Atlanta '09 Skate

I stopped in Atlanta on my way back down to Savannah and hung out with my friends Jeff and Kate. Before I hit the road on Sunday, Jeff and I went skating at this park located 30 miles north of the city.

We were there a little more than an hour before the heat got to us and we called it a day.


The park is 4 pools of smooth terrain.

The shallow pool.

A grind to mess around with in one of the pools.

One of the deeper pools.

Louisville, KY, Skate Park

I've never been very fond of Louisville, KY, but I must admit their skate park is a blast. It's absolutely free and listed as one of the top 15 skate parks around the country. A free park is a beautiful thing when riders take care it, while this photo doesn't justify the litter problem, in Louisville people throw trash everywhere but in the trash bins surrounding the entire park.

Here's a clip of a kid named Will pulling a back flip out of one of the many bowls at Louisville Skate Park.

Here are two clips that'll give an idea of what the park has to offer.

I got into it with this little shit who wasn't even skating before I left the park, because he threw a glass bottle off the huge halfpipe for no reason other than to shatter something.

"What was the point of that?" I said up to him.

"Why is it any of your business?" he snapped back at me.

"If I'm skating here, it's my business. You're taking the blame if I pick up any glass!"

Roommates

Sometimes friends and family will ask why the three of us didn't just remain roommates in our first house at 527 E. Park Ave. The answer is because Dillon, Jeff, and myself had what some might consider to be too much fun.

Luckily, we're all reasonably productive people.

It was always a creative environment, though.


Borderline stupid, at times.


We found ways to entertain ourselves. Obviously, using the least amount of necessary stitches along the way.


Dillon and I even managed to find a way to make the best out of community service.


These aren't real.

When we did get arrested it was for littering and disorderly conduct. It was 10 a.m and we were listening to metal music on our way out to the beach to go surf. At the time, it seemed like a good idea to throw the empty glass bottle of a Starbucks frapaccino at a speed limit sign. Apparently, someone else on the road called the cops and told them we were throwing beer "bottles" at "signs," plural.

We made it all the way to the parking lot next to the pier, suited up, and were running toward the water when the cops showed up. Dillon and I were arrested. Once we were sitting inside our cell in Tybee Jail, all we could think about was that annoying squeak echoing from our wetsuits rubbing against the uncomfortable cell-beds.


When Jeff wasn't involved in the trouble he was usually behind the camera catching those precious moments before and after you hear it.

"Bail, dude!"

Pre Surf

Here is one of Beard's photos of a bunch of us getting ready to paddle out, that's taken with his homemade panoramic camera.

Turner Parking Lot

The parking lot behind Turner House is one of the few skateable hills in downtown Savannah. Usually, it's crowded with parked cars, but if you can go when it's empty there is more open space you can utilize.

It doesn't offer much more than some smooth pavement to mess around on, but that's enough to practice aggressively switching from regular to goofy stance while moving downhill.


A drawing by Leah Aripotch.


The handstand trick started here but developed into more. Eventually, Jeff got to the point where he could do it on a smaller board and even flip the deck with his hands right before landing his feet on it, then ride away.

Civic Center

A notorious skate spot in Savannah GA, is behind The Civic Center. Technically, you're not supposed to skate there but it's a blast until somebody tells you to leave.

Jeff Beard, ollie off the loading dock.

Me, power-slide up on the dock.

O-House

I came across these photos of my friends and I skating at our dorm freshman year. We used to pass the time messing around on our boards in front of Oglethorpe House.


Photo: Dillon Pope power-sliding on his carve board right toward the camera.

Photo: Jeff Beard throwing a few balanced spins on his deck.

Photo: Me pulling a sharp carve around the camera man.

The Yard II

These photos are from freshman year at SCAD a few years ago.


Photo: Airing out.


Photo: Stalled on the copping.


Photo: Tailslide along the rail.

Symbolic Biography

I made this in Joy Flyne's Drawing III class a few years ago. It started on coffee-stained paper. Then I drew overlapping objects, which represent the "necessary" items for an early morning surf trip. The objects range from small-large scale drawings.

From there, I used various drawing media and staining techniques to develop the complimentary color scheme. The red, orange, and yellow area creates an S-curve composition, which is intended to be the immediate focal point. However, drawings exist throughout the entire piece so the viewer should allow their eyes to explore further.

