I was browsing around on the 957 blogs i usually check daily, and this post by JGB really stood out. I remember thee exact moment when I decided I did not want to shoot digital skateboarding any longer; Pro-Tec Pool Party 2008. I saw around 15-25 photographers on the deck, all using thee exact same equipment, and all shooting the same way; left arm up around shoulder height with the flash/ttl cord, and the right hand holding the camera at knee level on auto focus- not looking through the viewfinder. I decided right then and there that I was totally over my digital set-up.   ANYONE can shoot like that if they have the tools- there is no creativity or composition required when it comes to that style whatsoever.
Not only that- but the etiquette was total bullshit.  I saw dudes getting in all the legendary photogs way, poaching their angles and shots- and man they did not appear to be happy (fuck, I wouldn’t be either!).  Guys like MRZ, JGB, Bryce Kanights, Dave Swift, Atiba, Humphries, Rhino, etc. are people that have earned the respect from all their peers and pros all from being individuals.  You ever seen any of those guys poaching shots?  Nope.  They’ve taken the time, the energy, and the finances to make their own approaches come to light.

I heard about this one time (from a good friend & liable source) that some dweeb from a local newspaper showed up to upland and saw MRZ shooting the pipe.  I’m sure he didn’t know who MRZ was, and He figured that that guy (MRZ) was getting “The Shot”, so why not go stand directly beside him and steal his lighting, angle, and composition?  WRONG.  MRZ flared the shit out of the dudes shots by holding his flash directly into the dweebs lens- classic.

In conclusion- make your own path, have respect, and be an individual.  High-end digital fisheye with fill flash shots are great- but they’re getting old.  Do something unique, have some confidence- Don’t follow like the masses of sheep.  This falls directly into the category of “Monkey see- Monkey do.”

The below photo made me laugh out loud- it is so true.  Read what Grant has to say about all this…