One of my favorite pastimes as a kid was watching neighborhood skateboarders hit tricks on my block. There were guys with names like Turtle, Ant, and P who would grab so much air off of the pavement, it was unreal to witness. I remember the same guys building a half pipe and dragging it out into the street so they could practice their jumps; from what I can remember, there were broken boards, egos, and bones during this time.
Two years ago, my buddy Aaron Gomes built me a skateboard for my birthday and delivered it to me near my born date. The age of forty isn't necessarily the time one wants to start throwing caution to the wind so I've been a very cautious skater, if you can call the kick and push that I'm doing skating. I'm literally the guy you yell at on the freeway who's doing 64mph when the speed limit is 65mph ("Get out of the way, man").
I've written about my skateboard and how it allows me to feel semi young again whilst feeling the wind hit my face. The truth is as long as it's the wind hitting my face, I'm good, I'm afraid of the pavement hitting my face or my face hitting the pavement more than anything else.
Today, I was supposed to tackle some photos with an acquaintance of mine but he got a little held up with time and I found myself wandering around downtown Fresno, CA for a moment. For many who don't know, Fresno, CA has a pretty diverse group of skaters in and around the Valley. I'd actually be willing to place some of our talent up against other so called skate cities in this country of ours.
I'll digress...
As I was aimlessly walking around, I saw two guys skating off in the distance and I thought the following:
1. I have too many layers of clothing on and I need to change
2. Are these dudes taking pictures with their phone
3. Go home and rest man
4. Go up to those two and ask if you can shoot them doing a trick or something
5. Take out your skateboard and show them that you're a poser, crack my head open and go out a legend
6. My car is literally thirty feet from where they are, just post up and watch them hit tricks
The final outcome was more along the lines of me walking up to the two guys and asking if I could take a picture or two of them catching some air. They were both hyped and told me that every time they're downtown, some photographer asks them if they can grab a picture. GREAT NOW THE PRESSURE FALLS BACK ON ME CAPTURING A MOMENT!
Perhaps it was the fact I sat on the concrete and braced eyes/hands/camera for a subsequent leap over a sign or the nostalgia of being close while a skater caught some air, I felt as though I were a kid again for a quick moment.
I took a few pictures of the lads and they were impressed with this picture, "Yeah dude this is the best one we've seen yet..." (I should have asked how many people have asked to capture them in motion)
Look at me jumping to conclusions that I actually rate.