Photo Of The Day

  
This is the second picture that I took with my camera after getting it. I had talked about and researched for years about getting a camera and getting into photography. I finally pushed myself and got an awesome camera set up.

I took a trip with my riding buddies Brian Campbell and Todd Berdick to Taos, New Mexico. It was in mid spring when we went so there was no one else there but us and a few park "leeches." It was a lot of fun sessioning the park. The lighting was amazing that day. There were breaks throughout the clouds letting just enough harsh light through to get some pictures like this one. I was using my fish-eye lens, just snapping pictures in the direction that they were riding. Only a few feet from Todd, timing and just right into the sun caught this. The contrast in this picture was perfect!

After catching this moment was something I wish I could have caught on tape. One of the kids that just hung around the park asked me if he could ride my bike. Behind me from where I was standing, taking this picture, there is a four foot quarter pipe on the edge of the park and in the flats there is a small pyramid then a ramp leading into the park. So we were set up at the top of the ramp and this little kid grabs my bike and I tell him to be careful - 

"My bike has NO brakes."  

"Oh yeah, no problem I got this,"  he said with a confident smirk on his face. 

I watch him set up at the top of the ramp and start pedaling into the flats. He must have had this "Oh yeah I got this, I'll show these guys what I got," internal pump as he barreled towards the lip of the quarter. Pulling up on the handle bars and getting just the front wheel off the ground, he cruised down the back side of the pyramid. 

In these kinds of alternative sports, like BMX or skate boarding (you can ask anyone who is an avid participant of these about this) - the split second before wrecking can last forever. Realizing the situation and seeing how the next instant will pan out, whizzes through your mind. How can I make this not hurt or hurt less? Where should I throw the bike or should I even throw it?  It's like watching yourself in a slow motion movie.

So this kid is maching down the backside of the pyramid, looks up and see's the quarter pipe eight feet in font of him.  I was watching from behind him, but at that moment I could only imagine the slow motion movie and the wide eye in panic. He hits the quarter pipe and flies into the air frozen and just endows into the deck. I nearly collapsed laughing! This brute of a kid gets back up and rolls back over to where I was sitting. It was so difficult to contain myself as he looked at me with this forced smile and said, "Dude I just threw up a little bit over there."

One great trip and some epic shots to break in my camera. What a great start to kick off my photography!