Cape Town base photographer Eric Palmer is one of the few folks who has made a point of documenting the DH scene in the Western Cape. Over the last few years he has been building up an impressive portfolio of DH pics, and has recently been commissioned to shoot the SA champs as well as the new Morewood catalogue. We asked him a few questions about his photography, and what motivates him to continue shooting pics of the MTB scene.

You are on of the few guys who seem to be consistently shooting DH pics these days. There are always a few guys shooting at the Nationals, but very few guys go out and shoot DH on weekends and between events. How did you get into shooting MTB / DH, and what motivates you to go out and shoot so regularly?

I live up in the Jonkershoek Valley & can see the bottom of the old track & went to watch a few times before I started shooting. I rollerblade myself & have been for 15yrs or so, so appreciate any form of action sport. Soon after I got my 1st camera they had a race & saw the guys at the finish from my house, so decided to go down & see what I could manage. Didn’t get anything too amazing, but wasn’t too bad for a first go & started off just shooting races for the first year or so. The response to the pics was really good & started to get to know some of the guys instead of just seeing them fly past, which was good. I guess I’m just super addicted to my camera & shooting action… well anything really, but action is way more of a challenge & much more fun. I started getting a bit frustrated at races, candy tape, spectators & not knowing who’s taking what line made it a bit of a hit & miss with a lot of visual distractions, so going on more private shoots was a better option for me to get the shots I wanted & chill in a beautiful place with good people. I am quite greedy when it comes to pics & just want more & better, so guess that’s my main motivation to keep going out & shooting more.

You also shoot a bunch of other stuff like inline, BMX, bands, etc, etc. how does shooting MTB compare to those other things?

It was quite a challenge to start off with, not knowing the technical side to it I just shot whatever I thought would look cool & just shot the gaps for the 1st few races, but quickly looked for less populated spots on the track so I could have some space to work. That forced me to find out more about what lines there were & observe the body position & when & where to take the shot. BMX was also quite a challenge, getting to learn all the tricks & what angle they’re best from. The inline was easy because I do it myself & know what I want, the only problem is there aren’t many rollers around & when I do get out on my skates I like to roll myself & just shoot when I don’t feel like skating. Bands have serious crowd problems too & I’m not one for fighting my way through beer spillage over expensive equipment. It is fun, but would prefer to be able to move freely. Landscapes & macro are also fun, but I don’t get the same kick out of it as I do with the action. I have however started to get more & more into portraits & like to fool around with them & guess that comes from my animation studies.

Due to the nature of MTB being an outdoor sport, and the terrain being pretty wide open and diverse, does this pose any particular challenges in taking photographs? Or do you approach shooting DH in the same way you shoot other stuff?

Yeah, my philosophy in photography stays the same no matter what I shoot, but the terrain does sometimes make it tricky to shoot some spots. Getting the flashes in the right place & getting an angle to make the spot look good & emphasize the drop, corner, rocks, etc. to make the shot put across the difficulty of riding there & not only capture a guy riding. That can get extremely boring & monotonous to have shots of riders full frame without much terrain. You could get the same type of shot no matter where in the world you are, so rather include the track & use it as an asset to the shot & it allows you to get a much more interesting composition. I think that is what separates the good shots from the great ones. So does have it’s challenges, but luckily the tracks are long enough & if a spot doesn’t work you’re guaranteed to have another that will not too far away. Only downside is there is a lot more walking involved, but I guess I need the exercise, so it’s not too bad. haha

Cape Town has a real strong MTB scene and you seem to shoot with a lot of the guys. Who are some of your favorite guys to shoot with?

