Wednesday, January 10, 2018 The Nugget Newspaper, Sisters, Oregon
7
Sam Pyke — getting the shot
By Eileen Chambers
Correspondent
“OMG moments?” Sam
Pyke laughed at the question.
“Plenty of them. Last year,
in Azerbaijan, I was filming a
hunt for Dagestan Tur sheep,
incredible animals that live
at about 10,000 feet. To get
up that high, you have to use
pack horses. Well, I was film-
ing while riding my horse and
seeing the 80-degree cliffs
on both sides, I realized that
one wrong step by the horse
and I would be dead. Crazy
dangerous. I was basically
terrified…”
“Terrified” is not a word
one would readily attribute
to this rugged cinematogra-
pher who seems quite at home
in places so remote that you
have to search Google to find
them. Back in Sisters for the
holidays, Pyke was sitting
outside Sisters Coffee Co., a
place where everyone seems
to know him, catching up on
his latest adventures.
Sam was raised in Sisters
by parents who let their four
sons watch movies such as
“The Terminator” and “Lord
of the Rings.” When Sam’s
father bought the boys a VHS
camera, the homegrown mov-
ies began.
“We made silly little vid-
eos but that camera and the
unwavering encouragement
of our parents became the
impetus for three of us to get
into video production.”
One of Sam’s brothers,
Eli (of Zion Pictures) is a
producer living in Sisters.
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Another, Casey, is a lead ani-
mator who worked on “Star
Wars: The Force Awakens.”
And, Sam? He travels
throughout the world, often
with Pacific Northwest out-
doorsman Gary Lewis, shoot-
ing their show, “Frontier
Unlimited” (which airs locally
and on the Pursuit Channel).
“When I was a junior in
college, I interned for Eli,
who was producing the show
at the time,” Sam recalled.
“That year, I spent 2,000
hours editing and 600 hours
in the field. Very rigorous.
Typical of a small produc-
tion. And our work ethic.
After that season, he offered
me the show itself. So, I took
out a loan for equipment and,
as a senior, produced my first
season of television and never
looked back.”
That was seven years ago.
Unlike some sportsmen
shows, Frontier Unlimited
engages a viewership not
necessarily into hunting.
“With Gary as our writer and
historian, together we bring
the story behind the story
into each episode. Sure. We
showcase technical informa-
tion, for example, why we are
shooting with such and such
bullet, but we are on the same
page regarding the depth of
the story we want to tell and
the quality of the production.
Ours is not a show for those
who just want to see some-
thing get shot.”
Growing up in Sisters
allowed Sam to learn moun-
taineering and how to deal
with the harsh snow, rain,
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Zealand. Northern Territories.
South America. Pyke’s work
shows no sign of slowing
down this year, but there is
something else (or rather,
someone else) he is looking
for on the horizon.
“I love this adventure and
what I do every day. To be
this far at my age is very hum-
bling. However, my own story
is that I want to meet my wife
and have a couple of kids. So,
as I continue as a cinematog-
rapher, building this business
that will support a family,
I know the time is coming
when the camera will not be
number one anymore.”
To see more of Sam Pyke’s
work, visit www.hillshadow
pictures.com.
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PHOTO PROVIDED
Sam Pyke, left, has built a career as a filmmaker.
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wind, and extremes of tem-
perature inherent in shooting
in the wild.
“My philosophy about cin-
ematography is to get every
shot in the field without light-
ing or setting something up,”
Pyke said. “My view is that
God made this world in a cer-
tain, amazing way and, if I
can’t capture a frame without
having to use artificial light or
some modification, then I am
simply not being observant
enough. Although I enjoy put-
ting up a 2K light and mak-
ing a great image, for me, the
quest creatively is to catch
a frame that is completely
natural.”
Which comes in handy
when you are in Yellowstone,
and the nearest electric outlet
miles away. That’s where Sam
was this winter. Deep snow.
Minus 30 degrees.
“This hunt was historic
because, since the Treaty
of 1859, the Yakima Nation
has not been allowed to hunt
bison,” he said. “However, the
buffalo completely outsmarted
us! No one got anything,
but we will be going back.”
What has Sam learned in
these last seven years?
“When you have been to
some of the countries that I
have been, you realized that,
although we have a lot of
problems in the U.S., com-
pared to places where poverty
and chaos are the norm, we
in America are obnoxiously
blessed. I no longer whine
about traffic or the speed of
my Internet connection.”
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