The main reason I initially got in to photography was to shoot action sports, especially my favorite, motocross. I had always read motocross magazines and they are always filled with tons of great photographs by many different photographers, but photos by one photographer really caught my eye, and that would be the work of Simon Cudby, one of, if not, the most famous motocross photographers today. Simon does shoots for factory race teams for their use on websites, autograph posters, etc. He also has become the senior photographer for Racer X Illustrated, my favorite, and arguably the best motocross magazine in print today.
Simon Cudby was born in England and moved to America to pursue his dream of becoming a professional action sports photographer over twenty years ago. He studied photography in London, England, but has self proclaimed that he learned most of his skills from being out in the field and shooting numerous subjects over the years being an apprentice for local photographers. In a bio I found of him from 2001 it talks about how he got started loving motocross at a very young age when his father took him to a local race, which turned out to be muddy, and he got hooked. Throughout the years he has had numerous occupations in the field of photography. He began really making his money shooting for companies like Nissan, and GT Bicycles and using the images for their brochures that were to be distributed at dealers. During this time he was also doing a lot of shooting for mountain bike magazines because during the 90's and early 2000's bicycle racing was a much bigger industry than the motocross industry. Though he was shooting for cycling magazines, his true passion was still for motocross. During the current times, it is hard to pick up a motocross magazine without seeing some form of work by Cudby. He is most proud of his 1999 Cover of Racer X magazine, which was his first cover ever, and it was a photo of one of the most famous racers of all time, Jeremy Mcgrath. Since 2001 Cudby has written three books American Motocross Illustrated(Volumes one and two) and Motocross Exposure, which are all full of his favorite photographs from particular years in motocross racing. Now that Simon Cudby is known as the greatest motocross photographer in the world, he has been able to leave much of the commercial photography behind and focus on his dream as senior photographer of Racer X Illustrated. Since the digital age, Simon's work can be seen daily on RacerXOnline.com, and he has picked up the art of video to compliment his expertise in still digital photography. Now the commercial photography he does relates to clothing companies, race teams, and other products that are a large part of the motocross industry. So it's safe to say that Simon Cudby is living his dream.
Though I will probably never have the skill of a photographer like Simon Cudby, I have had the privilege of being exposed to the work of this amazing photographer from being an avid enthusiast of the sport of motocross. As you will be able to see from the samples below, his skills, are very refined, and it is obvious why he has been able to make a living shooting this sport that he loves so much. His use of lighting is something that really stands out for me. Since I use photography as a hobby, and he creates it for a living a huge difference can be seen in our work. But no doubt,if I had to choose a modern photographer that most influences my work, it would definitely be Simon Cudby, because we entered the field of photography for the same reason: The love of motocross.
"Bottom line is that I love this sport, and if being at the races shooting is as close as I’ll ever get to being out there on the pro circuit, that’s fine with me."-Simon Cudby
I was also able to find a picture that Simon took that is awfully similar to one I took from the race in Atlanta. He took his at the exact same race. Great minds think alike I guess?
My Image:
Simon's
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