I first met Andrei whilst I was visitng Alex Potts in on the Wirral. They were both performing together in one of Andrei’s shows at the massive Blacon Festival, so when Andrei requested I shoot the event, how could I refuse. Its incredibly interesting seeing whats possible on a bike, but also seeing the parallels between Parkour and Trials riding. A lot of the core concepts can be seen in both disciplines, with things like technique and precision being essential to develop ones ability. Its also interesting to see the differences, for example being on a bike can severly limit your ability to rotate, or traverse more complex objects. Conversely it is a lot more difficult for a Parkour practitioner to navigate anything without an edge to climb. One of the most impressive things I’ve seen Andrei do is how he can roll up a relatively small looking ramp, but turn it into a lot of vertical lift and therefore mount a tall podium in moments. I opted to use my extremely wide lens for this shoot, as I really wanted to isolate Andrei and Alex’s abilities from the relatively uninspiring background, I also do have find a guilty pleasure in getting incredibly close to the action for some of the most interesting stills. Andrei will be performing with a Kie Willis in Cambridge on Parkers Piece between 12.00 and 16.00, Saturday 17th March.
