One of the things that I love about photography is how there is a first time for everything. First time with a camera, first time shooting sports, first time using lighting, first time shooting a longboard race, first time…
This was my first time shooting a longboard race even though I have been in Calgary when the Paskapoo Downhill Rodeo happened. And as promised by the name and every story I have heard preceding the race, it sure is a wild race.

Skateboards have always eluded my grasp as a masterable skill; maybe its me being 6’4, maybe its my lack of coordination, or even lack of effort but the respect I have for the sport is fully there. From the moments in between crashes on my attempts at skateboarding where I feel in control and gracefully (many would beg to differ) carving down some of the pavement have been amazing.

On a photography note i’m really happy no one crashed into the hay bales for this last image, i was laying directly behind the part of the corner where riders most often drifted too far, clipped their board and were sent careening towards where my lens would be. Why do the most interesting points of view for sports always have to be so dangerous? (On that note I was shooting from the top of a mostly dead tree last night which swayed 2 feet in every direction whenever I shifted my weight…)

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