Kristian & Alex's Wedding

Shot the last few frames on a roll of tri-x with my stylus at a friends wedding back in November. Good times.  

Puerto Rico 2018

I pretty much booked this trip last minute. I was unsure if I could get the days off work and spend the money, but I knew I’d regret it if I didn’t go. Super hyped that I went. It was a short five day trip and I feel like it was perfect. We traveled the whole island, skated, went to the beach, and ate the best tacos. All while it was twenty degrees and snowing back home. It was crazy to see the damage from the hurricane, I noticed quite a bit of down powerlines, messed up signs, and it seemed like a lot of people haven't came home yet. We talked to a friend that was without power for four months and had the roof blown off his house. Even with all the damage we saw I have to say it seemed like everyone that is there is making the best of the situation. Great times with good friends, can't wait to go back! 

I found myself sitting shotgun shooting photos from the car in between each part of the island we were going to. The drives would usually be an hour or two. I would have the exposure ready for when I spotted something that I thought was interesting coming ahead of us. Below is a series of photos shot from the van. 

This scenic lookout was one of main places I wanted to go. I know I have seen quite a bit of skate photos here but I felt it was too epic to pass up. Here Pat is doing a frontside 5-0 nosegrab followed up by drinking a coconut shortly after. This is harder to skate than it looks and there is about a fifty foot drop on the other side. 

We arrived in Isabela shortly after the lookout where we found the spot below on the way back to the car. This one was harder than expected, and all the neighbors were watching, but mission accomplished. 

On to Rincon. Which is definitely my favorite city in Puerto Rico. We stayed here last year and it seemed to be the most fun. This trip we had an airbnb with a pool and pool table right near the beach. We also went back to our favorite taco place, and a saw a weekly art fair. The photos below are from a nice morning walk around the neighborhood we stayed in. 

On the way into Rincon we noticed this sidewalk bump that may or may not have been created from the hurricane. The last day we were there we had to hit it. Schwalm got a kickflip, and Hartzel got a nice ollie. On to the next!

Next was a city called La Parguera to go on a boat ride to some small island and swim. No one had been here before and the drive there was great with plenty of views. We were greeted by a guy named Omar in the parking lot that showed us right where to go to get on the last boat tour of the day, as well as how he was going to jail soon. The boat tour was amazing they showed us where all the iguanas were at, caught a starfish, and got us to the best swimming spot. Afterwards we found a few spots in the city, got some food, and Pat handed out a signed deck to a local skater that was really stoked to see us.

On the way to Mayagüez I noticed quite a bit of damage. The first time we didn’t have time to stop and I felt like I missed something that I really wanted to photograph. We ended up passing by the next day and I was lucky enough to stop and get out of the car this time. I hope the people who lived here are ok, and able to find a new place to live.

Next city of the trip was Ponce. The main goal was to get to a spot we went to last year so Pat could battle a trip he was unable to land last year. When we arrived at the spot FEMA had taken it over as a storage area. That was a bummer but the city ended up providing many skate spots and my personal favorite session of the trip. We met up with a bunch of locals that were ripping at every spot. I also noticed next door to where we were skating there was an electric company from Missouri storing their trucks after a day of working to get electricity restored. There was a very sad stray dog laying around that they were giving food. It was nice to see that, and seemed like something they do everyday. Below Pat does a 5-0 fakie. 

After Ponce it was back to San Juan for our final day/night. Upon arrival we were greeted by quite a few cats outside the airbnb. Pictured below is "Wifi" who go the name from always sleeping on the wifi router. 

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The next morning in the last hours of my trip I knew I wanted to explore as much as possible. I went on a two hour solo walk and saw quite a bit of the neighborhood. I noticed this billboard that had crashed into an apartment building. 

La Perla is a small community inside of Old San Juan, that has no rules or police. To us it is known for a skateable pool that is right on the water. The pool was being filled up for swimming but the place was still really cool to see in person. 

The very last photo of my trip, this was taken right before I left the guys for the airport. Everyone got down on this spot, Great times!

