SHOOTER: LLOYD RAMSAY
Name: Lloyd Ramsay
Age: XXXI
Location: The Cradle of Civilization
How long have you been shooting?
About 2 years now. I have always written then one day I needed some photos to go along with AST Dew Tour coverage...upgraded myself to writer+photographer.
Film or digital?
Digital. Everything in my life has been within the digital spectrum having worked with computers from an early age. I never learnt film although I should have. I never approach something creatively in a conventional manner. This hopefully makes me different. I would love to figure out a way to bring in analog corrosion to digital images to add something unique to them. This is an idea I have shifted over to photography based on an interview Trent Reznor did a few years back. He passes signals through various boards that are damaged to create a sound that has uniqueness lurking in the shadows.
Best thing you’ve ever shot?
I think my best work is yet to come. Never being 100% happy with anything I have ever shot pushes me to progress and explore my potential. Satisfaction is the death of desire.
Fave rider to shoot with?
There have been so many awesome people I have worked with I cannot narrow it down to just 1 person. I make a point to never work with people that have bad attitudes so I set myself up for only positive experiences.
Dream rider to shoot with?
Before I lost my work visa and had to leave the States I was keen on doing a behind the scenes of the new 2Hip warehouse in Santa Cruz. Ron W has a very unique look and persona so I wanted to try do the shoot with the theme Willy Wonka And The Chocolate Factory. I never got to pitch the idea to Ron but I think the theme totally suited the subject.
What do you tell security when they try to throw you out of spots for taking pics?
I have been pretty lucky and not had many hassles with security. There is no way they can comprehend why I would want to take a photo of an adult on a tiny bicycle jumping down some stairs so why argue. Life can sucker punch you pretty good sometimes so who knows if I could end up guarding a building one day to put food on the table. At the moment all my shots are taken in Africa and over here you can take your bike through a plate glass window of a department store without a cop budging.
Fave BMX photographer?
Use Google Maps to find Maidenhead, UK aka Maidenhood. There lives a guy called Craig Tull. He barely gets to ride anymore because he is shooting all the time. What I like about Craig’s work is that it is clean, well composed and he works so hard at it all the time. He has a site: http://www.craigtull.com. It is not within the bounds of the question but I cannot write about Photographers that are amazing without mentioning Garth Milan. I would clean his equipment and sleep on his floor for a year just to be able to learn from him.
What do you want to be when you grow up?
I might rock this Peter Pan complex forever and never grow up. I do not know what I want to be when I grow up but from life experience I know exactly what I do not want to be.
Where can we see more of your work?
My photos and words have been appearing on Fatbmx for some time. Your best bet though is to just go to my website which is going along very slowly due to a severe xbox live addiction: www.lydrmsy.com