Finding a Passion for Real Stories about Real People with Sam Christmas

Sam Christmas is a commercial photographer and director based near London. His work focuses on automotive, people, adventures, cultures and relationships.

Q> You are an automotive photographer and most recently moved into directing. What made you specialise in this genre? 

Sam> My specialisation into automotive was quite organic. Having assisted many big name photographers in fashion and portraiture, I actually started out shooting portraits for magazines such as Tatler, GQ, Es Magazine and The Observer.

However, in 2011 I got my motorcycle licence and shortly after was lucky enough to work with an automotive journalist, Gary Inman, who turned out to be very influential in the alternative motorcycle scene and he introduced me to his network, which really opened up a new world of inspiration to me.

This led to documenting the emerging custom bike scene in London, which in turn led to a solo exhibition, called Natural Habitats and was sponsored by cult rock n roll jewellers “The Great Frog”, who became regular clients of mine, alongside the likes of Edwin Jeans, Triumph Motorcycles, Barbour International…

Q> You predominantly shoot automotive, in particular motorcycles. Tell us how you first got into photography? And your first creative project?

Sam> My first motorcycle related photography project was the personal project that became Natural Habitats, which I mentioned above. That started when I visited a new biker friend’s shared flat. I saw that he kept his chopper in his bedroom, next to his mattress with a bunch of tools, and I knew I had to photograph it. The photo did the rounds and people were soon suggesting other characters who had interesting custom bikes and spaces that they worked on, and so the project organically grew. I ended up shooting the who’s who in the custom bike scene- super interesting characters who were creative and artists.

Off the back of that I was commissioned by Edwin to document a road trip from London to Biarritz, to the very first Wheels & Waves, a moto/surf art show that became hugely influential.

The set of images from that trip pretty much went viral, certainly in the moto and associated fashion world. For their time (2012) they felt extremely authentic- nothing was posed, everything was real and it sparked a whole raft of copy cat shoots, until it all became a bit cliche!

Q> What kind of scripts get you excited and what are you passionate about?

Sam> The kind of commissions I love first and foremost involve real stories about real people. So even if it’s a commission for an automotive brand, I’m interested in what adventures, experiences or cultures the car or bike enables for the people using them.

Q> Given this, what was a recent project that you worked on that excited you the most?

Sam> I’ve got a couple of projects coming up that are super exciting but I can't talk about those so I’ll talk about my collaborations with Dice Magazine. They’re a cult motorcycle magazine that now creates film content as well. My last project with them featured Toshi, a very quiet and humble mechanic who is known as “The Master’ in vintage motorcycle circles.

I love the creative freedom they give me to do a little character study with no pressure to show loads of riding, although we did that too!

Q> You particularly like films that tell human stories and have a kind of authenticity. Can you tell us more about this?

Sam> Pretty imagery will get you so far, but there’s only so much inspiration I can draw from style with no substance. For me it's real people and their stories that inspire me and keep me the most engaged. For an audience to engage on a deeper level, you need some kind of emotional hook such as a relatable character with a relatable problem. I believe this is where real inspiration can be found for the viewer. 

So I like to combine a documentary approach with a cinematic aesthetic; true stories, beautifully told.

Q> What has been your craziest experience in your line of work?

Sam> There have been a few! A lot of the most exciting, visceral moments involve hanging off the back of a motorcycle whilst filming. Doing this whilst chasing a Ferrari Testarossa down eight floors of a (empty!) multi story car park was memorable, as was travelling non stop from London to Colorado and then hopping on a borrowed motorcycle and riding to the summit of Pikes Peak at 3am in the pitch dark, in order to document Guy Martin’s time trial, that probably wins!

Q> What would be your dream project?

Sam> A good budget branded documentary or brand film that involves travel, adventure and real people having real and transformative experiences. 

Q> What’s next for Sam Christmas? 

Sam> Well aside from a couple of exciting brand projects under NDA, I’ve also almost finished another short doc that will be released via Dice TV. It’ll be a bit longer than the ones I’ve made before, so I’m excited to see how that goes down! And most excitingly I’m joining Curly Films which represents a big and exciting step along my filmmaking path and further opportunities for brand partnerships.