All film photos were shot on a Minolta x-570 with Porta 800. All digital photos shot with Nikon d5000.

5 days in Portland.

Portland, I love this city! It felt very welcoming, and everyone was super nice. It was a short trip but I feel like it was perfect that way. Here are a few random photos I shot mainly on the first couple days. Some are from a bit of skateboarding downtown, and a couple others dealing with the rain. 

It was cool to see all the different cars out there, its like you can tell by the cars you're on the west coast. It was also fall so the colors were great. Here are some I saw mainly just walking a few blocks in the neighborhood we were staying in called "Laurelhurst". Shot with Kodak Portra 400, 160, and tri-x. Can’t wait to go back.

Later, 2017.

2017 was great! Excited to start a new year and see where this one goes. Heres a few of my favorite digital photos from this year. 

Point Betsie Lighthouse 10-21-2017

This past fall I knew I wanted to go up north one last time before winter. The main goal of the trip was to chill but also to make it to the historic Point Betsie Lighthouse. I had seen a photo of it as a Chrysler ad at my work so I wanted to try and get some kind of skate photo there. It was a lot harder then I thought because waves were crashing in and I wanted to shoot it on my Minolta. I ended up getting my pants completely soaked, and Pat probably wasn't too happy to have to wallride something this sketchy. Regardless, we knew we had to get it because we drove all the way there. I’ve always been interested in the fact that we are skating something that was built so long ago, and has a history behind it. Pretty hyped on the trip none the less, always a good time exploring new areas up north in MI. I can't wait to go more places next year! 

The photos above are a few shots from the drive up, it was about and hour and a half. We found a cool little bank spot and a couple scenic lookout areas. Always great to see the fall colors!

We stumbled across this really great sign on the way as well, had to stop and get a quick polaroid of it. Taken with my SX-70 with the new Polaroid film, cropped square. 

Located in Frankfort, Michigan the lighthouse was built in 1858, and began operation in 1859. I’ve read that it was $5,000 to build. I’ve always been really interested in the fact that we are skating something that was built so long ago, and has a history behind it. We ended up making perfect time and arriving at golden hour. Above is the wallride photo we got. Stoked that we were able to end the fall season with a trip like this. We chilled here and watched the full sunset then we got a session in at the Frankfort park before it got too dark. Great times, quick video by Donald Frith below.

Monster Children #57

Pretty hyped to have this photo in issue #57 of Monster Children. I shot this over the summer and never really thought about much of it. Once I posted it on Instagram I had a lot of people respond to it. I entered it into the photo contest and sent in some other submissions. Stoked they chose to use this. Can't wait to show Rashad & Amir and hopefully give them a copy. 

Ripped Flag

Back in the summer I spotted this flag in southwest Detroit. I kept getting my film done and not really liking what I got. One of the times I went to shoot it the owner of the house pulled up on me and asked me what I was doing. I said I was getting a picture of his flag, and he said why don't you go find a better one. He also thought I was an inspector. This one was the best I got. I am not sure if he wants to see me again but I may be back, and he was actually nice once he found out I wasn't an inspector. I wanted this photo bad because I consider this flag a symbol of the USA right now. Hopefully it will get better, and/or he'll take it down. 

Silverdome #RIP

This past weekend while I was in Portland the Pontiac Silverdome was scheduled to be "imploded". They invited people to go out and watch as it happened. I'm not sure I actually would have gone to it but it failed, and made me kinda wish I was there. Pretty funny to see all the news stories that came out about it. The explosives went off but it didn't collapse, pretty embarrassing, but sad at the same time. A couple days later they tried again and it worked. This photo was from August 17th, 2015 when my friend Dom and I went there to get a couple skate photos (that I'm still saving for now) . This was our second trip back. It was crazy dodging security and all that but nothing beats standing on a field that Michael Jackson, Led Zeppelin, and Barry Sanders played on....just to name a few. I'm thankful I got to see it even though I never went while it was actually in use.