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Who were the skaters that you used to shoot?

“In the beginning it was just my neighborhood skate buddies. But after I started going to La Costa it was mostly the regulars like Henry Hester, Tommy Ryan, the Logan family, Gregg Weaver, Bob Skoldberg, Greg Taie, Bobby Piercy, Mike Williams, Marty Schaub, Steve Sherman, Steve Cathey, Ellen Oneal, and so many others.

Sometimes the Dogtowners and other Los Angeles skaters would come down and hang out and skate. After going to work at SkateBoarder I photographed everyone at the skateparks, ditches and ramps, and backyard pools.”

How and when did your appointment of Staff Photographer for Skateboarder magazine come about?

“It came from meeting Warren Bolster at La Costa, who saw potential in my skate photos and hired me in January 1978.”

What was your first published image?

“It was a full-page ramp photo of Doug Saladino, which was published in the fall of 1977.”

What equipment were you using at that time?

“I first started with a Canonnet QL17 by Canon, which had a fixed 40mm lens. It wasn’t very functional for skate photography and I later bought a Canon A-1. That was the camera that I shot all of my photos with while at SkateBoarder magazine. I became sponsored by Canon, which allowed me to take more chances in getting close to the action and not worry when my cameras and lenses got broken by fly-away boards.

After leaving SkateBoarder I switched to the Nikon FM2, which I used exclusively until I switched to digital.”

[Opposite: Ellen O'Neal | Mission Bay | Apr 78. Inset: Jims first camera]