Adam Campbell
From Racer to Test Rider to Professional Photographer
 |
| Here Adam poses for a rare shot of himself after finishing the studio shoot of the 2005 Honda 450R at ATV Rider Magazine's Gardena, CA studio. |
Have you ever leafed through a magazine or product catalog and found yourself
lost in an image? Maybe the image got your attention because it popped off the
page with vibrant colors and detail or maybe it simply reminded you of why you're
such an avid ATV enthusiast. Regardless, if the photograph stopped you in your
tracks and left you in awe, chances are the image was an ACP photo.
Adam Campbell has been a fixture in the ATV industry since the three wheeler
days. Eventually he worked his way up the ranks and into the professional scene.
All the while he has spent several years as a Hi-Torque Publishing test rider.
It's obvious he can appreciate and relate to the riders he shoots extremely
well. By combining this with his eye for freezing a moment in time that artfully
captures the exact meaning of why we all love this sport, he has made quite
a name for himself in the ATV industry.
It wasn't easy to sit him down long enough for a quality interview. We lucked
out with our timing and caught him in between his recent photo shoot for the
new MX vs. ATV Unleached video game and a new Factory Effex catalog.
From nicknames, funy stories -- to helping you with your own picture taking
skills, here's what he had to say...
 |
| This shot was taken while we were suspension testing with Elka and William Yokely at Pismo Beach. Shooting with William is always a good time. He makes me laugh and there's never any stress with him. |
ATV Scene: OK fill us in on why
you are so into photography?
Campbell: Ultimately, I like the
challenge it offers me. No two days are alike. I learn something new every time
I go out and shoot.
ATV Scene: Is this your full
time job?
Campbell: It has become full
time in the last three years or so.
ATV Scene: Tell us more about
your past. You got your start as a test rider. Is that correct? And just how
does one get to be a test rider for a magazine anyway?
Campbell: That’s right.
After getting hurt in one of the 1992 Mickey Thompson events, Steve Casper of
Dirt Wheels Magazine recruited me to test for him. To be honest it was basically
a little bit of luck and being in the right place at the right time.
ATV Scene: Why do they call you
“Puddin’”?
Campbell: Oh boy. After a long
day at the races, I was getting some extra shut-eye. My mechanic at the time
came into my room to wake me up, pinched my cheek and said the notorious “Wake
up, Puddin', time to go racin’.” He thought it was a riot and later
engraved it into the side of my motor. I never heard the end of it after that.
I am growing up a little, and now have a new nickname in the industry, “A-Dog-Dash-1”.
ATV Scene: So how did you get
that nickname?
Campbell: Fellow photojournalists
and editors around the office just started calling each other rapper names for
some unknown reason. And that one stuck.
ATV Scene: Have you completely
made the jump from film to digital yet?
Campbell: Most definitely. It’s
amazing how much latitude you have with digital over film in that it really
expands your tools to excel as a photographer. It saves a ton of money on film
and it’s instant gratification. I love digital photography!
 |
| Here is a photo of Joe Byrd. It's from an IMS shoot at Lake Elsinore, CA at sunset, which is my favorite time to shoot because it's the most challenging time to shoot. I like it because I have full control over every element of the image. There's no time to be wasted and that makes it even more challenging. Joe is very dedicated to the sport. I appreciate how motivated he is. He's got a lot of unique style that shows up nicely in his shots. |
ATV Scene: Do you think film
photography is going to die out?
Campbell: I think there will always
be a place for it, but unfortunately the benefits of digital outweigh those
of film. I think a lot of people are skeptical in the quality of digital cameras
but technology is advancing so fast. The fact that I can send a photo anywhere
in the world within minutes and meet ANY deadline -- how can film compete with
that?
ATV Scene: You seem to be a connoisseur
of professional photography. Is that true?
Campbell: Absolutely. The camera
is a tool to capture your personal vision. One of the coolest things about looking
at professionally created photographs for me is that I can see all the elements
that might be going on in the photographer’s mind at that split second.
