Scott Pommier is a born-free photog and film maker, sometimes, on a '69 Harley

Scott Pommier is a free-lance photographer come film maker. Ten years ago in Vancouver, he started out shooting portraits of people riding in the intersection between skateboarding and motorcycle cultures. Some of those early photos have become iconic in the context of the under 30's motorcycle experience.

Recently, Pommier started directing and shooting small film projects, born out of ‟what can I do with what I have to work with”. His recent short film, Born Free, is about a man, his bike and a Chihuahua. Here's more from my conversation with Scott.

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Is your photography and recent film meant to conjure up a documentary feeling?

I guess what I've been interested in the past few years is to shoot things in a very natural-looking way. There are any number of ways to describe that approach, documentary is fair enough. But I definitely like to have a hand in orchestrating things, seeking out interesting light, but I start by trying to find things in a scene that are already working; that much overlaps with documentary, even if some of the action is staged. I'm not afraid to cheat a bit though.

I don't have any hard rules, in the end I'm interested in making something compelling, even if it's low-key. As far as how projects develop, I suppose they develop in various ways. Often times I'll sketch things out, there are some things that I'm happy to shoot without any plan, but to shoot something a little more dramatic, I usually have to plan a bit.

How did you get into shooting motorcycle culture?

I bought my first bike 10 years ago, prior to that, all I shot was skateboarding. Motorcycles really get in your blood, it's something I don't really spend a lot of time trying to analyze. I don't really know what drew me to bikes, or the culture. Sometimes I feel like I love bikes despite the culture.

Rallies and bike shows don't really interest me for the most part. To me, what I really love is heading out with a small group of friends, sleeping rolls strapped to our bikes and camping by a lake with a fire, and riding some twisty roads.

What do you currently ride?

Lately, [in Toronto] I've been riding the streetcar and my sister-in-law's 10-speed. I am long overdue to ride my motorcycle, which is a 1969 Harley Chopper. The bike is special because I know I'm going to have it for a very long time. It took me a few years to pick up all the parts I needed.

My friend Ryan gave me the gas-tank off the bike he crashed and almost died on. I spent all of last summer trying to get it running properly. I'm on the phone with my friend talking me through taking apart the cam chest, tech- support style. I'm a real hack of a mechanic, so it was amazing that so many people had the patience to help me through it. By the end of the summer I finally had it back together and running with the help of my friends in Vancouver.

Your last show in Paris had you move away from the motorcycle world. You say you wanted to get away from motorcycle projects. There's a tension there-what's that about?

The show in Paris featured a 30's Norton ridden by my good friend and fellow motorcycle photographer Dimitri Coste. There were also a pair of bi-planes and some pretty gals; the bike was lost in the shuffle. I don't want to get away from shooting motorcycles, but I do want to expand what I'm shooting. Cool bikes and cool locations will always yield cool photos, but I don't want to be the extent of what I work on or what I contribute.

What do you do when you're not in the studio or shooting?

This summer I've been playing softball in an all-comedy softball league with my girlfriend. We aren't comedians, but some friends snuck us on the team. I still skateboard whenever I feel healthy enough. I haven't been going much in the last little bit, but I go to hot-yoga for my back. And I cook a lot, so farmers market, buying organic produce. All very biker stuff, I assure you.

What has been your most epic motorcycle ride so far?

Riding the Lost Coast Highway with my friend Keegan. Its the craziest road, it's in Northern California where they filmed parts of 'Harold and Maude' -just gorgeous. Rode all day, started out by the coast, went inland a bit, rode through the Redwoods, then back out to the coast to camp on the beach. Had a few beers, made a little fire, slept in the tent. it was all very romantic. In the morning we only barely managed to get my bike out of the sand. We had to push it up hill in really soft sand because it wouldn't start, it was almost impossible.

Find prints for sale at scottpommier.bigcartel.com Visit Scott's blog at scottpommier.tumblr.com See more photos on the web at scottpommier.com or email him at scott@scottpommier.com. Follow Scott on twitter @scotterbots.