10ft?

I met my buddies Dillon and Grinch out at north beach yesterday to go surfing. The buoy reading went all the way up to 10 feet. This is the first time I've surfed second street since the beach restoration started in October.

It was big. It's not very often that we get waves this big out on Tybee. The current was strong pulling us south. We'd paddle out, catch a few rides, then get out and hike our way north and hop in again for another drift.

You can tell by this picture, it's not always that clean coming in. We saw one girl try to go out yesterday who didn't even make it up to her shoulders in the water before calling it quits. When it gets this big out there you have to be careful.

Dillon, Grinch and I all got rocked a few times yesterday, but the rides we did catch made it all worth it.

These are magazine layouts designed by graphic design major Dillon Pope. He used an article of mine and some of Jeff Beard's photos.

Still Shots from The Yard

Here are a few paused video images from the unused clips I got last week skating The Yard.


Image: Me, riding around the peak of the bowl.

Image: Matt, board sliding down the slanted section of the rail.

Image: Steven, mid-air transitioning from the flat ramp to the rolling spine.

Image: Me, extended lay back in the middle of power-sliding down the ramp.

My motivation behind posting these images is an attempt to emphasize the intense experience a skater goes through while committing to their physical motions made while riding a skateboard.

The Yard

My friend Steven and I went to The Yard today to go skate.

We met this guy Matt while we were there. He is the third army guy I've met skating recently. This is a clip of a few power slides over the spine of the park.

Clip: Me, carving The Yard's bowl.

I didn't catch it on camera, but Steven stuck this transition a few times.

Clip: Me, skating a line around The Yard.

SB '09

Me and my friends Dillon and Bryan went down to Orlando, FL. for Spring Break '09 to visit our buddy Tim Styles. It's our last year in college and our parents all said we should go have fun. We did just that.

Other than this image, all of these pictures were taken by Tim Styles.


I got to ride the biggest longboard I've ever seen while we were there.

It was so big we could ride with two people on it. Dillon and I killed it during a midnight race to the gas station. Too bad, there aren't any action photos of it.


This is Dillon Pope.


Here is a photo Tim took while we were at Coco Beach.

This is one of my favorites.


We had fun in the water.


Our friend Tucker is the Graphic Design intern for the Orlando Magic. He hooked us up with tickets and jerseys VIP style. It was a great finale.


Tim's girlfriend Gale, was a champ. She let us crash on the living room floor of her one-bedroom apartment for four nights.

There was only one bathroom, too.

Behind the Scene

A lot of people don't realize what goes on behind a photographer during a photo shoot. Sometimes it provides a significant contribution to the final product.


The flash shown in the left side of this image gives additional intensity and focus to the subject Jeff Beard is photographing. Here is a taste it looked like behind the camera from the photos posted on 04/28/09.

Box Grind Clip

Aaron Lynton sticking a nose grind in front of the camera.

Nose Grind Attempt

I finally got my digital camera back in the mail today. Here is one of the videos that I got while skating with Jeff Beard and Aaron Lynton a few weeks ago. This clip will give you an idea of how up close and personal it gets with the camera during a photo shoot.

Waves on Tybee?

SCAD Graphic Design major Dillon Pope, took this picture with his waterproof digital camera 2 summers ago. I can’t tell you how many times I get into conversations with people about the waves on Tybee Island, GA.

“Oh, you surf? Me too. Too bad there are never any waves here.”

“I’ve seen it get up to 10 feet on Tybee during a storm,” I’ll say back.


“Yeah but that’s like hurricane conditions, and it’s probably choppy as hell, right?”

“I mean, it’s not that clean, but you can catch some fun rides if you go at the right time.”

No, you can’t just go out there and find ride-able waves any time of the week. But if it’s high tide and the swell is up, you can find waves better than this. It’s not the cleanest break, but the challenge helps the learning process. I saw one of my friends learn to surf on Tybee waves smaller than in this, then drop in on Charleston locals into 7-foot waves on Folly Beach, South Carolina, without hesitation.

Check out more pictures under the local photos section at:

http://magicseaweed.com/Tybee-Island-Surf-Report/643/