Photographer: Sean Newton

The Kalamazoo area in Michigan has a blazing trails scene, great riders, and one dialled photographer named Sean Newton. Sean’s been on the scene a little while, just had some photos published in Dig, and will become familiar with regular readers of this site. So, without further ado, here’s our Photographer Interview with Sean Newton.

Jeff Degryse and Mike Lawless riding what they built, MI.

BIO

Name: Sean Newton. Hometown: Kalamazoo, MI. Years shooting BMX photos: Five. Where you can see my photos: www.flickr.com/photos/srn_photo Nikon or Canon, or…? Canon.

What are you doing today? What’s the plan? Today was my ‘long’ day. It consisted of 12-and-a-half hours of school. Graphic, web, and ironically an intro photography class that I have to take for my degree. It’s easier to take it than test out of it, so here I am. It’s fun to be around a lot of creative people all day though. Then it’s time to go to sleep after I do the usual rounds online. I will usually edit a photo, or do a design layout that I just have to finish for no reason before I go to sleep. I get something in my head, and at that moment I have to finish it. Seeing as how I start work at 5am it isn’t exactly a smart idea. I will talk to my fiancé, tell her I love her, play with my Pug Jonez, and look forward to doing it all over again tomorrow.

Okay, what are some of the trails spots you’ve shot photos at? I am lucky enough to have four nice set of trails within a ten mile radius of each other. The Kalamazoo BMX scene is great, and everyone knows one another really well. I don’t make it out of the Midwest at all. It’s really sad, but I am going to try to travel a lot more this summer. Time to go to the west coast!

Luke McGary aka The White Lotus nosing in at Bird Land.

What are your stand-out favourite trails spots? The Griz trails are amazing. Local shredders Jeff Degryse, Mike Lawless, and Tractor are artist. They are huge, fast, in the middle of town, oh and did I mention they are huge? There are all sorts of amazing places to go. They are all fun for different reasons, I have just the same amount of gratification out of taking a shot of someone roasting a berm as I do watching someone go into the tree tops. All of Kalamazoo as far as a trail scene is concerned is amazing. I have a set I dig at called Arcadia. There is Birdland, which Scott Towne seems to manage in his life, and another set north of here. We are very lucky.

And are there any others you really want to take photos at, that you haven’t been to yet? Anywhere in the mountains. Nothing is better to me than being deep in the woods, and feeling like your apart of nature. When there is a set of jumps thrown into the mix it is the best of both worlds. I have been watching a lot of free ride mountain bike videos lately and that looks it could be a lot of fun to shoot. They ride some amazing terrain.

Jeremy Ball 360 in the woods of Kalamazoo, MI.

For you, how does shooting photos at the trails differ to shooting, say, street, indoor parks, contests, etc? Street, indoor parks, and contests are equal stress to me. Bad lights, people, flying skateboards. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve had a light stand ran into. It’s all fun though. Just being out in the woods, with some chill dudes is great. Forever 16 years old in my heart I suppose. Only we are all full grown men now.

Ideally… film, or digital? Everyone always has the same answer for this question. Film is superior, and if you want to get the same performance out of digital you have to buy a really expensive camera. Digital is taking the world over. We are all about instant gratification. I will tell you, I took a black and white photography class a few years ago, and that is when I ‘got it’ if you will. It made me understand light, composition, and values. Working in a darkroom makes me feel like I am making more of an art piece.

Scott Towne in his backyard having a good time.

What tips would you give to people wanting to take better trails photos? Have fun, stick with it. It’s funny as how you progress, you are more and more critical of your photos. I will look at a photo and hate the whole thing just because of one soft spot, or one hot highlight. I am getting better about it though. There is no such thing as a perfect photograph, and I think everyone should keep that in the back of their head. Develop your own style, and just as long as your stoked on the image, then it doesn’t matter what the latest internet forum thinks. They are your memories not theirs.

What’s your favourite trails photo of all time? I wasn’t aware that there was another option. Bubba scrub Brian Foster photo by Rob Dolecki. Absolutely incredible. He captured the moment that so many people would overlook.

Tyler Deschaine turndown at the Arcadia trails.

Do you prefer shooting trails in the woods, or out in the open? Woods is Ideal. Open is great for nice twilight hour photos. Plus you get about another 45 minutes of riding time. Or if you ride at Birdland you can ride all night.

What about dirt jumping contests – how do you see those? Depends on what one I guess. Not a fan of what you would call ‘contest tricks’ But I really would have liked to have been at the Dew Tour stop that Mike Aitken won. Riding is riding, just as long as they are having fun it’s cool.

If you were going to, say Catty Woods or Bar End, for a photo shoot for one day with just three riders – who would you pick, and why? Jeremy Ball — long time friend, and he is always eager to ride until he gets it right. He goes big, fast, and I will never doubt his ability to make me shake my head in disbelief. Brian Foster — amazing rider, goes super fast, and almost nobody has style like he does. The moment he did his 360 transfer in the X-Games back in the day is still burned in my mind. I’m pretty sure I don’t need to explain why though. Jeff Degryse — Watching someone who can ride at his level, and build trails like he can is next to nothing but incredible. He is truly passionate about living the trails dedicated lifestyle. He doesn’t do it for anybody but himself. I know that he would appreciate it.

Jeff Degryse riding what he built.

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posted by Patrick Best
on 22/02/10