Saint Deep Summer Challenge Wildcard Winner Announced - Steve Lloyd

After tallying over 11,000 votes, the winner of the Saint Deep Summer Challenge Wildcard has been determined and Steve Lloyd from Utah will take part in this year's challenge. He will face off against the likes of Paul Morrison, Jordan Manley, Sven Martin and Nicolas Teichrob. We caught up with Steve to get some further insight into his photography.

Interview and Pics inside!Tell us your name and where you're currently living?
Steve Lloyd, and I am currently living in Salt Lake City, Utah.

What made you get into shooting Mountain Biking?
I have been shooting skiing for quite some time now and always mountain biked in the summer. I was never really into shooting mountain biking until I got my first Freeride bike and saw the light. So really only for the last two or three years I've shot mountain biking. But I think I like it more than skiing now. Good thing they both have their seasons.


Going into the Saint Wildcard Contest, what were your expectations and hopes?
I have competed against Jordan in a ski photo competition in Chile. Both those guys will crush it I am sure of that. I thought I would give it my best and see where I came out.

Who do you think your rider picks are going to be for the event?
So far Eric Porter and Kelly Mcgarry are on board. Still looking for a few more guys, but I am sure I will have some solid riders.

Have you got any ideas about what you want to shoot?
I have never been to Whistler (shame on me I know), but maybe that will work for my advantage. I love showing up somewhere where I have never been and photographing it for the first time because it is all fresh and my creative mind really starts to work.

How did you feel when you found out you were a part of the final five?
Stoked! I Really want to get my name out there in the bike industry and their couldn’t be a better way.

What is the theme tune to your life, and why?
Mostly any song from Bob Marley. Not any exact song, but just his message of respect and love. If it comes from the heart than it's real.

You shoot a lot of Ski photos as well. What's your favorite spot to shoot?
Man that is hard. Little Cottonwood Canyon, Utah for sure, but there are so many cool places in the world it would be hard to say one place. Wherever there is good snow and a good friend would be my favorite spot.


Utah must be an amazing place to take photos, how has where you live helped your photography?
Utah has such a vast array of terrain to shoot. Within hours you can be anywhere from high alpine snow capped mountains to red rock desert riding. Athletes from all over the world come here to play so you can find guys to shoot all the time.


If you're not out shooting or riding, what do you get up to?
Hanging out with my son Weston, but we are usually biking. He loves it!

What's your perfect day?
My perfect day is Shooting with good friends, killing it on the shot and getting some good riding in at the same time. I love sharing the excitement with other people. Especially when we do really well.

What gear are you currently shooting with?
Hummmm, well my bag of tricks:
Canon 1d Mark 11
70-200 2.8
15 fisheye 2.8
16-35 2.8
300 2.8
Clik elite escape Pack
Pocket wizard mini and tt5
Elinchrome Ranger Quadra


What inspires you to go out and shoot?
I love being creative. I love creating something that makes people say wow. And I just love being in the outdoors.

If you won the lottery, what would you do?
I would pay off my house, pay off our cars, and set money aside for my kids' future and make sure my wife didn’t have to work again. Then I would just go ballistic and shoot non stop till my fingers fell off.

Utah is well known within the biking world thanks to the Red Bull Rampage. Have you have shot there?
Yes, I have shot at the Rampage. It was one of the most amazing things I have ever seen. Some of those guys are super human. Seeing the guys hit the canyon gap at the last Rampage was unreal. I went and stood on the wood ramp takeoff. Video and photos do not do it justice. It was a do or die kind of thing and everyone that hit it made it just fine.


What do you think is your best photo to date?
Two photos stand out in my mind and maybe it’s just because of the technical difficulty of them, both from the athlete side and photography side. This blue ice fall shot was really difficult to light up and timing was super hard. The wall ride shot was also really hard to build, time and light with the gear I had at the time. Big thanks to Pocket wizard on both of these shots.



Chinese or Indian?
Ummm, I would have to say Mexican.

Rad day shooting stills, or riding your bike?
Man I am such a sucker for riding my bike instead of shooting. If I am at the dirt jump park well it's easy. Just ride.

How heavily do you photoshop your images, if at all?
I really do not change the image at all. Just few typical adjustments. I try to nail everything I want the photo to look like in camera.


With photo cameras now being produced with HD video capabilities, do you ever think you'll start making videos too?
For sure. I am looking at getting a 7d right now, but I do think that you will have to do one or the other. If you want to be the best at stills, you really need to focus on stills. I would really like to partner with someone that wants to film because the stuff I see while shooting is mind blowing.

Finally, the big one. Nikon or Canon?
Canon all the way. I am in too deep now to ever change.

Thanks for taking the time to answer these questions for us Steve.
-Tim Lake
southside-productions.co.uk