Keep Em' At It

Well not a lot to report on this posting. Getting out has been a bit of a challenge but yesterday my homie Tone hit me up and was down for going out and snagging some pics. The later afternoon came about and I picked him up and got to work. Hydrant spot first then Tone was wanting to get his rail game on so we smashed over to a shortish but tall rail over in Oakland. It had been a bit since Tone had worked a rail but I was able to keep a homie motivated and the session yielded a killer stoke for Tone and some snaps for me. Oh and as a side note we ran into my friend James and it was his birthday so he vaulted the rail and I had my gear set up and I got a B-day photo for him. The title is hinting at the idea that Tone was ready to bounce on the rail spot but a bit of encouragement from yours truly and he kept at it...and in the end that was killer for both parties.

Christian

Tadashi Yamaoda Interview

As I stumbled blindly into the skate photo arena a name that I heard a lot was Tadashi's. I somewhat recently had the chance to meet the man behind the name at a build event and have seen him around quite a bit since that meeting. All I can say about him is super nice, great photographer, and hope to get to know him better along the way. With out further a due I bring you an interview with a multi talented Oakland based lens man named Tadashi.

Christian


C: Name, age, location, and profession.
T: Tadashi, 32, Oakland, Freelance Skateboard Photographer

C: How long have you been photographing skating in the bay area?
T: 4 and a half years

C: Do you have formal training or are you self taught?
T: I took a few of the intro classes to black and white photography but the rest was
self taught. I got a lot of tips from Ed Dominick and Mike Burnett in the early days. Thanks again guys.
There was also an issue of Slap "The How to Issue" where Dawes wrote an article about how to
be a skateboard photographer, it had a lot of technical stuff that helped me understand things. I
still have the issue somewhere.

C: Are there any folks out there that inspire you or have an influence on your work?
T: Any skate photographer that is constantly getting stuff published inspires me. Today I saw the TiltMode Army web zine which
was really dope also a while back The Manifest by Real that Gabe Morford shot was inspiring too. Also I'd have to say Dan Zaslavsky's
work ethic is inspiring, I'm pretty sure he gets more images than the average bear.

C: Do you shoot digital, film or both?
T: 100% digital since 2005. I don't ever want to go back into the dark room again.

C: Could you give me a bit of background on your mag?
T: I got really inspired from seeing a zine that Blair Alley did called "Later Life."
It was super basic and raw, it was just one b&w random image a page no captions zerox style.
I though it was so cool and easy that I basically wanted to copy his idea and throw together my own. So
I stared Kobrah. Also it kinda works out well because I'd have article ideas and solid images that for one reason or another aren't picked up by
a major magazine so I figure I'll just do it myself the way I like it. Currently we are printing hard copies and distributing them locally and
posting the entire issues online with interactive links (that are mainly relate to video) for everyone to check out. kobrahmagazine.com

C: Do you travel much to get material?
T: I definitely drive around the Bay Area a lot. Sometimes LA or if an event is happening I'll make
a journey. For instance, I just went out to Tampa pro with the Turf team. That was fun and worth the
trip.

C: What are some things you like most about going on a shoot?
T: I enjoy the comradery we'll have when we go skate, the excitement of being right up close to the action and mostly the warm fuzzy feeling you get when you capture a good image. Also I like the adventure and the interesting/random things that happen weather it be finding something unexpected or unexpected things finding you.

C: What are some things that bum you out about shoots?
T: Getting kicked out sucks and I also get frustrated when a stranger is telling us what to do and not letting us live our lives the way we see fit. Also watching grown men throw temper tantrums can be annoying too.

C: If you had to pick a favorite piece of photography equipment what would it be?
T: I recently got a Nikon D90 to shoot hd video with, it's fun. I'm starting to work on a Kobrah video too so keep an eye out.

C: Thanks a lot for your time and for fielding my questions, any shout outs as we bring this to a close?
T: Thanks for keeping on me about this interview Christian. I'd like to thank everyone who's supported my photography off the top of my head I'd like to thank my family, Michael Migdol, Matt Kriegel, Daryll Peirce, Dan Vigil, Greg Janesse, Justin Williams, Craig Nejedly, Lucian Moon, Shockus, Coung, Dave Coyne, Karl Watson, Tony Vitello, Justin Carlson, Grant, Ed Dominick, Mike Burnett, Mark Whiteley, Adam Salo, Pat Wells, Rob and Reija, Birdo and Leticia, Blair Alley, Joey Young, Steve Celentanie, Trevor Morgan, Ron Allen, FGO, all the editors at the skateboard magazines, all the filmers for moving back that one inch for me, and the riders who will give it just one more try for that perfect shot.....

A Re-Do Thank You

Sometimes things just don't come together and I have to remind myself that more days will come. This was the case yesterday, and lo and behold today comes around and Booya things bubble. Today started out with a session at Berkeley. Nice weather and the need to get out had been covered then Augie showed up and was in the mood to get out to some spots and shoot. Some solid stuff was grabbed and it helped to reinforce my "things will come around" concept.

Christian

Two To Tango

A person who continues to be a presence here is Noah Scott. Noah and I met at the Berkeley skate park...as you may well know. He continues to be a driving force behind the blog. His willingness to be shot and go out to spots keeps him in the camera's eye. He rules and is always willing to do it over to try and help me to get the proper shot. A trooper and great skater he is, and this is a collection of shots that have been taken over the past few days. It's kinda a showcase of our the most recent work. Enjoy, and remember it takes 2 to make the shots happen.

