Desert, Rattlesnakes, Stunts, Guns, Photos. AZ and Cali. May 2008 October 10, 2008

I flew to Arizona directly from the last tour stop with the Canadian crew.  Vegas to Phoenix is more of a road trip distance, so the flight time is extremely short. I managed to loose my new ipod somewhere between the hotel, cab, or vegas airport.

2 weeks of improv down the west coast April 2008 October 9, 2008

Richie told me about the road trip a year ago. An annual adventure straight down the west coast from Canada to Mexico in an old conversion van, with no set plans or schedule. Each day when we wake up we decide what we want to do, and whatever happens happens, the only goal being to have as much fun as possible.

Getting back home, one mile at a time. March 08 April 16, 2008

Your typical roadside velociraptor encounter

Time was limited in Arizona to shoot with Spira, and we had to leave earlier than expected. Flying last minute the week of spring break was out of the question, so we left at dawn planning to catch a train in Albuquerque. 

Arizona with Remz and Revolution. March 08 April 16, 2008

Kato, Geoff, and Connor showed up early to Chris’ place to start the drive from LA to Arizona. It was a talkative road trip, catching up with everybody, and the some usual “rollerblade industry” chatter that is bound to set in at some point. Kato has so much enthusiasm and heart for the sport,

Change of plans: heading to LA. march 08 April 16, 2008

LA is actually one giant microchip

Lunchtime at Brandon’s on the last day of my SF trip; we were hanging out, having a bite, getting some work done before going to Tuesday night skate. I got a call from James down at Revolution Skate Shop in Arizona, who needed some photos of his team riders.

San Francisco: Wrapping up the Photo Issue march 08 April 15, 2008

This was our constant game of tetris inside Brandon’s trunk with all the gear.

During the Bittercold Showdown weekend in Ohio, I was talking to Be-Mag about the photo issue, and what we could do to make it unique for this year. Then during the contest I was watching Brandon skate the course, and it all just clicked.

On the go – blizzard drive to Ohio – Feb. 08 April 15, 2008

18 hours of prime visibility

I got back from Europe late on a Tuesday night, and immediately had to start getting ready to leave Thursday morning for the Bittercold Showdown in Ohio. Bittercold is another annual skate event, one of the biggest in the USA, similar to the Winterclash in Europe, and is also host to the industry’s biggest trade show of the year.

Close calls in Barcelona. Feb 08 April 12, 2008

On the way to Spain. photo:forstner
I had a 2nd strong feeling of “I wish I had a small camera for snapshots” while on the flight from Munich to Barcelona. It’s a short flight, but you fly over some amazing mountains with a great view.

Bouncing around Florida. Jan 08 April 11, 2008

Michael Braud used to live in Atlanta before moving to Orlando, so I gave him a call when I found out I’d be in Florida a while. He asked if I’d be interested in shooting some photos in a few cities, and offered to bring me back up to Atlanta afterwards. Sounded good to me, and the next thing I knew he took the reigns and started calling up skaters and companies, got funding, planned out stops, and basically created a sponsored tour out of thin air.

Running from the Cold, January 08 in Florida with the SWS team April 11, 2008

This was the view from our room in Sarasota

It was a dream come true to get an offer to shoot a skate tour in Florida at the start of the new year, as the Kansas winter can be pretty brutal. Mark Vanderbough was bringing his team (616 Accessories) to a condo in Sarasota for a week.

Chile, un buen viaje. Nov 2007 December 9, 2007

I just got home from a 3 week trip in Chile. The original purpose was to shoot photos of the “Sud Americano Extremo”, an “X-games” style contest for the best pro athletes in South America.