If you know anything about BMX, you know the name Rick Thorne a.k.a the “Biker in Black.” Rick has been involved in BMX for over the past twenty years and is an all-around rad dude. When brainstorming ideas for a future project for ESPN, his name came up and the idea for a day in the life soon followed.

Take a few minutes and check out the results here and see what a typical day with Rick is like. It’s more eventful than you might think and between riding, taking care of his kids, keeping his wife happy and doing the band thing I wonder how he stays sane.

I was just randomly going through some photos from the Portland stop of the Dew Tour this past summer and came across this one of Kyle Baldock. Kyle came onto the scene a few years ago and really made his presence known in 2011. He is the type of rider that can do anything he wants on his bike and has so much control it’s ridiculous.

Kyle brought an entirely different style to the double backflip and no one lays it out quite as slow and pops them anywhere near as high as he can. It’s insane to watch in person for sure. This was actually the first double backflip on the first set in a dirt contest (which is wild if you really think about it) so that is why it will always stand out to me. He sent it like it was nothing and landed so perfect that you would have thought it was a straight air. Props to Kyle for this one and watch for him to seriously push BMX into a crazier direction this coming contest season.

Other than that, new projects in the works all over the place. Keep an eye out right here for some updates as soon as everything comes together.

I have been super motivated lately and really want to make a push for my personal work. The more I get used to making my own rules and shooting exactly what I want the harder it is going to be to work for someone again. Being your own boss is rad and honestly there is nothing better, especially for an extremely picky photographer like myself. I have learned over the years that when it comes down to it, you are only as good as your last photo and if you aren’t constantly trying to better yourself and your work, then what is the point?

I went out to Riverside to shoot with Dylan Stark for a little photo feature that wethepeople did for him to welcome him to the pro team. It was a rad day and I was stoked with what we shot. We shot more than they used for the feature but keep an eye out for a few riding shots to pop up soon.

I have known Dylan for years now and have been stoked on him since I first saw him ride. Years after that I gave him the chance to have a full-length interview in the magazine and now a few years after that he got picked up by these guys which is rad to see. Congrats Dylan! Check out the full feature here.

Jourdan Barba was also out cruising for the day and laced this smith to bar while we were chillin’ getting drinks taking advantage of this spot being right behind a 7-11.

I also recently spent the day with Tom Villarreal in downtown Los Angeles. He ended up linking up with a friend from Florida where he’s from that has a place here in California and made the move to switch things up a bit. He lives in a dope little art studio right across from the Staples Center so when we met up we just cruised the city and shot some flicks throughout the day. I sent those over to Profile so we will see what comes of them.

This past weekend I got the chance to shoot a day in the life for ESPN with none other than the “Biker in Black” Rick Thorne. The dude has been involved with BMX since day one and is definitely a rad guy. His knowledge of riding in general spans decades and it’s cool to hear him talk about all of the crazy stages that BMX has gone through since he started riding. We had a rad day just cruisin’ around taking care of business, riding, and more. Stay tuned for the full-feature to see what his typical day is like.

In other ESPN news when I was over in Europe I had the chance to shoot a bike check with one of the best flatlanders on the planet from Paris, France. Matthias Dandois is a seriously talented flatland rider that has changed the way flatland is viewed by the rest of the BMX world. Anyone can appreciate the skills he has and not too mention he’s just a rad kid from France who loves to have a good time. Check out the full feature here. That’s it for now, stay tuned as always.

I spent the day today at the P-Rod plaza with Tony Neyer, Miles Rogoish, Zach Krejmas and Gabe Brooks. Everyone was stacking clips while I sat back and did some shooting. It was an amazing winter day in So Cal and the weather was on point. Anyways, I will let the photos do the rest of the talking.

Miles is one serious hustler behind the lens. He puts in more work than most and knows what it takes to get shit done. I can respect that and it’s always sick to kick it with him. He is out at the moment with a shoulder injury but as soon as he can you know he will be back on his whip killin’ it in front of the lens.

If you know Gabe, you know he is a bad ass on and off the bike. He has some serious motivation when it comes to riding that is inspirational to be honest. This over-crank arm grind was at the end of a line and was done with a half of a pedal after he broke it earlier in the day. As if Gabe would let that stop him, come on now.