Christian

More With Steven And Tone

Phew!! Just got done with a semi late night edit session and decided to just bring it all the way around. I had a chance to get out with new comers Steven and Antonio today. We had more time this round to get to a few spots and snag some bangers!! Antonio is still kind of on the mend, bruised heel, and Steven...well let's just say too much whiskey cant slow a bro down. Good times and a nice little collection of shots. Thanks to the homies, they know how to throw down.

Christian

Dave Chami Interview

I'm kinda sitting here trying to get my head around how to usher this one in. F*#k it, here it goes. Mr. Chami is on super look up to status, his shots have been admired by myself and countless other skateboarder oglers, and they may not even know it, for a long ass time. For me to have him here and fielding questions and providing everybody with a gallery of some stellar stuff has got me all ramped up! So while I ride a high you all take a few moments to read and look and maybe catch a bit of a contact yourselves.

Christian

C: Name
D: Dave Chami

C: Age
D: Skateboarder

C: Location
D: Oakland California but originally from Pukekohe New Zealand

C: Profession
D: Photographer (Senior Photographer for Transworld Skateboarding magazine)

C: How long have you been shooting skating?
D: Since 2001 so 9 years

C: What kind of steps did you take to become the well published photographer you are today?
D: It just started out as a fun thing to do, to shoot photos of my friends skating and learn about photography through trial and error. I just shot lots of photos and when I thought the ones that I was shooting were good enough to be printed in a magazine I started sending them in. I never imagined that I could ever make a living from doing this but strangely enough that's what has happened

C: You get to shoot some famous people in the industry. That must be pretty exciting.
D: Yes but it's just as exciting to be shooting a photo of a buddy who is ripping. I do still get nervous shooting skaters that I admire, particularly if I've just met them.
Actually the first big gig that was thrown my way was to shoot the entire Lakai team in Australia in 2006, I remember O'Meally calling me and asking if I could do it and of course I said yes but I remember just sitting stunned for about half an hour or so afterwords. It was scary and exciting that I was going to be shooting some of my favorite skateboarders, especially Guy Mariano cause he had just gotten back on the scene.

C: It looks like you get to travel a bunch, is that fun?
D: It's definitely the biggest perk of the job, to experience different cultures and places, just to see how different people live. A few years ago my wife Sam really pushed me to travel, we were living in Australia and I was pretty content there but I finally relented and we went and lived in Europe for a couple of years. That experience of having to fend for ourselves in a foreign country where English isn't the first language was so valuable for me and ended up opening a lot of doors. Sometimes on skate trips you really don't experience too much of the local culture because you're so busy with demos or filming and shooting photos so I plan to keep travelling as much as possible no matter what I'm doing for a job, I have the bug now!

C: Outside of skating what is your favorite thing to shoot?
D: My wife Sam

C: Digital, film, or both?
D: This question is so hard for me because I still can't figure out how i feel about digital. I use both but I'm always happier with the film that I shoot, it just always looks better to me. I started out shooting film so to me digital is almost like cheating and you completely miss out on that moment of going to the lab with butterflies in your stomach wondering if you fucked it up or not, some photographers probably don't miss that but I do... I guess the process of exposing film and the care you have to take is more of an exact art than digital photography. There are also so many more options as far as equipment if you shoot film, like different cameras and formats, and I've always found playing with something new keeps it fresh. Of course there are the obvious advantages with digital, it's a lot faster, you can correct things on the spot and if you do make a pigs arse of it you'll probably be able to fix it in post anyways.

C: Formal schooling, apprenticeships, or self taught?
D: I went to film school and worked on movies and tv commercials as a clapper/loader in New Zealand so I understood the relationship between film, shutter speeds, and exposures, composition and lighting etc. I applied that knowledge to shooting skateboarding and picked up some tips on using flashes etc from a couple of guys who were kind enough to impart a little knowledge, thanks Rene Vaile and Mike O'Meally
www.renevaile.com
www.mikeomeally.com

C: What are the things you like best about going on a shoot? The things you most dislike?
D: I like being outside and having fun skating with friends and the fact that you never know what the day is going to bring, as much as you might try to plan things out shit just never works quite as you envision, and I like that. I like everything about shooting skateboarders but I dislike the cops and anyone who tries to tell me what to do.

C: What might be a dream gig come true for you?
D: Being given the opportunity to move to America and shoot for Transworld was pretty fkn amazing, my boss Skin Phillips took a chance on me and I'm really grateful for that, cheers Skin! Asides from that it would be awesome to get involved with a company and shoot a whole advertising campaign, but to be honest I'm pretty happy with how things are.

C: Any advice you would share with up and coming photographers out there.
D: Get stuck in, don't be afraid to experiment or ask questions, there is a wealth of information on the internet too. Use different cameras, shoot your friends for practise and have fun with it

C: Thanks so much for your time, I super appreciate it. Any shout outs as we close this up?
D: Thanks to my wife Sam and anyone who has shot photos with me or run one of my photos
www.davechamiphoto.com

Santa Rosa Meets Jersey Barrier

What to do today with a bit of spare time....something kinda boring or skating? Ok I'll go skate and see what shakes out. Berkeley filled my need for a session then what next? Oh yea that cat Antonio skates all the time so I will give him a call and see whats crackin'. He is down and with him is Steven, time for introductions. Antonio Gilmore and Steven Tran are homies from Santa Rosa. They both have great attitudes and are down to session what ever. They know some spots, I know some spots and between the three of us I see a lot of great things happinin'. These are a couple of shots taken at a jersey barrier over in Emeryville. Oh and there will be more to come from these troopers!

Christian