ATV Scene: The digital photography
industry is booming just as much as our ATV industry. And that means a lot of
our readers either just got new digital cameras or chances are they're in the
market to purchase one soon. How can you help these people take better pictures?
Campbell: There is no right or
wrong way to take a picture. Who’s to criticize your “vision”
of a subject? However, digital technology allows people to learn what their
cameras can do for them. Settings are recorded to help them explain what they
captured and why.
ATV Scene: What’s a good
entry level camera for someone wanting to get decent shots of their favorite
rider?
Campbell: It depends. There’s
a lot of cameras out there. They should probably go with a good prosumer SLR
(Single Lens Reflex) like the Canon Digital Rebel or Nikon D-70. If that's not
in the budget they should be sure to get at least a 4 megapixels point and shoot.
If they go this route they should try to stick with a major brand name. They
need to be aware of the limitations however. Point and shoots are getting better
and better, but there is still things to look out for like shutter lag. And
always look for a good quality optical zoom lens not a digital zoom.
ATV Scene: Many people can relate
to your comment on shutter lag. If they already have a camera that has an annoying
shutter lag, how do you recommend they avoid this problem and still get the
shot they want?
Campbell: You can get excellent
shots with point and shoot cameras, even ones with horrible shutter lag. There
are ways to shoot around shutter lag. They should pre focus on the area that
they want to capture the shot in. Then they need to keep their finger pressed
half way on the shutter until the camera beeps or alerts that it's ready to
shoot. Then push the rest of the way to fire the shot when the rider comes into
frame. This takes some practice but it can be done. Shoot away, it's digital!
There's no cost to making mistakes, so my best advise is to keep practicing,
change setting and get to know what your camera can and cannot do.
ATV Scene: Speaking
of shooting away. How many pictures do you take? How do you adjust them? And
where are they right now?
Campbell: I'm in the millions by now.
Like I said, I'm constantly learning. I take a lot of pictures that's for sure.
I use Photoshop CS to tweak my shots with a Mac G4 laptop, but I try not to
keep a lot of images on the computer. There are too many potential future problems
there. I store my images on an external 250 gig hard drive and I back up the
same photos in another place on individual DVDs
 |
| This was taken at the intro for the special edition 2005 Yamaha YFZ. A lot of the guys were using Kory for shots of the new YFZ. I shot this when Kory stopped to eye up another jump. This shot proves that you don't always need action to get a good photo. Sometimes it's right there in front of you. As a photographer, I always look for shadows and different light. I want to take the shot that no one else bothers with. I also like this shot because it makes you want to be there hanging out with him. It's very inviting. |
ATV Scene: Is there any plans
to archive your shots on your web site so people can look at them?
Campbell: As of right now my web
site is mainly an online portfolio for clients to get a feel for who I am and
see some of my work. I have no plans to archive all my shots on the site. There
are photo examples there however. Check them out at adamcampbellphotography.com.
And of course I have an ATV area there as well.
ATV Scene: What publications
can readers see your work in?
Campbell: Most of my stuff is
for commercial use, but I mainly shoot for ATV Rider, Dirt Rider, Sport Rider,
Motorcycle Cruiser Mag and Nitro Magazine. I've contributed photos for the GNC
Event Programs as well. I recently shot all the photos used in the new MX vs.
ATV Unleached video game. I also shoot several motorcycle and ATV aftermarket
industry catalogs.
ATV Scene: Tell us more about
how you got involved with Hi-Torque Publishing?
Campbell: At the time I was working
in the movie business, doing special effects. The hours were long and so were
the hiatuses. I always loved shooting pictures, so when Steve Casper noticed
my eye for a great photo, he suggested I buy a cheap camera and start shooting
with them. From that point on, it put my two loves together to launch my career.
ATV Scene: You’ve recently
landed a job with Primedia Publication’s ATV Rider. Tell us how that came
about and what your involvement with them entails.
Campbell: Hi-Torque gave me some
amazing tools to enhance my knowledge of the publication business, not to mention
the most amazing opportunity a guy could dream of. After tens of thousands of
rolls of film, I felt it was time to move on. My friends
Billy Bartels and John Howell (aka “Doogie”) were both working at
ATV Rider and I thought we could all make an amazing team. It has been a fantastic
partnership, but unfortunately a short one. Both Billy and John are moving on
to another magazine.