Tony stacked some dope clips and lines for the camera and some came easier than others. At the end of the day, he got what he wanted and went home stoked, minus the meaty paw; that shit hurts.

This is definitely not what it looks like. Sure it’s a tooth hanger but it’s what went down before it that makes this such a rad trick. Tony has got lines for days.

Zach has a clean and smooth style and laced this downside whip straight to pedals with ease.

Checkin’ the footy with the crew and that’s that. Good day, good times and keep an eye out for the footage from the day to be popping up in an edit sometime soon.

I have been busy lately trying to get my hustle on and spent this past weekend shooting two completely different sides of BMX. On one hand, I went out to Malibu for the One Love Flatland Jam and chilled for the day putting together a gallery for ESPN. Flatland riding to me is much more of an art form than other types of riding. I have much respect for riders that can spend countless hours, days, weeks, months and sometimes years solo in a parking lot working on a getting single trick or putting together their idea of the ultimate link. It was an amazing winter day to say the least and I am really stoked on how the article came out. Check it out here.

The next day I headed out to shoot and chill in the streets with Jackson Ratima, Justin Burns, Lil’ D and Tommy Blanco in Korea Town. We ended up finding a few good spots but in the end got stuck at this amazing school with tons of tables to set up. Everyone filmed a few lines and I snuck this shot of Jackson that I was stoked on.

As soon as I was done shooting for the day I cruised home and put in some hours narrowing down and editing my final selections for the portfolio/bio piece I have coming out in A.R.T magazine based out of France. I am stoked on the photos I sent in and can’t wait to see how it all comes together. Other than that I have a shoot coming up with a model friend of mine in Joshua Tree that should be good so keep an eye out for that gallery to pop up on the site soon.

I ended up heading to Long Beach yesterday to meet up and shoot a photo with Adam Grandmaison from thecomeup and ended up shooting a few flicks with rapper Philly Swain. He was working on a video project for a new song and wanted to shoot some photos at Houghton Skatepark. He knows Adam and is down for BMX so it was a rad project. The BSD team is in town getting ready to take off on a trip so everyone just kicked it and rode while he filmed for his new video and laid down some lines.

I edited a few of the shots earlier today but I am going to wait and see where they end up before I throw them up on the site but eventually I will post up my picks from that set as soon as that gets figured out. Just another day and another shoot but man, it’s amazing the experiences I have had over the past five years out here in California. You just never know who you are going to run into or end up shooting with and yesterday was a perfect example of that. Check out what he does here and add him up on twitter here.

If you happen to keep up with my blog you know that I had shot a “Day in the life” with long time Volume Bikes pro and all-around badass Jason Enns. I have actually been shooting with Jason since I moved to the west coast almost five years ago. He’s always been a rider that I looked up to and was stoked on growing up so to call him a friend these days is pretty rad. Anyways, check out the article here and see what it’s like to chill with my dude Enns for the day and hit up some of his local spots.

In other news I am working on a portfolio for the new issue of A.R.T magazine based out of France for the next couple of weeks which I am pumped on so keep posted for more on that and also look for some new flicks in the people gallery on the site as well.

I am stoked to be entering the new year with a new motivation with my photography. I am taking it back into my own hands now that I am free of deadlines after almost five years. There is nothing more stressful than being on deadline three weeks out of every month, all year long. I was going to do a “year-end” gallery with some of my favorite photos of 2011 but I just ended up having too many in mind that I wanted to choose and after going through them they all bring up certain memories and have a story to tell so it would have ended up getting pretty lengthy. So, what I decided to do was pick one photo that really stood out to me after looking through my work from past year.

This photo to me just seems so ridiculous. I wanted to shoot it long to really try and capture the vibe of a simple boost at the trails. The rider is Cody Mckenna who is a younger dude that represents what it means to have fun on a bike to the fullest. He has a laid back attitude and literally has a smile ear to ear when he is rolling on his bike. Not to mention that he can go ridiculously high and knows how to pull back off of a lip like it’s nobody’s business. The simplicity of this photo is what stands out to me the most. After spending most of the year shooting photos with upwards of four lights, anytime I can shoot natural light is a good time to me. Anyways, I just wanted to share this quick post and welcome the new year with a photo that will stand out to me for years to come. Plus, it holds some sentimental value seeing as how soon after this was shot, the spot fell victim to some bulldozers as it was flattened out. I was lucky enough to get in plenty of sessions before that though and I won’t soon forget the good times. Here’s to 2012.

I wanted to quick let everyone know about a new article I put up in the “Tear Sheets” section which you can quick jump to here. It was an article I shot with Dean Dickinson which you can read about in an earlier blog post. I had an amazing time shooting the article and not only that but it is a design layout that I had full creative control over. I had a vision of exactly what I wanted to the layout to look like and worked with the designer to make it come to life. I have helped design layouts for years and have had hundreds of photos in print but to this day, this will be a layout that I am 100% satisfied with which is hard to come by as an artist with a little bit of OCD when it comes to my photography.

You can find this article in print in the February issue of BMX Plus! Magazine. More updates to come soon and as always keep checking back. In the meantime, if you want more consistent content/blurbs feel free to follow me on twitter and if you are a fellow iphone user hit me up on instagram @jeremypavia.

When it comes to the relationship between rider and photographer there is a general level of trust that has to be present for everything to work out the right way and in most cases that is a trust that is earned. I have been fortunate enough to shoot with some of the best riders in the world over the years and it is a rad feeling to know that when it comes time to shoot, they trust that I will do what I can to make the best photo possible and try not to fuck it up. Let’s face it, when someone is trying something gnarly or something that has never been done the pressure builds and the weight of the photo coming out right gets heavier and heavier. Being a rider myself, I can honestly say that I have thought many times while shooting “damn, I am glad I am the photographer right now and not the rider.” But at the same time, I have shared so many rad moments when the rider gets the trick and I look down and see that the photo came out the way that I had envisioned. That’s all part of what motivates me to shoot and why I have invested everything into becoming the best photographer I can be.

Kevin waiting for the ok to send it.

This particular day Verde pro Kevin Kiraly, myself and the homies Nick Ince and Justin Burns headed to San Francisco so that Kevin could check a trick off of his list for his new Verde edit that just recently dropped which is insane by the way. We knew that we were driving up there so he could whip the famous “Wallenberg” set so the entire drive up there I was picturing the scene and it being my first time going there I had only known what it looks like from videos and photos. Typically I like to just wait until I get to a spot to figure out how I am going to shoot the trick but in this case, I had to try and get a jump start on the mental process.

We rolled up to the spot and Kevin immediately started warming up. Whenever a rider is “warming up” is the best time for me to figure out exactly how I want to shoot whatever trick it is we are shooting. The goal when shooting a BMX photo is to make the trick look the best it possibly can while emphasizing a certain aspect of the trick. In this case, the four block is much longer than it is high so shooting down low and fisheye wouldn’t really work because it just didn’t show the actual distance he was whipping so that was quickly out of the picture. We tried another angle from above standing on a doorway but again, it just didn’t show the whole scene and even though you got the length it looked completely flat. I battled a little bit between shooting with flashes and trying to get one still shot or shooting with natural light with the intentions of stitching a photo together in post. The still shot would have looked good but Kevin wasn’t trying to do this more than he needed to and I didn’t want to risk making him do it again without knowing whether or not the single whip shot would come out in a way we would both be happy with. So, in the end, the best decision was to shoot a sequence directly from the side. This way, it showed the full distance as well as the height of the stairs and to me, represented the trick in a way that truly shows how gnarly it was. To see Kevin’s newest edit click here and prepare to be impressed. Two years in the making and well worth the wait. Kevin knows what it means to put in work and take his time to put out quality over quantity and that is something I can truly appreciate.

Kevin’s skateboarding influenced riding is what separates him from the crowd and checking this Wallenberg whip off of his list was a rad thing to be a part of. Look for the photo to be in print soon!

Tech Info:
Camera- Canon 1D Mark II N
Lens- Sigma 70-200 2.8  @70mm
F/4
1/4000 sec
ISO 320
Manfrotto Tripod
Natural Light
Stitched together in Photoshop CS5 on a Macbook Pro
Location- San Fransisco, California
Trick- Tailwhip
Rider- Kevin Kiraly