Interview: Christoph Laue - Photo of the Year

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CHRISTOPH LAUE - PHOTO OF THE YEAR INTERVIEW

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Congratulations on your win! How does it feel to win Photo of the Year by public judging?

Thank you! It feels amazing to win the Photo of the Year competition. This year we had a great variety of high quality shots, so of course I feel very honoured that so many people voted for my photo. Thanks everyone for the support.

If it had been your choice to submit a photo for the contest, would you have chosen this one?

I think I would have chosen it, if I had had the choice, because it is a special and unique moment that you cannot reproduce that easily. It shows the fun that you have when you go riding with friends and you feel like you want to join the gang when you look at the picture.

How much planning and preparation went into this image?

I like to do action group shots and in this case the combination of the fun the riders had and the new obstacle inspired me. As soon as I saw the shark fin, I was quite clear about the perspective. The idea was to get one unsharp rider in the foreground and to put the focus on the action on the shark fin. I talked about the idea with the riders and we coordinated the timing.




How did you select the location and riders?

Well, the Scott team was in Châtel because of the product launch and on the day of the shooting Nico Vink had just finished the shark fin for the Châtel Bike Festival. So the boys were eager to try the new obstacle and were stoked about the perfect shape, speed and smoothness of Nico‘s work.

The big feature about this image is the timing of the first rider framed through the arm of the last rider, how did you time it? How many tries did it take to get it right?

Sometimes it takes hundreds of tries to get the perfect shot and the riders want to kill you. And sometimes you need only one try. In this case, we nailed it with the first shot.

Looking at some of the other shots on your website, timing seems to be a recurring theme for you (the photo with the frog and the dust/water portraits), would you say this is a defining element of your photographic style?


In my opinion photography is about catching unique moments. Especially in action sports photography, you freeze moments that are hardly visibly for the human eye because of the speed of the movements. So yes, timing plays a huge role in my work. I want to catch the one moment that conveys the whole action. Light and atmosphere are the two other aspects that define a good photograph for me. I simply love playing with these elements.




What are the technical details of your shot?


The camera I used is a Nikon D4s with the settings at 1/1600s f3.5 ISO 200. The lens is a 24- 70mm and the focal length was at 52mm.

The image looks like it was shot with natural light, what time of day was it and did you use any flash?



Although I like to shoot with strobes, I tried to put my focus on natural light in 2014. The diffused evening sun in Châtel did a good job, so there was no need to use flashes.



What was it that inspired you to become a photographer?



Well, it all began with my passion for mountain biking and trail building. The great moments when you go out with your friends and ride your home trails. The fun you have when you are out in the nature. All this made me want to go out and create images that capture these feelings.

What advice do you have for aspiring photographers who want to work in the Mountain Bike industry?




First of all, understand the basics of photography like shutter speed, aperture, ISO and the difference between all those lenses. Go out with your bike and your buddies, ride as much as you can and study your surroundings. That will give you the feeling and the mood of the sport.

Keep working hard, push your limits and show the world your images, for example on Pinkbike! Last but not least - have fun! It‘s the greatest job in the world.

What plans and projects do you have in store for this year?


The next trip will be a ski shooting in the Alps and the next event will be Vienna - Air King. In my free time I plan to ride my new bike as much as I can, without my photo bag, and just for fun.
 I hope there will be some time to realize some of the ideas that bustle about in my head - let me surprise you.

Any plans for the winnings?


My old rusty bike has done a great job and will be happy to see retirement now. And as for me, I‘m really looking forward to shredding on this new bike. The money will help me to upgrade my equipment.

Anything else you would like to add?


My first thank you goes out to the other photographers in the competition - you rock. Big probs to Nico Vink, Brendan Fairclough, and Vincent Tupin - this shot would not have been possible without you. A huge thank-you to all the voters who supported my picture. I‘ll keep trying to get you stoked. And last but not least, thanks to Pinkbike for being such a fantastic platform for the sport we love.

To check out more of Christoph's work visit his website here. And be sure to follow him @Laue here on Pinkbike.