ATV Scene: What do you mostly
shoot with?
Campbell: I’m a Canon guy.
The equipment I have is state-of-the-art. For a camera body, I choose the EOS
1DS (11.2 Megapixels) and recently purchased the new 17 megapixel Canon EOS
1DS Mark II. Right now, at about $8000 for just the body, it’s the best
money can buy. I use everything from a 15mm fisheye to a 300mm F2.8 lens. I’m
always armed with my Mac G4 and four 512 MB Lexar Professional compact flash
cards.
 |
| I found this shot opportunity while doing a photo shoot at Pro Circuit. I walked by and saw a bunch of cylinders lined up and couldn't pass up the shot. |
ATV Scene: In a rough estimate,
how much is all your equipment worth?
Campbell: My recent inventory
report set me over $60K! I started out with a $500 camera and I thought I was
big-pimpin. I NEVER thought I’d spend this kind of money. I realize now
you can’t skimp if you want high-quality images.
ATV Scene: Are you married? Any
kids?
Campbell: Yes, I just recently
got married to my longtime girlfriend, Dayna. With our bull mastiff Jet, we’re
one big happy family. No kids yet, but one could argue that good friend, Allen
Knowles of CT Racing might count as one kid.
ATV Scene: Do you have any words
of wisdom for an upcoming motorsport’s photog?
Campbell: You can never shoot
too many photos, especially when learning. Shoot as much as you can, learn as
much as you can, and remember, you’re the artist. After you understand
exposures, there is no right or wrong way to shoot a photo. There are many great
books out there: one of my favorites is Pricing Photography by Heron
& MacTavish which teaches you basic business practices. I also recommend
reading as many photographic magazines as possible. I sure do, and I still learn
a lot from them.
ATV Scene: You’ve shot
a lot of photos over the years from ATV intros, race events, studio shots to
models. What do you enjoy shooting the most and why?
Campbell: Lately I’ve really
enjoyed studio photography, mostly because I have such control over every element
of the photo. Light, color, depth of field, product position – they all
play HUGE roles, though it all does comes down to basic photography principles.
ATV Scene: Do
you have a favorite road trip that comes to mind?
Campbell: Not
a specific one. The first thing that came to mind when you said that was the
time Kory Ellis and John Pellan crashed in my room after driving from Cannondale
in Bedford, PA to Macon, GA non stop. Kory never said a word. He just crashed
face first on the bed and never moved from that position for about 8 hours.
So on my left I hear Kory snoring all night, meanwhile, on my right, I hear
the keypads on Pellan's lap top clicking away for what seemed like eternity.
Every once in a while he would mumble something about a bad Internet connection,
and I would laugh to myself. I know it's not a big deal story, but it's the
little things like this that you remember. I've made some dear friends in this
sport. It's cool to hang out, give each other a hard time, tell each other lies
and enjoy all the behind the scenes stuff together. I love how genuine the people
are in ATV racing.
ATV Scene: For
many years you have followed ATV racing closely. What’s the best thing
that has ever happened to ATV racing?
Campbell: I’d
have to say the factories getting involved in the sport is huge - not only for
the factory rides they are providing for the top racers, but for all the high-performance
machines they have introduced.
ATV Scene: What's
your favorite Allen Knowles story?
Campbell: Probably
when we went to the GNCC opener in Florida a few years ago. CT Racing's Allen
Knowles (I call him Crazy Al) rented a white trash convertible Camero. Elka
invited us to a dinner by the hotel pool. All the sudden Al's gone and the place
is overwhelmed by a loud burnout. Crazy Al decided to go for a ride in the white
trash rental. He smoked the tires so bad I thought they were going to blow.
Then he does a Dukes of Hazard reverse spin while the tires were lit up. It
smoked out the whole hotel and woke everyone up. I come running to make sure
he hasn't hit any parked cars. He looks at me and says, "I'm in no condition
to drive this thing but we're going for a ride - you should probably drive."
