Announcing AMB Raw Reels 2024 Winner
Words: Anna Beck
Video: Stu Ross
Stu Ross, aka Bikebot, has been announced as the winner of the 2024 AMB Photography Awards Raw Reels category. His edit, featuring raw and natural shredding with Slopestyle heavyweight Luke Parker, showcases Luke shralping and whipping through the lush Dandenong ranges in Victoria. We caught up with Ross to discuss the inception and making of this Raw Reels clip.
‘The focus was to shoot something that has some restraints to work within. I caught up with Luke to talk about another shoot that we are working on, and he showed me his childhood trails that he grew up on. He was like, “here’s the first place I built a jump; here’s where I learned to build a jump.”
‘And I was like – we should do a little edit here that mixes where he is now, which is a full Slopestyle guy, with where he started as a BMX guy who rode BMX but also rode mountain bikes out in the bush in the Dandenongs.’
Parker thought this was a great idea and went out to build a few features specifically for shooting, and that’s when Ross envisioned that this raw and natural setup ‘could be perfect for the raw reels comp.’
‘We met up one weekend, and the idea was to mix a bit of trail bike stuff, basically slopestyle-y tricks but out in the bush.’
‘It links all up around the Sylvan reservoir with some walking trails, and we actually filmed most of it on fire roads.’
‘We had a big list of things we wanted to get through, and we didn’t get as many things as we wanted to get done, so we will actually keep adding to it and make it into a bigger, longer edit with music.’
Raw Reels judge Jasper de Seymour said of the entry, ‘the riding was immersive and unexpected as I personally only ride trails like that when no one’s watching…
‘The reel featured exceptional riding with raw motion and audio to align, creating the perfect storm to garner this year’s Raw Reels crown.
It’s hard to make vertical work, especially with bikes, but Stu and Luke managed to create something that stood out by literal miles. Congrats fellas!’
More about BikeBot here.