I really enjoy shooting with Pierre, always full of nonsense & have a good laugh walking up the mountain & he shows me his lines as we go up, so helps me understand how they see things a little better. Not only that, but he rides like a champ & his bike & kit at the moment are super sweet colours & stand out well, so is good all round. Been shooting with him a lot lately & Gary has joined the last few times & they are a good combo. Always joking with each other & is just a good vibe to be around & both great riders. Most of the guys here like having fun when they ride & there is always a lot of banter, but it makes the session so much more fun & that is one of the most important things for me. If I’m having fun I feel I shoot much better & go home happy & that’s the feeling that keeps me coming back for more. I don’t have time for attitude & arrogance, but luckily there aren’t many of those around, so is normally a bunch of guys doing what they love & taking pics & joining in on the fun is never a bad way to spend a day.

You guys also have some of the most beautiful scenery and riding spots in the country. Where are some of your favourite spots to shoot MTB?

I really like Tokai, mainly because of the diversity. Huge gums at the bottom, open single track in the middle & then up into the pines at the top. Paarl’s Playground is also good to shoot, has an almost desert vibe & is quite different from anything else around here & more freeriding style & also has some good spots further down under the trees. Only shot once at the Hermanus track, but that was also quite nice & different as vegetation & scenery goes. The George track was great too & only got to shoot there once, but would love to go back without the spectators & candy tape, but is a bit far unfortunately.

With you being out on the mountain shooting so much DH, have you ever been tempted to get a bike and do some of it yourself?

I have thought about it & would be keen to give it a go, but the bikes being as expensive as they are & me spending all my money on equipment. So cash is the main thing holding me back. I have ridden a bit in Jonkershoek on my old Giant Rincon, but it’s not built for DH by a long shot & I’m super sketchy on a bike, so keep the tricks to my rollerblades. Mark Gordon has built a little pump/flowy track near Eden. I can handle that a bit better with just rollers & berms. Basically as long as my wheels stay on the ground I feel ok & have a lot of fun & enjoy getting out on it now & again.

At the world cup in PMB it was not uncommon to see photographers struggling up the hill with two massive camera bags, numerous tripods, and battery packs strapped all over them. Do you have to carry tons of stuff up the hill when you shoot? Or do you have it all figured out now with just the bare essentials being taken when you shoot DH?

Haha, yeah, that was me in the beginning, had to have everything with me at all times. I have since worked out strategies to be in the right place at the right time with as little effort as possible. These days I just take the shuttle up & keep the equipment to a minimum, but that is still a full bag of gear & 2 tripods & a lil bag with some food & water. Is still quite a lot to carry, but going downhill is much better than lugging it all up & that way I’m closer to the finish & can get shots of the prize giving too & chat with some of the guys before they go home. Before I would be at the top at the end of the race & have to pack up & walk down afterwards & by the time I got to the bottom everyone was done & had left.

When shooting MTB what is the typical setup that you use?

I normally use my D70 (because of the fast sync speeds) & take my 10.5mm fisheye & 24-85mm (will now be my new glass, the 24-70mm & 70-200mm both f/2.8’s). That & my 2 SB-600 flashes, 2 tripods for them & Pocket Wizards to trigger them. I’m getting another (SB-900) flash soon, so will be able to play a bit more with the lighting & looking forward to shoot some DH with my new glass.

SA has quite a few MTB / cycling mags on the news stands these days, and the scene is growing all the time. Are you getting much of your work featured in these publications? Or is most of your work still just done for the love of it?

Yeah, it’s growing like crazy lately. Have had some shots in Bicycling, Mongoose has used one for a big banner & some guys from Morewood were keen on using some of my work for their new catalogue. Other than that I’ve had quite a few BMX shots in the local My Culture mag & RideBMX US asked me for a few pics too which I was pretty stoked on. I wanted to get my work to a certain standard before I started approaching magazines, didn’t want my name to be associated with amateur work & feel that I’m getting pretty close to where I want to be with my photography & am pushing my pics a bit more now. So is more for the love of it at the moment, but my aim is to make a living off my photography & the last 2 years I see as practice & training (& saving to get better equipment).

A lot of photographers point out that very few people realise the time and effort that goes into getting good photographs. Do you get the same impression from the people you shoot for? Or have your experiences with publications / clients been pretty good?