Dummy me agrees and off we go. After ten 50 mph emergency brake slides, I'm
positive we're going to jail. Someone had to call the police from the hotel
and it's only a matter of time until the spot the white Camero with dents and
rubber all over it. We ended up
blowing the motor up. It had to be towed back the the rental company. Luckily
the cops never found us. There's many more Crazy Al stories I could tell but
that would take up this whole interview and then some.
ATV Scene: Just curious, who
do you think will win the GNC MX, TT and GNCC pro titles this year?
Campbell: Oh man, don’t
put me on the spot. At this point in the game, it could be anyone’s title,
but I’d have to say Factory Suzuki rider Doug Gust is still teaching the
young guys how it’s done. Guys like Kory Ellis, John Natalie, Jeremiah
Jones and Tim Farr are all putting in impressive rides each week and it will
no doubt be a battle to the end. I'm really looking forward to this year. In
the GNCCs I would say Bill Ballance and William Yokely will be right there.
It should be an exciting GNCC season too.
 |
| This is a shot of Jon Guetter's legendary back flip. I was nervous about this. I really didn't want to be shooting someone getting seriously hurt. While shooting this I felt like a photographer might feel at a war or something. Like a war photog, I was there to document a monumental time in our sport. I'm really happy that he nailed it and I feel I nailed the shot as well. |
ATV Scene: Can you pull some
strings to get Kory Ellis in more magazines? (Joking) He’s only been on
the cover a few dozen times.
Campbell: Kory and I have been
shooting together for the last five years. He’s a great test rider. He
knows how I shoot and I know how he rides. When those factors are combined,
it helps to create a beautiful image. I've got a lot of outstanding photos of
Kory because of this. I really enjoy working with him.
ATV Scene: You were shooting
Jon Guetter’s back flip. What was that like?
Campbell: On my way up to the
shoot, ATV Rider editor Billy Bartels and I were prepared to shoot either a)
a death or b) history. Thankfully it was the latter. My heart was probably racing
faster than his was. Although it’s my job to cover an event, I wasn't
thrilled about the idea that I could possibly be shooting someone getting seriously
injured. Luckily, Jon pulled it off on the 4th run beautifully and made ATV
history. I was happy to capture the historic moment in ATV freestyle history.
ATV Scene: Do you have a back
flip shot that you can share with our readers?
Campbell: Sure. In fact I’ll
share a bunch of photos with your readers.
 |
ATV Scene: You're pretty knowledgeable
in the history of ATV racing. Want to have a friendly competition some day?
Maybe make some sort of wager and see who's got more useless ATV trivia knowledge
in their head?
Campbell: I've been a huge fan
of the sport for many years so bring it on! Let's see who's the king of useless
ATV knowledge. Let's do it.
ATV Scene: OK we'll put it on
the to do list, be prepared for a loss though. Back to the interview, where
do you see your career in the next five years?
Campbell: I’ll always be
involved in the motorsports industry. It's my true love, but I would like to
venture into shooting cars and other fields outside the industry. Thanks to
the gang at Primedia, I’m already shooting for some other exciting magazines
and loving it.
 |
| Adam is seen here at his home office, where he spends about 75% of his day when not on a photo shoot. |
ATV Scene: Have you done any
work with the OEMs?
Campbell: Yes, I’ve done
win ads for Yamaha, Honda, Suzuki and Kawasaki. Pretty big stuff. It’s
a personal goal I’ve always had and am very thankful to have achieved.
ATV Scene: Any other tips before
we call this thing complete?
Campbell: Definitely, set goals
for yourself, and remember to keep setting new ones. As you get close to achieving
one, remember to shoot high again. If you work hard at something, you can achieve
anything.
ATV Scene: Any parting words?
Campbell: I’d like to give
a special thanks to John Pellan from ATV Scene.com for giving me this opportunity
to share with the enthusiasts in the sport my passion and love for the sport
of ATVs. I am so lucky to be doing what I have loved all my life for a living.
The people in this sport make going to work every day the best part of my job
and I consider those people some of my best friends and my extended family.
