Behind the Shutter - Chris Seager
Ever wondered whose behind the shutter of some of the most incredible mountain bike Video on the planet? Wonder no more. Meet Chris Seager one half of Aspect Media.
Name: Chris Seager
Age: 20
Location: Surrey, England
Bikes: Transition Tr450, Commencal Meta and Last raffnix dirt jump bike
Are you a Canon or a Nikon man?
I have a Sony FS700 but before that I used Canon DSLR's
Any formal qualifications in photography?
Yeah I am currently doing a BA. in Digital film production at Ravensbourne University in London.
How did you get involved in taking photos in the mountain bike industry?
When I was about 15-17, I spent more time in Hospital than I did on my bike. I think it was 6 broken bones in 2 years including knee caps and legs. I was starting to miss my friends in the biking community so I thought I'd limp out the house with my dad's DSLR or old school video camera and start capturing some of the action. So after my dad got sick of me constantly stealing his camera's, one Christmas a very shiny Sony Handycam showed up. I filmed with my new Sony Handycam for at least a year, then saw the release of the Canon 7D and after watching countless videos on vimeo I convinced myself to buy it. Despite convincing myself, money was another slight issue, big thanks to my Grandad who gave me money for my car insurance as I had just turned 17, no prizes for where that money went.
Who are your main clients?
This year its been Ride.io and had a few corporate ones too.
Favourite location you have ever shot at?
Biking wise Val Di'sole was really cool, but also Norway seeing I had never been to Scandinavia before. Non biking related I flew to a few cities last week to film, Including Athens which had some really cool landmarks. I also flew to Vienna which is one of the nicest and cleanest cities I have ever been too so would recommend it highly.
Favourite rider to work with?
Seeing I have travelled with Bernard Kerr a lot this year, it would have to be him. He's always a good laugh driving together and when filming Kerr is always up for trying some ridiculous lines. Any rider who will push up again and again certainly makes filming a lot easier !
Give us a run down of your kit you'd take to an average shoot on the hill?
I have a Lowepro Phototrekker II Bag which just about fits into hand luggage on airlines containing: Sony FS700, Canon 7d, Canon 70-200mm f2.8 IS, Tokina 11-16mm f2.8, Tamron 17-50mm f2.8, Canon 50mm f1.4, Velbon Tripod soon to be replaced by a lovely carbon Manfrotto one a Hauge Dolly/Slider and many batteries and cards, plus the odd filter.
What lens could you never be without?
Easy one, 70-200mm F2.8 IS most used lens by far. IS makes such a difference and the focal length is perfect for all sort of biking shots, especially tightly cropped focus pulls.
Do you ride bikes yourself? and do you find it helps you as an inspiration for your film making?
Yerp... I ride downhill and a lot of all mountain stuff, but these days it gets much harder to actually get a good days riding in! It certainly helps my film making as I know what is possible. Though every now and then someone pulls out a ridiculous line where I'm left speechless.
Any advice for a newbie starting out in the world of mountain bike photography?
Get out as much content as you can, otherwise no one will see what work you can produce ! Also approach companies with good filming ideas, many will consider the idea and may end up with more work.
Ride.io Team Bike Build from Ride.io on Vimeo.
Do you take photos of anything other than bikes?
Yeah I like to mix it up as much as I can but it's often hard to get things that are not bike related theses days. But this year I've shot cleaning products and stuff for hair companies. Bikes do get boring at times, so its nice to shoot something completely different.
A big thanks to Chris for giving up his time.
Stay tuned for more Behind the Shutter in the very near future.
Media Credit: Chris Seager
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