Ah, yeah. Most people think you just click & if you have a good pic it must be the camera, not the years of theory learning how to use your equipment, struggling to get the lighting right & find a good angle. I often get asked for pictures with no mention of payment & in the beginning I did it to get my name out there, but these days I feel that I have done enough charity work & need payment for my work. With Bicycling & Morewood it’s been great. Trevor from Sploosh (Morewood’s marketing side of things) helped me out quite a bit regarding pricing & a few other ideas to get more money for my work. It was also good to see how impressed he was with my work & meant a lot, because of the amount of photos he sees, so was a good boost in confidence. I feel I’m an artist & not a businessman & selling my work is not my strong point, so to have feedback from him was very helpful.

What are some of your plans for the future when it comes to your photography? Do you want to continue focusing on MTB, Inline, BMX, Bands etc, etc, or are you looking to try out some different stuff.

I’d like to stay with action sports as much as possible & get my name out there for that, but need a few other backup plans if it doesn’t work out. It is difficult to make enough money to survive shooting action alone & especially in S.A. Portraits have been grabbing my attention lately & there is way more money in portraiture & fashion photography, so that’s an option, but any form of photography would be good. The only thing I’m really not very keen on & would be my last resort is wedding photography, but there is more than enough out there to keep me busy without going that way.

You also have some really amazing scenery photographs in your portfolio. Is this something you purposefully set out to shoot? Or did it just come about from you being in interesting places while shooting other subject matter?

Thanks! That is more my mom’s (Nicole Palmer – http://nicole-palmer.blogspot.com/ ) influence. She is the reason my photography is where it is today. She is a professional art photographer & teacher & got all the theory from her over the years & her approach has influenced my style quite a bit. She specialises in landscape & macro & has an amazing eye for visual design & try to incorporate that into my work. A very different subject, but the same “rules” apply to all forms of photography. I now teach with her & most of my landscape shots were taken on workshops we present. I do go out to shoot landscapes every now & again, but the action normally grabs me first, so the scapes take a back seat. It is good though, helps with composition & design for the rest of my work & enjoy trying all sorts of photography. It’s all practice & helps me shoot what I love shooting better & gives new ideas of techniques to try. Sort of like how doing some dirt jumping will help you ride DH better…

This year you went up to George to shoot the SA champs. Is there any chance that you will make it to more events all over SA next year? You currently have a blog and a Facebook group with your photographs on display. Are those the best places for folks to check out your work?

I was asked to shoot the XC & DH there by Fritz Pienaar. That was my first paid race shoot & travelling & accommodation was paid for, so hopefully there will be more of that next year. If not I will try to come up on my own steam & would link it with a holiday to shoot the DH & BMX & get a bit of rolling in, but there is always the next bit of equipment that I need urgently that somehow sucks my cash up before I see it. Am really keen to come up, so hopefully something works out.

If people want to see more of your work where is the best place for them to go online?

I just started the facebook group a little while ago, so am still adding a few pics to it. I have just about all my photos on my facebook profile, so at the moment that’s the biggest collection I have online, but post the better pics to my blog & is generally more my action shots that I post there. I also have a flickr account under Eric Palmer & have my latest 200 pics on there & the quality is way better there than on facebook, so that’s probably a better option. I will need to start a proper site soon & just focus on posting my pics in one place, but just planted as many seeds as I could to get my pics out there & generate some interest for my work & has worked well so far. Pinkbike has also been good to me & have had a lot of positive feedback & quite a few POD’s (Pic Of the Day), so is also a good place to check out & is just about only my biking shots, so if you’re not interested in any of the other stuff I shoot it’s solid BMX & MTB pics that’ll keep you busy for a few days.

Thanks for taking the time to answer these questions, and keep up the good work!

More than a pleasure. Thanks! Will do!

Tags: Eric Palmer

This entry was posted on Wednesday, July 22nd, 2009 at 8:50 am and is filed under Interviews, News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.