I became interested in photography largely through my love of BMX bicycling. I would study the photos in the magazines, noticing the details, making mental note. I had no formal training, just a lot of experimentation, trial, and error. In retrospect, some formal study would have been useful. I imagine it might have shifted my focus a little bit, encouraged me to consider different aspects of the process that I did not pay attention to on my own. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
After a few years working primarily in the BMX industry I got hired by Woodward Camp, a summer training camp for gymnastics, BMX, Skateboarding, and Inline Skating. I was their “Art Guy,” tasked with documenting any professional visitors, the camp in general, and producing all of the marketing materials.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Working for Woodward gave me a lot of practice\u2014expanding my sensibilities and repertoire. I was still shooting film, but now someone else was paying for it. The photo to the left is of Andy MacDonald, a professional skateboarder. Andy always wore a yellow helmet. I now have a yellow helmet. Cosmic right?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I still shoot action photos sometimes, when the mood strikes. Scroll on to see some of my favorites.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
A recent photo set in late 80’s skate\/punk style. Flash in one hand, fisheye in the other. Young me would have loved this photo if it had been in a magazine. I imagine it is the result of youthful impressions come to fruition.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n
A member of the Danish power tumbling team. I wanted to frame him in the open doorway, to show both the action and the lovely country setting. <\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n
An experimentation in blur. I’m often experimenting when I take photos. This is one of the times that it came out much as I had imagined. I wanted the photo to capture a sense of motion. I also like the somewhat monotone nature of the photo, the result of an overcast day paired with a light painted surface.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n
Neal liked taking photos, which is somewhat rare in the Action Sports world. He would often ask me to photograph him, and was interested in taking time to work on different angles\/ideas. I enjoy the criss-crossing lines, selective light, and his choice of a red t-shirt.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n
This is a relatively recent photo of my sort-a-step-son. He too got bitten by the bike bug and has grown into a very talented and stylish rider.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n
A potential cover photo for a Woodward brochure. In the end we didn’t use it, but I still like it. <\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n
I like the documentary style of this photo. There’s something going on apart from the guy on the bike, a bit more of a story.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n
I did not shoot a lot of BMX racing, but there was some. I like this photo because of it’s classic head-on directness, plus it has one of my favorite riders in it. <\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n
This photo is significant not for the strength of the photo per se, but because I built that giant pile of rubbish that he is riding on. After work each day for about a month I collected pallets and dismantled an abandoned building in order to construct that monstrosity. One day a co-worker came out while I was leveling the base of the ramp with strings and levels, and he said, “Now that’s engineering.” Interesting how some moments get stuck in your head.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n
The bird’s-eye view. I think I climbed in a tree for this photo. One of my favorite places to ride during that time, and Craig was always a pleasure to ride with. <\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n
On mountains and bicycles… <\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n
Normally I want to see where the jump or ramp is for a reference. Otherwise it looks like the person is just floating around in space. In this photo I sort of like the that you can’t see the jump. There’s enough information there to put a story together. <\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n
Jud is a very devout Christian, a great skateboarder, and a nice human. I like this photo for a number of reasons, but I think I mainly like that Jud is back lit and sort of in the shape of a cross. Knowing Jud makes that stand out to me. I didn’t plan the photo that way. <\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n
Pretty classic skate shot. Not bad for a BMX’er. <\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n
I took this for Woodward Camp promotions a long time ago. I think someone complained that it looked like a kid fell off of the wall, which is one of the things I really like about the photo. I remember that it wasn’t easy to get into this position.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n