All photos by Jeremy Pavia
Through The Lens – WYDK #4 – Mike Hinkens
There has always been something intriguing to me about getting some behind the scenes details on a photo. I don’t know what it is about it but I just get stoked on seeing exactly how someone shot a specific photo and get a little insight into the process. I suppose it has something to do with the fact that every photographer shoots a little differently, which in turn makes each story unique in its own way. I can remember studying photos in magazines and borderline obsessing about the way that they were shot and honestly over the years not much has changed. I still find myself getting lost in photos to this day with the same level of curiosity that I had when I first started shooting. With that said, enjoy round four of WYDK.
Through The Lens: Catching Up with Catfish
If you ride BMX, you know who Catfish is…If you don’t, you are blowin’ it and need to get caught up and that’s where this interview comes in. I’ve been fortunate enough to be able to call Catfish a friend for years now and it’s always a pleasure to get to hang with him. I noticed he was in Cali for a visit after kind of going M.I.A for a while in Spain and I was determined to chill with him and find out what the hell he has been up to so I hit him up a few days ago and we made it happen. He is the type of person that runs his life according to a very loose schedule and has one goal and that is to have fun. His BMX roots date back to the late 80’s, he has been an announcer at nearly every single major BMX event in recent years and has seen some of the most progressive riding to date with his own eyes contest after contest. If you haven’t seen him on TV announcing a contest you may have caught him on an episode of his own show “Strangers in Danger” with his co-star and BMX legend Mike “Rooftop” Escamilla. Either way, Catfish is one person that genuinely loves riding and truly understands what it’s all about. Sit back, relax and enjoy a little sarcasm from the man himself.
Through The Lens: Re-Edit with Matthias Dandois
I was recently going through my old archive folders and came across some photos of Matthias Dandois who just so happens to be one of the most well known flatland riders in the world at the moment. The thing is though, it wasn’t always that way and at one point you would be hard pressed to find anyone outside of the flatland community that knew of him. Back in May of 2008 when I was shooting the Voo Doo Jam in New Orleans I kept hearing about this young kid from France that was amazing and that I really needed to try and shoot with him. Terry Adams specifically made it a point to meet up with him and make it happen. Little did I know that he would go on to win flatlander of the year the very next year at the Ride NORA Cup awards and go on to become an inspiration to the BMX community as a whole and bridge the gap between all disciplines. If you ride BMX, and you don’t enjoy Matthias’s riding you should just sell your bike and get a pair of rollerblades because it wasn’t meant to be. Even though it didn’t take very long for Matthias to make moves here in the States, I consider myself lucky enough to have had the chance to not only meet him five years ago but also to shoot with him as well on a one-on-one basis back before most people even had a clue as to who he would become. Looking back on these photos made me want to come up with an idea for a column so I decided to take one of the photos we shot and do a re-edit of the original almost five years later for this week’s TTL.
Through The Lens – Spots
Riding spots are literally everywhere if you happen to know what it is that you are looking for. To the average person, a set of stairs with a handrail is just that; but to a rider it’s an entirely different story. I think that once it’s in your blood you will never be able to look at a city in the same way again. If you have the eye for it and know what makes a spot a good spot that will never change. Riders spend days, weeks, months and years looking for spots. Some riders like rails, some like stairs, some like gaps, some like technical set ups, some like ledges, and some like whatever it is you put in front of them. As a photographer it is my responsibility to have a solid directory of spots ready to go for any riders that are down to shoot. Over the years I have spent countless hours on the hunt, always visualizing how certain tricks will look on certain set-ups. When a rider comes to town, I always need to be ready to cater to their specific style and bring them to spots that I know they will be pumped on. Basically I wanted to take some time and talk about all things spot related. If I have your interest by now, keep on reading and enjoy this weeks TTL.
Through The Lens: The Come Up. Past, Present and Future
As always, TTL just kind of happens and this week was no different. I normally wouldn’t want to do two weeks of straight interviews but I randomly tweeted at Adam Grandmaison a.k.a Adam22 on Twitter and said that I would like to interview him for a future TTL column on the site. Well, long story short he came back with an “I dare you” and now a few days later here we are. Needless to say the reason Adam and I get along so well is because we have had a mutual respect for one another from the beginning and whether or not you want to admit it, The Come Up is a site that nearly every single BMX rider in the world checks on a daily basis so you can’t really say that he isn’t doing it right. He also has been laying low working hard on a bunch of new projects, he hired a staff of bloggers and has been working on a brand new iPhone app that will be out soon. I cruised down to Long Beach on Monday to sit down with him, chill for a bit and find out exactly what TCU has in store for the future. I also interviewed his personal bodyguard Chris Long and his new money guy Alfredo Mancuso. Love it or hate it, TCU has been a staple in the BMX scene and will be for years and years to come. Let’s get to it.
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Through The Lens: Catching Up with Ryan Metro
This week’s column came about in an interesting way. My good friend Jesse Bower, aka Fisher from back in New York who is part of the FBM Hall of Fame crew hit me up to come down and visit for a few days. While we were talking he happened to mention Ryan’s name saying that he lives out in So Cal and he was going to try and hang with him as well. As soon as I heard that I got the idea to interview Ryan and get him a chance to fill everyone in on the latest with his life and riding. It’s been quite a bit since most people have heard Ryan’s name so it was my goal to spend the day with him and just see what comes of it. The quick version goes a little something like this…We linked up at his house in the morning, hopped on the subway and headed to downtown Los Angeles to cruise around with him and a few friends from back in Louisville where Ryan is from. There was no real plan and no real destination. We simply set out to have some fun on our bikes and leave the bullshit behind. Although it was raining all day we still managed to find a few spots to ride and it was a nice reminder to slow down a bit and take it all in. BMX is an amazing thing and sometimes it’s days like that which put things into perspective and make you really appreciate something so simple as cruising through city streets with no plan but to have fun. Check out the interview below and then hit up the photogallery to see more photos from the day.
Name: Ryan Metro
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Through The Lens: A Different Perspective #2
As a photographer I am always searching out ways to set myself apart and create content that people will be into. It’s one of the biggest challenges and one of the hardest parts about it to be honest, especially these days when everyone has a camera of some sort with them on a regular basis whether it is a digi-cam or an iphone and life is being documented by the minute. It’s a mix of doing what makes you happy and trying to figure out what will make viewers happy as well. That’s where this new “A different perspective” idea came from. Over the years I have interviewed tons of pro riders about anything and everything except one important topic. What is it like from their perspective to go out and shoot with a photographer? What it is that makes one person better to shoot with than others? I have always wondered about what goes on inside a riders mind before they prepare to shoot a crazy banger and put all of their trust into the photographer. Check out some more photos from my trusty disposable camera from the X Games and see what Rob Wise, Aaron Ross and Josh Harrington all had to say for the second edition of “A different perspective.”
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