Published: 28/04/12
Saturday Snaps with
James Hamilton-Martin
Who is James Hamilton-Martin?
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I am 26 years old and have lived in London my whole life. I ride in the area of Surrey and film whenever i go out riding. I work in London as a web designer, so trying to fit riding around a 9 to 5 job is pretty tricky. This is one of the reasons why I can’t pump out edits every week; I’ve got to pay the bills somehow.
Years Filming:
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Overall i would say about 12. I used a shady SD for eight of those years and then in the past four I’ve taken it a bit more seriously
What got you into filming?
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I've always really been into photography and technology so filming was just a natural progression to that. Even up until years ago when I started to do the DSLR filming rig. I was always torn weather to stick to tapes or go digital but I’m pretty happy with my choice; digital is definitely the way forward in terms of where technology is going.
First photography related memory:
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Started filming back in 1999 with a really shady camera borrowed from a friend. I’m sure we even used Hi8 tapes back then, a lot of miniDV tapes got used.
Best photography experience:
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Filming at The Pool at a private session and the on the flip side just hanging out with mates and filming on a sunny day.
Worst filming experience:
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Filming in Sutton with Sam Collisson for his new edit. It was dark and filming this rail in a sketchy street, ended up with quite a few pikies lurking in the shadows and started to surround the area, so we threw the bikes into the car and got out of there. Luckily that’s been the worst, it’s always a worry with expensive camera equipment
Advice for making a great edit:
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I would say watch as many edits as you can. learn from other people and ask as many questions as you can. Don't be afraid of trying different techniques.
Three favourite film makers:
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Sean Pointing, Matty Lambert, Will Evans
Photography highlight/achievement:
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Working with companies like Ride, Zeal and Etnies to produce edits for them.
Why do you make videos?
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I think if you are going to do something like this then you have to really enjoy it. It’s something I enjoy to watch, do and film so it’s a win win for me. I love having an idea and trying to create it within a film. I also try to film riders that aren't very well known as not only does it help them progress for the edit, but it gets them noticed too.
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Top videos:
Etnies Signing and Demo Edit
On the 11th of August, the Etnies team came to Kingston as part of their European tour. After a signing at the Etnies store on Fife Road, the team headed to Kings Field to give the crowd a demo. Despite the rain as the demo started, we were treated to an awesome show.
Seb Yates
Trails edit featuring Seb Yates filmed around his local trails spots in Surrey.
Kingston BMX Scene
A video of Kingston locals riding street in their home town. Riders include (in order of appearance): Lee Boyle, Sam Collisson, Kevin Sparrow, Ky Sproll, Mike Elsayed, Mike Loekito, Gareth Howell, Simon Brooks, Nathan Goring, James Hamilton-Martin, Dave Lipscombe, Eisa Bakos, Briggs, and Jake O'Shea.
Zeal At The Pool
Zeal Distribution were invited to one of the private session down at The Pool in Dagenham for the Nike Pool project. A lot of good riding went down in one of the most surreal skateparks ever made.
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James riding: