“I ride because I enjoy being able to really feel where I am and where I am going.”
-Hattie Root
Vitals
First Name: Hattie
Last Name: Root
Bike Year: 2016
Make: Yamaha
Model: R3
Current Job: Commercial Photographer
Home Town: Victoria
Thoughts
When did you get your first bike and what was it?
My first bike was a Honda CBR, and I honestly can’t remember when I first started riding it.
Why do you ride?
I ride because I enjoy being able to really feel where I am and where I am going. The smells, the sun/rain, the street noises, the wind, the feeling of being more immersed in it all.
What motorbike related book, movie or show would you recommend to a friend?
Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance
What does your dream bike look like?
I don’t know, this changes all the time.
What’s your favourite route to ride these days?
Anywhere that ends with a cup of coffee with friends.
Earbuds in or out?
In, with an epic playlist.
Worst accident?
I got hit by a farm truck in Nepal when I was on a motorcycle trip to Tibet. I was bruised, bloody, alone and really shaken up, and I feel like I still have bits of Nepalese dirt in my calf. The worst part was that my left foot peg had broken off, so I had to ride 4 hours to the nearest shop, on bumpy farm roads with nowhere to put my foot.
What place/route do you dream of riding?
The coast of Italy.
What’s something unique to the motorcycling community?
The wave 👋🏼 and how we all seem to be drawn to one another.
Jamie asks: Would you let me take you on a track day?
I would come and cheer you on, but likely wouldn’t race.
What question would you like me to ask the next rider?
What do you never leave home without?
Post Shoot Analysis
Hattie signed up to be a part of this project via the LIRC facebook group. It was only after reading her responses on my google forum and following the link her instagram that I learned she was a fellow photographer here in Victoria. I promptly contacted her in January eager to meet someone who now shared two of my passions.
We weren’t able to book a shoot right away as Hattie takes her bike off the road in the winter but we did pencil in coffee on the calendar. She invited me to meet House Of Boateng Café in Langford where we talked about the business of photography and discussed ideas for our future collaboration.
I thrive on discovering new locations and being forced to work inside of creative confines. So when Hattie suggested we do something at one of her favourite locations, the Mayfair Mall parkade, and bust out some of her fancy lens crystals for extra flair, I was all for it.
Very often I gravitate towards telling some kind of a story with my images, the last shoot with Sugar Lips being a good example. Hattie’s choice of bike, location, wardrobe, poses and lens filters seemed to lend themselves to a more fashion themed shoot.
Together we spent a couple hours in the Mayfair Parkade making bold, clean images that you might find in a fashion spread. In post production it was very difficult for me to cull and sequence our images strictly from a visual perspective.
If, for example, the set starts with Hattie wearing her helmet, and it comes off in the next photo, I would NEVER include a photo with it on again until she was leaving or getting ready to do a stunt or something else that “made sense” in the sequence.
I needed help, so I contacted my good friend and and editorial idol Andrew Faulk in Tokyo who generously took the time to help me identify my strongest images and talk me out of my sequential mindset when it comes to sequencing.
I heeded his advice on all the images selections but still found it challenging to break my desire for chronological continuity. Small steps though, I managed to mix things up a little.
I wanna say a huge thanks to:
Hattie – For showing me an awesome new shooting location I will most certainly visit again and for bringing some crystals to play with.
Chaka – For being super patient with me as I spent 2+ hours with hattie in a parkade. Not an easy place for a 10 year child to hang out for so long.
Andy – For always being there to listen, help and share
Join Me!
Interested in being part of the Bike & Rider project? Sign up here!
