for a rider to be placed there. The rimlight on his legs is impeccable and pops him out of the background perfectly. The action is clear and timing is great.

“Basically, I was riding my local park as I usually do with the homies who like to come out and do bicycles at a place called Bear Branch Skatepark in The Woodlands, TX, this night when I noticed Andrew Wilson getting down with this amazing looking fast plant fakie move that just got my attention especially from the angle I was at when I saw him busting out with this move. It was about 9:42 pm when I had already did bicycles enough to the point where I was kind of tired and needed to take a break or stop. So, I approached Andrew and asked if he wouldn’t mind me getting a snap of the fast plant fakie. I saw the opportunity where it was perfect to get him in between the neat little bench and the tree perfectly for a decent photo to an amazing trick. I took advantage and seized the moment.

As far as setting up, it’s a little dark in that area compared to other areas of that park so I just worked with it until I was finally content to go with this using the usual sandwich lighting method w/left flash at about 10 o’clock & right flash at about 4 o’clock. Camera settings ISO: 400, exposure shutter: 1/160, aperture: f/3.5. Unfortunately, after all monthly bills & hefty sacks of safety purchases are paid for; I never seem to have enough money leftover to buy & shoot with the camera I really want. So, right now I’m shooting with a Canon T3. But, I’ve learned that it isn’t so much about the camera or equipment you’re using but mostly about how you use it while recognizing the fact that it would be way so sick to upgrade.”

Check out more of Rudy’s work here.

Join the Flickr group for a chance to be next week’s photo!

Leave a comment

Posted in Art, BMX, Gear, Photo, Tech

Tagged , ,

Photo of the Week: Kyle Emery-Peck

Posted on December 2, 2013 by | 1 comment

henny bad boyz

If I had to choose one word to describe this photograph, it would have to be “clean”. Plain and simple, this photo is so very clean. The lighting is balanced and even, the composition is proper- the natural shape of the dirt points your eye directly to the rider. The action is framed nicely in front of some dark trees, helping the subject to pop from the background. The colors are pleasing and the timing is perfect. I really like how his tires are covered in dirt and contrast against the dark green trees.

“I was riding Freedom 40 with all the dudes one day taking a bunch of runs, and I realized I should probably pull the camera out before it gets too dark. I set up on this particular dub because I haven’t shot it yet, and Henny was snapping some mean bad boys, (opp tabes). I used 4 flashes and shot it with my trusty Hasselblad 500cm. I think this is Ektar 100 film.

With the lighting I used 4 strobes. 1 up high lighting Hennessey from the left at 1/2 power. Another flash rigged halfway up that same lightstand lighting the landing at a 1/4 power with a diffuser. The 3rd flash was camera right at 1/2 power lighting the lip/ back of the landing. And the 4th flash way camera right lighting the lip at 1/2 power. I think I shot it at 1/500 f/6.3″

Check out more of Eric’s riding here.

More of Kyle’s work can be viewed here.

Add your images to the Flickr group for a chance to be picked for next week’s photo.

1 Comment

Posted in Art, BMX, Gear, Photo, Tech

Tagged , , , ,

Photo of the Week: Fat Tony

Posted on November 25, 2013 by | Leave a comment

Terry-Adams-2014-Flatland-BMX-Calendar-Cover-Shot

Long story short- this is one of the crazier BMX photos you will ever see. I always knew that flatland had the most potential for experimental shots because of its more stationary nature and no need for obstacles. Now until someone can float a handrail down a river, we only have this spectacular flatland shot.

“Terry Adams has always had a ton of crazy ideas, but the difference between him and most people is that he always seems to find a way to make his crazy ideas come to life. I learned this early on when I first started shooting with him, which led to an incredible friendship more than seven years ago. Terry and I have shot in more unique locations than we can even count, but this past April topped everything.

When I got a call from Terry asking if I wanted to fly to Florida to shoot him riding on water he didn’t even get a chance to finish his sentence before I screamed, “Yes!” The next thing I knew I was chest deep in a lake at 5:00am shooting photos of Terry playing Jesus as the sun was coming up behind him.

I got a handful of good shots from the morning, but this one where Terry is doing a plastic man and the sun is between his arms like he’s holding it on his shoulders quickly became my favorite BMX photo I’ve ever shot.

I have to give a huge thank you to Terry for inviting me to be a part of his special Red Bull project, and I also have to give him props for being able to do some really crazy shit where most riders wouldn’t be able to do anything at all.

This photo sat on my hard drive for seven months, but finally got to see the light of day when the 2014 Flatland Calendar was released, and I can’t think of a better photo for the cover this year! Calendars are free and come with every order you make on flatlandfuel.com while supplies last.

TECHNICAL INFO
Date Shot: April 20, 2013
Location: Orlando, Florida
Camera: Canon 5D Mark II
Lens: Canon EF 70-200mm f2.8
Focal Length: 80mm
Aperture: f5.6
Shutter Speed: 1/2000
ISO: 100
Lighting: Ambient”

Check out Tony’s portfolio here.

More of Terry’s riding can be seen here.

You can see a little more of how this shot happened from this video.

Leave a comment

Posted in Art, BMX, Gear, Photo, Tech

Tagged ,

Pierre Hinze Coffee Problem BMX

Posted on November 19, 2013 by | Leave a comment

“Camera: Canon 5d MK III
Video: Magic Lantern RAW 14 bit (updated every day, checked demo files every day)
Audio: Seperate recording
Grip: Steadycam/ vest
Plus: Gas and lyco explosions.

