On the Streets: Defying Gravity

I like walking over to Cal Anderson Park to watch the skateboarders. I’ve always been in awe of what they can do. I’d like to shoot more skate photos and maybe some video, but it can be daunting to walk out onto that court and approach people on the fly.

Yesterday I was there with my camera and got off to a frosty start. I was adjusting my camera settings, and when I looked up, there was my friend Aaron walking towards me on his way to get an ice cream. I took his photo and we talked for a few minutes. I walked nearer to the court, stopped, and had a look at the photo.

I shoot on Fujifilm cameras, and I prefer to review photos through the viewfinder rather than the back screen. People often look at me funny and ask me what I’m taking a photo of. I think that’s what happened yesterday. A few skaters were leaving the court, and I think they assumed I was or had been taking photos of them.

“Your lens cap is on.”

“Yea, just reviewing some photos.”

“Get some good shots?” of us? (He didn’t say “of us”, but I think it was implied.

“Just looking at a photo I took of my friend.”

“Cool.” riiiight, your friend.

I walked onto the court, and another skater asked if I had permission to take photos of professional skaters. “We get paid for that.”

I told him I was going to ask someone if I could take a few photos. That’s what I did, and it paid off. I asked Bruce if he was cool with photos. He answered that taking photos was legal, with the implication being that it wasn’t necessarily cool.

“I’d like to take some photos.”

He looked at me and said, “Ok, I accept.”

I left, walked around some more, stopped to say hello to some friends who were working, and then decided I needed a slice of pizza. I figured I’d go to Big Mario’s, but I walked by A Pizza Mart. I thought I spotted Bruce at the counter (it was the hat), so I went there. It was Bruce. I told him I emailed him the photos.

“Those aren’t bad.”

We talked for a bit. He told me about a camera store on Capitol Hill that I’ve never heard of.

“See you around the Hill.”

I had a second slice of pizza. That was a bad idea. But it was a nice way to spend an evening.