PRO SHOOTER: JARED SOUNEY
Name: Jared Souney
Age: 33
Location: Portland, Oregon
How long have you been shooting?
I started toying with it in the mid-90s I guess. Shooting seriously since 1997 or so.
Film or digital?
These days the only film cameras I use are a Yashica T4 and a Contax T2, both 35mm point and shoot cameras. I¹ve had my T4 since Œ98 or so and it¹s an invaluable asset. I learned on film and shot film, medium format and 35mm, for many years. I haven¹t shot much film for action since 2007, and even at that point it was a little medium format here and there. I guess it started trickling towards digital in 2004. Film is/was a great medium, though it¹s often not for the work I do. Ad clients want final delivery very quickly, as do editorial clients. It¹s a lot easier and cost effective now to view work on site on a large monitor and make adjustments from there than it was with small Polaroids.
Best thing you’ve ever shot?
From a photographic perspective I guess that one would be totally subjective. BMX wise, I think my favorite thing over the years might have been the Ron Wilkerson interview I did in 2001. That was the last feature I did before I quit Ride, and it was just something I wanted to do for a long time. It¹s fucking Wilkerson. I grew up watching Ron ride in the 80s and 90s, so that was sort of the icing on the cake for me. I was stoked on how it turned out for a quick trip.
I did a little digging to answer this, and it might be a motocross shot of Alistair Whitton we shot on a whim at Woodward a few years back. One footed table on a motocross bike over a hip, with a fisheye. In retrospect he could have killed me. He has bike control, but he isn¹t necessarily a motocross rider. I was inches from his bike, which may not have been the smartest thing, but I was really stoked on the photos. At least all the camera gear is insured, and I am too. It actually ended up running full-page in Transworld Motocross which is sort of funny, since he¹s wearing jeans, something much more common in BMX than moto (those guys love their leathers).
Another favorite is a shot of Stephen Murray doing the loop in his front yard in Riverside, CA for the first time, about six months before his crash in Baltimore. I sent Stephen a big framed print of that shot around Christmas time this year, and later saw a shot of him at home with the print in the background.
Favorite rider to shoot with?
I don¹t think it¹s one person… I think it¹s just good friends. That¹s usually the most fun, and things usually turn out the best when you¹re having fun. It gets to the point where people understand and trust what you¹re trying to do, and you know what you can get out of them, or how far things can be pushed without someone getting hurt (hopefully). When I was living in California it was probably Nate Hanson and Ryan Sher… Those were the guys I was riding with a lot at the time. Then I lived in State College, PA for four and a half years shooting with all the Woodward guys. Those guys out there ‹ Kagy, Robinson, Bestwick, McCann, Stober, McElhinney, Whitton, Napolitan, Warden, etc. ‹ I was just around them all so much, and they¹re all good friends, so working with them is awesome. There¹s a point when guys are that good, you don¹t have to try and make them look good, you have to try to make your photo look as good as they deserve.
Now that I¹m in Portland, I still don¹t really know everyone locally, but I¹ve shot with a few fun people… Chet Blacksmith and Bruce Crisman are obviously unbelievable, and awesome guys. I think I¹ve gotten some of my favorite stuff up here with Roman Tencza. There are so many over the years though. Heino, Taj, Brian Chapman, Dave Young.
Dream rider to shoot with?
I guess in terms of modern guys I¹ve worked with a lot of people I¹ll always wanted, so for me it would be some of the guys I looked at growing up. Grasso, Craig Campbell some of those transitional pioneers between uniform wearing freestyle, and street riding style…
What do you tell security when the try to throw you out of spots for taking
pics?
That¹s changed so much over the years… Way back when, security guards had no real suspicions. You weren¹t going to jump that little bike down those stairs or slide down that handrail. You could be at a street spot for hours with no issues. Now, with this stuff all over the mainstream, they know as soon as they see you rolling up what¹s going on. So there isn¹t any real argument. They¹re doing their job. The best you can do is pack it up and try again later. A lot of times I¹ll just say it¹s for a school project, which sometimes carries some sort of sympathy, but now that I¹m getting old that doesn¹t really work… Although I could pretend I¹m in one of those adult education programs. Maybe I¹ll try that.
Favorite BMX photographer?
Windy Osborne probably inspired me to shoot more than anyone. Beyond that, Spike Jonze took things further as well. A lot of that stuff felt much more raw, but yet much more real than what is getting published today. The more I look at those old photos, the more I appreciate them.
What do you want to be when you grow up?
I don¹t know anymore.... Everything is changing so fast now. I keep finding new things and evolving my work that way. I always just evolve what I¹m doing into areas I like. I didn¹t really set out to shoot photos professionally. I wanted to shoot photos because I loved magazines, and I wanted to be able to use my own photos in my own design work. Then that got pushed further. Now with technology everything is going in different directions. If I was locked into one medium I¹d be stressing about that. I just think it¹s important to do what I like and evolve as I go.
Where can we see more of your work?
My personal site is jaredsouney.com. I put a lot of work on there. I still shoot for a lot of print magazines, BMX and otherwise. Everything from BMX Plus to Dig to ESPN magazine. I do a ton of event shooting for ASA Entertainment for all their Action Sports World Tour (actionsportstour.com) . That¹s BMX, Skate, and Motocross. I¹ve been doing stuff for a new action sports site called BFD.com which currently has a ton of videos from those events as well as a lot of my photos. Again, that site is a bit of Skate and FMX as well as BMX. I also do a lot of design work, which is actually what my background is. I do print catalogues for Woodward East and West (both Gymnastics and Action Sports). I shoot advertising stuff for companies like AMP, Right Guard, etc. I¹ve got my hands in a lot of different mediums right now, which I¹m excited about. So I guess if you want to see more check out my site or stop by our office in Portland!