Long gone are the days of leaving a pile of wasted film rolls at the spot from botched sequence attempts. As Vancouver photographer Rich Odam says about shooting digital sequences with his Canon 1D Mark III (which blasts up to 10 frames-per-second): "I press a couple buttons on-the-fly, and we try it again and again."

But it's not quite as simple as that. There's careful consideration in every situation as he divulges in the following Q&A about taking the multiple-frame approach.

"To me a sequence is only as good as the trick being done in it," the 35 year-old lensman mentions. "I can try make a spot look bigger or have a bit of a creative angle, but if the trick sucks so does the sequence."

Well, included in this Push.ca exclusive is a selection of animated seqs Odam shot that certainly don't suck:

Bobby De Keyzer, 360 shuv.

Which format do you lean towards when you've got the camera out?
I always love shooting stills first - capturing that split-second moment and working on the lighting to make the image stand out. For me the combination of the trick and spot will tell me whether I'm going to shoot a sequence or still. It also depends on the situation and if it requires a quick in-and-out.

Do you commonly shoot a still and sequence of the same trick?
What actually got me into doing that more was the "Sequential Evidence" articles in Concrete - when they run a still and seq of a trick from slightly different angles. I'm a huge fan of them. Some tricks come easy and you can get a good still real quick, then I'll ask the skater if he'd like to try it again for a seq. Or sometimes tricks take a little longer to conquer and let you try a few different things.

"As far as shooting goes, I like sequences because it's solid proof of a landed trick."
—Desmond Hoostie, fakie shuv manny to fakie 360 flip.

What's the wear-and-tear factor when you hold down the shutter-release button often?
The problem with the ease of shooting digital sequences is that we forget how many frames we're actually shooting. Camera shutters have a numbered lifetime and sequences can easily get you closer to those limits. I've had a shutter blow while shooting sequences in San Diego once - a pretty horrible thing to have happen when you're on a trip.

"Back when I first started skating, I remember staring at sequences in mags trying to figure out how they did the tricks."
—Adam Hopkins, wallride 180 out.

Where do you think the sequence format is headed with improving D-SLRs on the market that can shoot high quality video?
Eventually you'll be able to pull video frames and print a sequence without it looking horrible, but there's still separation between the two. A lot of filmers like to shoot up close so they crop out key elements you'd need for a print-sequence, even on long shots. Also a lot of sequences work better shot vertically, mainly because of the amount of dead space the horizontal format can bring. But the technology is going to work both ways: filmers getting sequences that can be used for print or web and photographers getting clips when there's no filmer around.

Over the years, what sequence situation stood out to you the most?
It was before the digital camera revolution, while I was still living in Toronto. Around 2003 Chris Cole was in town with Bill Weiss filming for the Digital All Stars video, and we were skating around downtown. At the end of the day we ended up at the 13-stair Hydro hubba and Cole started doing a few noseslides. He started trying to bigspin out of ‘em, so I knew I was gonna have to shoot a sequence. After several tries and 20 rolls later, I had a pile of film canisters next to me and loaded up my last 36 exposures. Cole almost got it next try, but no dice. I knew if he didn't do it the following try I was gonna have to step out of the session with no more film. It was the worst feeling. He ended up landing it and I remember the camera rewinding the film once the last frame had gone. I got the sequence and it ended up in an issue of SBC.

"You can never go wrong with a good kickflip still photo. But what about a double flip? Better as a sequence in my opinion. The progression of skating is so fast now, it's hard to capture some tricks as stills. Whether it be in one image or several, it's all good fun."
—Arte Lew, switch hardflip 50-50.

All sequences: Rich Odam

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Related:
Sequences: Not Just For Mags
Style And Sequences: TJ Rogers Has Both
The GTA Scorcher Sessions with Rich Odam