This is the third installment of Leica’s short film series “Let Us Roam“ featuring Skateboard cinematographer Greg Hunt. Hit play and enjoy for the next 4 minutes and 20 seconds then check out the rest of the series by clicking here.
Chasing Light with Vince Perraud
Interview and editorial photos by Chris Mortenson. All other photos credited to Vince Perraud.
I’ve been a fan of Vince’s work for quite sometime now. His photographs are more than just pictures of people doing tricks. He is capturing the culture that surrounds BMX in one of the purest ways I’ve seen in. Be it using natural light or throwing a small strobe in the mix, his photographs capture what it feels like to be out riding with your friends and enjoying all the adventures that riding bikes can bring. When I found out that he was coming through Los Angeles for the Couch Riding trip I set up a time to link up on a roof in Hollywood and watch him make some pictures with flatlander Matthias Dandois. After hanging out with Vince I can say he is one of the most humblest of people I’ve met and I can’t wait to see what he creates in the future.
For the people who might not know you, can you please just give a little introduction?
Yo What’s up! I’m Vince Perraud I come from France and I take picture for something like 9 years now, a bunch of BMX… and I never meet up Jean De Crepe aha.
You have a pretty big collection of cameras in your bag, could you talk a little bit about this and how you came to have such diversity?
Ah yes I have a bunch of cameras because all of them have a specificity and it’s fun to use!! OK I have to admit all of them are half fucked so I need all of this to shoot! It depends on what subject I’m shooting. It’s just cool to vary from fucking digital.
What is your favorite camera to shoot with and why?
Depends on the mood but I would say the good old Bronica SQ! It’s medium format so the 120 film gives a good result, nice depth of field and you can synch at 1/500…and it’s cheap too!!
When out shooting do you have any special process you go through while making images, or do you let things happen organically?
I would say improvisation but now I try to work on it, like check the location, best time to shoot with the good light etc…
Do you find inspiration in photography outside of BMX, and if so, do you find it easy to adapt that inspiration into BMX photography?
Yeah I try to check all sort of photography, like music, architecture, fashion… and mix it because to make nice pics for any subject you have to work on the composition, light etc… But bmx is really free and there are so many aspects to the culture, I don’t necessarily think about it, but bmx (same as skate) photography is really creative!!
I’ve noticed in your newer work, you are shooting with a lot of natural light vs. strobes. Can you just talk a little bit about the shift and how it has affected your shooting style.
Ah yeah I shoot more natural cause my flashes are fucked!! You have to make choices also when you travel by plane, it’s really annoying to be limited on stuff you can bring with you overseas, so recently I was less into flashes and I tried to work more with ambient… and it takes less time to set up so you don’t piss of the riders. You ready already! It’s better for lifestyle too!
Who are some of your favorite photographers outside of BMX?
I have a bunch of various inspiration but the ones that are always sick are: Foster Huntington, Scott Pommier, Chris Burkard, Kenneth Cappello, Brian Gabermann, Eric Antoine, Michel Sedan, Jérôme Tanon, Kristina Fender, Fred Mortagne, Mike Piscitelli… in no particular order.. My favorite at the moment is Purienne.
Do you have any personal projects you are working on?
Good question! I would say going to vacation with my girl…
Do you think it is necessary to study photography to understand how to create good images?
Hum not sure, most of the dudes I know never study photo… but it’s a good advantage to know the sport well when you snap bikes for example…
How do you think the ease of image sharing has effected photography within BMX?
I don’t know, everything is going faster and faster. It can bring more ideas or creativity but I feel like it’s too much nowadays…too much shit and the good stuff are flooded in middle of crap… it’s also harder to stand out…
When was it that you felt like you really hit your stride and found your vision as a photographer?
I’m still searching ahah.
Do you have any advice for the up and coming shooters of the world?
Go out with you friends and snap instead of chilling in front of the laptop! 😉
Photography below by Vince Perraud.
Posted in Interview
Tagged BMX, couch riding, France, Matthias Dandois, Photography, redbull, Vince Perraud
Photo of the Week: Jonny Clarke
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.
Join the Flickr group for constructive criticism of your own work and for a chance to be featured next week!
Posted in Photo of the Week
Tagged Alien Bees, ATX, austin, Canon, Jonny Clarke, Scott Glannan, Texas, Vivitar
“Delayedit 3”
The third episode in Damian Racut‘s “Delayedit” series features a bunch of great street riding throughout Ohio with a focus on peg chinks, jibs, Jake Coulson and grimy spots, but really the most amazing clip doesn’t involve a bike and there’s no question that it deserved to be the ender. As crazy as that is, it could not have been any smoother.
Posted in BMX
Tagged Damian Racut, Delayedit, Devin Tyler Rembold, Jake Coulson, Kid, Kyle Murway, Victor Proto-Newton, Zack Gerber
Photo of the Week: Graham Howe
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.
Join the Flickr group and get inspired.
Posted in BMX, Photo of the Week
Tagged Barrie, Canada, Canon, Graham Howe, Jordan Gervais, Ontario, Yongnuo
Let Us Roam: Arto Saari
Arto speaks the truth about a career in front of the lens coming full-circle to a passion behind the lens.
Probmxmag #11
It sucks (for me) that it’s all written in Russian but Probmxmag #11 has some really, really good photos in it. Also an interview with Diogo Santos and one with some dude named Adam22…
Photo of the Week: Brendan Mulrooney
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.
Join the Flickr group for a chance to be next week’s photo.
Rich Forne Subrosa Edit
Rich Forne, the man behind the camera for such classics as Bruno Hoffman’s White City and the SOSH Urban Motion first place winning Alex Kennedy video (filmed entirely on a smartphone), is easily in the top ten greatest filmer-riders (or rider-filmers) (shouts to Mastroni and Rigal) and this edit is simply incredible.
Vince Perraud West Coast Photo Gallery
I had the pleasure of hanging out with Vince Perraud last week while working on a little something for Push It A Stop (stay tuned). But he just dropped a pretty dope gallery from his 20 day trip through the west. You can check it out here.
Push It A Stop 