Wednesday, April 14, 2010

ASHBRIDGES GLORY

Seemingly my whole life has been a lead up to this skatepark. Ever since i've known skateboarding (ever since ive know fun) the idea of a legit place to skate in the beaches has been a like a holy grail. Downtown missions, day trips to cummer, sauga, and markam skateparks, or a ghetto old rail and box set up on the block were usually the only things you could count on to skate all day, short of going to greenwood and getting robbed and roman candled by some pint size slim shady in a night gown.

PhotobucketTyjae Farrugia-Armstrong is practically a park local he's at the park so often, even though this nollie back bigs on the huge wall/bank came all the way from Pickering, Ont. Just a testament to the legendary status Ashbridges has gained since its creation, much less than a year ago.


Joel is a real local, watch out for this guy hanging out at the park. He needs no warm up for playing skate dice or games of skate, so don't even think about it. Ive been left penniless a few to many times. Front Smith.

East York Skatepark came as a glimmer of hope after the years consistent failure to follow through on the cities pledge to build more skateparks in toronto. I couldn't possibly count the number of skate comps events and demos in hockey arenas or rec center skateparks that fund raised for the hope of a permanent place simply skateboard.



Shawn Whitten brings this nollie flip all the way from Oshawa, but much like the set wasn't quite finished.













Frontside boardslide by a homie from brantford, let me know if anyone knows this guy's name.


Bobby De Keyzer of Whitby drops off a quick first try backside flip
on the double as if it were part of his morning routine, before heading off to Arizona and then California for more backside flips, backside flips of perhaps epic proportions if the ease at which he copped this is any indicator.Photobuckethere we have yet another younger skateboarder, Kevin Tio, putting the older dudes to shame as a result of the rigorous training that goes down here on a daily basis in normal sessions. But you cant blame him for his advanced skills at a young age, five years ago you just didn't have a park with a perfect set of every size. Bigflip.


The STSA (Southeast Toronto Skate Association), Hammer skate shop, along with SBC skate mag and the goons of East York skate team all played a large part in organizing the massive funding for the Ashbridges Skate Complex, including countless other people, even I remember running around the school yard getting petition signatures in elementary school.

Monday, April 12, 2010

Fog Banks

Kai drove us to fog banks, what a good sesh!
PhotobucketDANG! Nolan demonstrates his never ending progression on transition in park or street with this front 5-0 to switch back crook. And this ain't no skanky stall, count those frames of switch crook, yup five frames of grinding.


He then proceeded to boost this frontside ollie over my fisheye and back into the bank, only after flinging a few bunts at my camera and flashes.




Mr. Kai Hoecke of frg films then found time to put down his camera and put up this back tail stall, fancy styles.









Tanner Grisbrook then backed the back tail by rollin up and smokin a blunt stall on the beastly bank, which may be a little steeper than it appears on a screen.






Nate finishes up the session with a throw back to the old school days with this hyper speed boneless 5-0 stall, can't no flash freeze this guys fast feet.

Friday, April 9, 2010

Lucas Strezos


Click Here for the lipslide 360 shove sequence. I tried to make this small 2 set ledge look as big as possible in this sequence, and with a wide fisheye and a few a quick wrist moves i think i was able to do so. Unlike lucas's other sequence this did not come quick, in fact we got pretty lucky with the natural light, 10 more minutes and I would have needed to use flashes.







click here to view sequence
this gem of a ledge proves that there's always more to find and skate downtown, you've just got to check enough alleys and parking lots. Lucas flings a quick boardslide pop out, over a sewer and into a hill bomb nonetheless, not that anyones keeping track.


Joey LaRock


Click Here to view the sequence
Nollie bs flips are pretty hard to shoot, especially when you working with a set only a few feet wide with a handrail in the way, that being said I would imagine it was probably a few times harder to actually land the trick rather than just ask some friends to hold flashes and press a button. good work joey

Chad Wilson

click here to view the sequence. Chad stops this noseslide bigspin pop out through a thorny rose bush, after landing a few he wasnt happy with and giving me a chance to slap on the fisheye, which I ended up liking a lot more that the long lens.

Shayne Eldridge


This was the first handrail photo I ever shot street, and although the background is overexposed and my skater slightly underexposed, im still pretty happy with it considering it was first try. I had a little too much head room in the original so i cropped a bit out, if i just went closer and pointed further down the rail would have been more bent and gnarly looking. I am very happy with the timing though, which is usually something I suck at. FIRST T

Griffin Kirby


Click here to view sequence. Yet again another trick on this spot that deserves flashes, but I can forgive Griffin for just wanting to barge this spot with no set up, security was watching us through the glass so Griffin managed to commit first try. Hopefully he can forgive me for blowing the first few frames, as I will try to used to this FIRST T business.

Joey LaRock



Click Here to view the sequence. I blew it pretty bad here. Trying to make the photo look more interesting I used a wide aperture and a deep focal length to isolate joey's kickflip in the focus, instead i focused more around the roll away which made the pop grossly out of focus. Next time I try to get artsy with depth of field, ill shoot beside the skater. Once again I left the spot saying at least I captured the trick, but lesson has been learned and I know I wont blow it this bad again, if anyone even sees this that is!

Andrew



Click here to view the sequence. Perfect pop and balance, andrew sniffs out a down manny pad only a few minutes skate away from the lakeshore skatepark.