“I shot from a skaters perspective”

Which of your photographs is your favourite and why?

“It’s impossible to single out a single photo as my favorite, but certain skaters always gave me great shots.

Skaters like Neil Blender, Brad Bowman, Jay Smith, Mike Smith, Stevie Caballero,  Lance Mountain, Mark Rogowski, Chris Miller, Tony Alva, Dave and Paul Hackett, Ellen Oneal, Vicki Vickers, and Eddie Reategui were always a lot of fun to shoot and are my favorite photos.”

Every successful photographer has their own style, how would you describe yours and how did it differ from your contemporaries?

“As a skater myself, I shot from a skater’s perspective. I developed a rapport with each skater to make the experience fun, which motivated them to give their all for the photo. I also visualized every shot before I took the photo. I hated shooting snapshots so I developed a variety of lighting techniques and angles that were unique to myself. Some worked and some didn’t, but there wasn’t anything that I wouldn’t try to get a great photo.

Camera gear was much more limited than it is now, but I usually found ways to get the kind of photos that I visualized. Today, equipment is much more sophisticated and enables current photographers a lot more freedom in creating anything they want.”

If you could do it all over again, what would you do differently?

“Good and bad, it changed my life in so many positive ways and I value the entire experience.

My only regret is not keeping better track of my photos since so many were lost or stolen over the years.”

[Inset: Steve Caballero | Lynnhaven | June 85]

[Opposite: Jeff Hedges | Tahoe | July 1985]