Some of the best images and photos in BMX right now are coming from the lens of Jason ‘Fooman’ Colledge – but he’s not just a cameraman on the edge of BMX. Foo is right in the mix, he rides for Wethepeople and hence spends the international trips he goes on balancing time between riding spots and taking magazine-worthy photos of the crew on the same trip. So how does someone balance quality riding time with camera time? What makes for a good riding trip? And what’s new in Fooman’s world of BMX media?
So where in the world are you, right now – where has BMX taken you this time?
Fooman: At this present moment in time I am in the BMX hot spot that is Barcelona. I have an apartment with James Alcock for three weeks. This trip was more of a holiday with my bike and of course my camera gear, so it’s been a very relaxed one enjoying the weather and just taking it easy!
What trips have you been on in recent times – and what makes a good trip in your eyes?
This year I have been fortunate enough to be sent away a few times, most recently I did Athens with Wethepeople, and Barcelona two times before this present trip. Once with Fly/Dig and another with Benny L in the Full Cab and a few missions around the UK and Wales.
I have been stoked on how this year has been already! A good trip to me? Well Adidas in Seville and Éclat Young Bloods in Alicante have to be my most memorable trips, and I think this is down to the crew clicking so well, the weather being amazing and the spots to top it off! Realistically I think it’s down to who you’re with though.
What bike are you currently riding on this trip?
I currently have a Wethepeople Sterling series frame, fork and bars laced up with Éclat parts throughout, she feels good!
And what camera gear have you taken on this trip as well?
I pretty much take the majority of my equipment away with me. I’d rather have everything and not use it, than something happening there and I don’t have the set up I want to use. My bag consists of Canon 1DS Mk3, Sigma 15mm, Canon 24-70 2.8, Canon 70-200 2.8 – my new favourite lens – some Einstein flashes and Pocket Wizards! I hate the weight of my bag, but it’s worth it!
How do you balance both riding at the level you do as a sponsored rider and shooting photos? On a trip, what takes priority?
I’m so bad when it comes to this, like I’ll just ride and session with everyone and have fun, if someone wants to shoot something then I’ll drop what I’m doing and get it done. I’m so bad at shooting the behind-the-scenes style stuff though, so have been making a conscious effort recently to shoot that type of stuff, but I still forget because I’ll be having too much fun hanging at a spot with the crew. But I’ll have days where I don’t want to ride as much and days where I don’t want to shoot, I think it’s good to go with the flow of things.
So how long have you been shooting quality BMX photos?
I’m not even sure really, like I started going to college to do art and design so I didn’t have to work on a building site – I worked on site with my dad straight from school – and just specialised in photography as I had the most fun with it. I do look back through hard drives at old photos and think like, wow I had no idea what I was doing then, haha!
What did you first start shooting photos of – and when were you first published in a legit mag?
I first started shooting photos with my mates and it just progressed from there, I started getting more serious about shooting and started investing my money into equipment. Everything has happened really quickly for me to be honest, like I think my first thing published was a bike check with James Curry for RideUK and then I ended up shooting a full interview with him and scoring a cover! Getting a cover gave me a massive confidence boost in getting my photos out there, I received a lot of good feedback for that which had me so hyped I just wanted to shoot all the time!
Speaking of mags and how things have changed recently, tell us about Endless.
Endless came about after RideUK pulled the plug on their print mag. I had a call from Eisa (Bakos) like a couple days after we got the news and he was just straight with me like let’s do a mag, there needs to be a print mag still. It’s weird, everywhere is stopping print but I just agreed with Eisa that there was still a need to have print in BMX! I know I much prefer a hard copy of a print than seeing it on a screen, it has a completely different feel, I like it!
When will it come out, where can we get it, and what are your hopes for the mag?
The first issue (left) shall be dropping in November and will be available from local BMX
stores as well as some other outlets – being based in London we have plans to have the mag coming out of urban streetwear / fashion stores etc.
Hope is a weird word… like our hopes for the mag was to get a mag together to start with, and have support from the biggest names in BMX and so far we seem to be doing all right!
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