Outsiders: Alex Catt

Alex Catt is a photographer based in the south of England. For the latest in our outsiders series we joined him for an overnighter not far from his home in the heart of the South Downs national park.

Tell us a bit about yourself and what are your earliest memories of cycling?

I’m a photographer based in Lewes, East Sussex.

I grew up in a reasonably sleepy corner of the New Forest. Cycling became important in my teenage years when BMX was my outlet, it gave me a sense of freedom and belonging. The local skatepark was the centre of our universe back then, and I picked up photography as a way of documenting that scene. I still have close friends from that time along with tons of great memories!

This entry into photography led me to studying Fine Art Photography and along the way my bike obsession changed from BMX to fixed gear and then to gravel bikes.

While recovering from spinal surgery in 2021, I decided to build a do-it-all bike, ATB-style. I wanted something upright, with plenty of gears and wide tyre clearance - comfort first. I settled on an old Kona Sutra and built it up from there. Now I see it as the perfect setup: whether I’m out exploring with my camera gear, heading off on a bikepacking trip, or getting a little loose on singletrack, it handles everything I throw at it and leaves me with a smile on my face.

Your work often highlights landscapes you encounter either whilst walking or cycling. How does spending time outside inform your practice?

Most of my passions revolve around the outdoors. Photography has become a way for me to connect with and try to make sense of the landscapes I encounter. Walking and cycling give me the means to explore these places at my own pace.

The photographs I’m drawn to making usually depict sparse open landscapes, many times with an absence of humans - or places that have a hidden history beneath the surface. For example, I made work exploring traces of smuggling along the Dorset coast in the 18th and early 19th century. There aren’t many visible signs remaining today, but the landscape is still charged with its memory. I’d read old records and walk these stretches of coast with the stories in my mind, searching for something…

Where is your favourite place to ride a bike?

The endless flowing singletrack in my mind, does anyone know where it exists?

Where is your favourite overnight camp spot?

The place I’ve wild camped the most over the years, whether hiking or cycling, is on the coast near Worth Matravers in Dorset. You can find a nice secluded grassy patch near the cliff edge to pitch your tent, with old quarries disappearing into the Purbeck limestone behind you. If the ocean is calm you can swim off the shelving rocks beneath and it’s all within walking distance of one of England’s finest pubs - The Square and Compass.

What is the one thing you are taking on every adventure?

A camera of some description - lately that’s been my Ricoh GR3, which seems to be the perfect pocket camera for me!

What advice would you give for someone looking to take a camera with them on a bikepacking trip for the first time?

Pack light and make it accessible. I’ve taken my big cameras on bike trips before and they’ve stayed buried in my bag. Most of the time space is at a premium and you don’t want to have to worry about things getting beat up.

I now try to ride with a camera on a DIY three point strap. Try to photograph things you come across that hold your attention or make you double take. The worst feeling is thinking back to that scene you saw but you didn’t stop for. Though I have a bunch of these that live in my mind now, and I don’t think an actual photograph would have done them justice, it’s the memory that's special.