flow, style and tricks on all wheel sizes
Published: 26/12/12
Photos of the year - 2012
Saturday Snaps is one of the most enjoyable sections of the site to administrate. It’s always a treat to open an email with a bunch of photos and stories of good times.
BMX and MTB would be extremely insular if it wasn’t for cameras and camcorders. As with other action sports they rely on imagery more than your traditional games such as your cricket or football. A single photo can portray progression and style and inspire thousands to go out on their bikes and try something new.
The documentation of riding from all around the world has created a global community and sparked competition which is healthy for the sport. Some would argue it’s also the cause of copycat riding and a reduction in creativity and originality, but everything has it’s dark side.
Below are ten photos sent into getabmx this year which left a lasting impression. If you want to see more from a photographer click on their photo.
In no particular order:
Vincent Perraud - New York City
Just a snap in the streets of NYC with three good friends, Kalkoff, Valentino and Dandois, and nice light. Shot with a Canon 5d mk2.
Ed: You can have fun wherever you are and wherever you go. The ride to the spot can be a good time in itself.
Michael Ferguson - Ferg’s Trails
Toby Parker pulled this huge Nac in near pitch darkness on one of the few dry evenings we've had at the trails this year.
​
Ed: The Nac is textbook and the trails are immaculate. This is what it’s all about: late summer trails sessions into the night.
Robin Pearson - Phil Aller, Beach bars
This was shot quite recently on a Vans UK trip in South West England on the way to Boardmasters festival in Newquay. Phil Aller is a rad dude and we agreed it would be a cool idea to shoot a barspin photo on the beach by our hotel after a few beers. That was another really fun trip and this is just a part of it that takes my mind back there. The weather was amazing that week. It really felt like a proper British summer holiday.
Shot with Canon 7D, L 17-40mm lens, two Metz 45 CT-4 flashes.
Ed: Who’d have thought this was England after the summer we’ve had? Big summer vibes in this. Hopefully we’ll have more days like this in 2013.
Davin Pena - Cal
I was exited when i took this shot of Ray George doing a three at the step up jump. It always seems to be a challenge when taking photos at the step up because you’re limited on angles. This was a new angle for me and i liked how there is a dreamy feel to it as well.
Ed: The dreamy look of this photo has ’California’ written all over it.
Christoph Laue - Paul Ehm and Mr. Frog
I found this frog during a shooting and decided to feature him in the picture. It felt like 100 shots later until he finally co-operated and I captured both rider and frog in action.
Read the full frog story here.
Ed: Patience, precision, dedication and originality are essential ingredients in shots like this.
Long Nguyen - Illuminate: Cody Gessel at Evergreen, CO, USA, August 2, 2011
The inspiration of this idea came when my flashes were not strong enough. So I thought I would try and slow the shutter speed down and pray that my flashes would freeze the rider. This one took a while to get, as I had to battle other photographer’s flashes since I had the shutter open for half a second.
Equipment: Canon 5D Mark II, 17-40 F4
Ed: Rather than blame his equipment, Long worked around it making this photo that bit more rewarding. The slow shutter speed causes the motion blur from the rider yet he remains crisp.
Styling over dirt in the dark, can’t get much better than that.
Ben Mark - Max Wood: Table
This is one of my favourite shots but unfortunately it never got published, its BMX’er Max Wood riding at Hills and Mountain Trails, Max is a proper sick rider and a proper wild guy.
Ed: I’m astonished this didn’t get published, this is trails.
James Webber - Woburn
I think the correct terminology for this image is… dumped. I’ve never seen anyone throw a dumped 360 quite like Identiti’s Matt Jones.
Ed: Super dumped, and as with all the other photos on this page, perfect lighting.
Eric Palmer - Greg Illingworth - Downtable
Greg is a gent and any time I get to shoot with him is gold! He rides like a beast and makes my life easy. It's not often I get to shoot good street at sunset with a nice backdrop, but this spot worked out so well with lionshead and the lights helped frame the shot.
Shot with my D200 and 24-70mm f2.8 and lit with two SB-600's and a SB-900.
Ed: This is how I imagine Cape Town looking most evenings, not to mentioned Greg Illingworth kills it; his videos this year have been insane.
Vincent Perraud - Pool
I shot this for a Soul cover and tried a different angle with Max Bonfil. Taken in Algorta, Spain, and shot with the Canon 5d mk 2.
Ed: Ending with the photographer we kicked off with. This was one of those photos I had to look at for a while to comprehend what was going on. Huge pocket air toboggan, and I don’t think many people would have thought of this angle.