RAW Workflow with Magic Lantern:
Check newest Magic Lantern builts every day. Record. Check footage, write down timecode and some meta data, import video and audio, double safe.
There was no post workflow that satisfied me, I do not want to work with davinci, so I had to figure out my own.
Transferring RAW to DNG. Importing DNG in After Effects. Doing wb, lights and stuff in ACR.
Import into sequence. Create proxys.
Open in Premiere.Doing everything except colour correction and degraining.
Uncheck proxys, cc.
Sidenote:
I really love Magic Bullet Colorista. It also works in 16 bit, and it can do everything Davinci can.
Animated masks, keying, working together with Magic Bullet Looks.
Also the Magic Bullet Denoiser works great for me, Neat Video was not stable and did not get the results I wanted.
(Check this: If you turn on “Motion” in Magic Bullet Denoiser, rendering time almost doubles)

I had like 200 GB of RAW Material, plus the cr2 files from timelapse and hyperlapse.
The final export took 12 hours.

Thanks to Magic Lantern RAW, I had full 14 bit video. Did not export the whole 6:30 min clip uncompressed yet, but expect it somewhere at 30 GB.
There is no comparing to 8 bit video, “normal” dslrs gives you. It`s not about resolution, 4k, 120fps and stuff
-it’ s all about dynamik range.”

–Sas Kaykha, The Gadget Films

Leave a comment

Posted in Art, BMX, Gear, Tech, Video

Tagged , ,

Photo of the Week: Luis Pinzon

Posted on November 18, 2013 by | Leave a comment

IMG_5679

“This photo is special to me because its a reminder of one of the best pool sessions I’ve ever had. I’ve been riding for 17 years as of now and this is one of the best pools I’ve ever ridden. I’m no @deanshralp when it comes to pool riding, but I’ve ridden my fair share of great pools. The fact that we were able to shred this pool all day, with 8 dudes and 2 pitbulls, in a completely inhabited apartment complex is unreal. I think it was the perfect storm of its location in a quiet city with a southern mentality. This combined with the salsa music we were blasting put us in good favor with the local maintenance man.

Everyone was killing it this session. We knew that this was the first and last session we would likely have in this pool, so everyone had something they wanted to get done. Zachery Rogers was on another level though. Somehow this behemoth of a man has the ability to blast completely vertical obstacles with ease and style. His airs were complete beast mode this particular day.

I resisted the temptation to just ride and my camera actually left the bag. My primary interest is nature and party/drunk photography, so most sessions I never take the camera out. I shot this photo using a Canon 60D with the Canon 17-55 f/2.8. This lens is JB welded to my camera body; I love it. Photo was shot at 17mm with shutter at 1/800 and aperture at f/7.1 and an iso of 500. I didn’t have the patience to take my flash out because I wanted to ride so bad.”

Check out more of Luis’ work here.

Add your images to the Flickr group for constructive criticism and a chance to be next week’s photo.

Leave a comment

Posted in Art, BMX, Gear, Photo, Tech

Tagged , , ,

Photo of the Week: Paul Turns

Posted on November 12, 2013 by | Leave a comment

IMG_8423 - Copy

“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.

Join the Flickr group and add your images to the pool for a chance to be next week’s photo.

Leave a comment

Posted in Art, BMX, Gear, Photo, Tech

Tagged , , ,

Photo of the Week: Joshua Lucero

Posted on October 28, 2013 by | Leave a comment

LI2A1353_SM2

This photo immediately struck me as soon as I saw it. The lighting is wonderful, with a beautiful rimlight to the far right and a perfectly exposed and warmed fill light from the left. The composition is good- but almost centered. No big deal. I love the subdued yellow of the rail, the muted red in the sign and the deep blue gradient in the sky. The timing is on. More than anything, I love the shallow depth-of-field here. It really gives the rider an extra pop out of the background.

“Since breaking my ankle a couple of months ago I was stoked to go by the skatepark in my small hometown of Portales, New Mexico to hang out and pedal around a bit with Jaron Turnbow and Michael Sanchez for the afternoon. Feeling good with walking around this past Sunday, I asked if they wanted to go check out this spot that had been left by the road construction crews working in town.

We showed up to the spot as the sun began to set and they went to work moving the sign into different areas of this small parking lot trying to get a feel for it. I set up one light at first and gelled it to compensate for the warm sunlight and we shot a table and a few other tricks to flat before they moved the kicker close to the yellow rail that enclosed the parking lot.

A few warm up runs over the rail and Jaron started throwing tuck no-handers over it and seemed like he was getting pretty comfortable with the set-up so I called out a barspin. I still had the strobe left of Jaron gelled with a ¼ CTO about 15 feet away zoomed to 35mm and the strobe to the right of him I left bare 15 feet away zoomed to 85mm (would have had both strobes gelled but I was a bit absent minded and only had one ¼ CTO on hand). After one dead sailor over it Jaron nailed it second try.

I really liked the back of the College Cleaners building for this shot because of the old maroon sign and accidentally lucked out and realized after the fact that this composition had the sign lined up with our kicker set-up.

My set-up for this shot was my 5D markIII with a Sigma 50mm f/1.4 as well as two 580ex strobes set at ¼ power triggered with pocket wizards. I rarely take my 50mm out and I decided I needed to start using it more recently. I shot it almost wide open at 1.8 to get a shallow depth of field and kept the background a little under exposed with an ISO of 50 and my shutter synced at 1/200th.”

Check out more of Joshua’s work here.

Join the Flickr group for a chance to be next week’s photo.

Leave a comment

Posted in BMX, Gear, Photo, Tech

Tagged , , , ,