Continued in Part 2

You can invent your own captions for these photos if you want…
Thanks for checking them out.

Bryan Tarbell recently loaned me his Bronica SQ-A after my recent obsession with film photography. I ran around for about the last 2 months putting a couple rolls of film through her and learning more about manual photography, which is a totally different game from my DSLR’s. Once I had the developed photos in hand, a medium format camera instantly shot to the top of my wish list. If you have any interest in photography, I highly recommend trying one out, the 120 size negatives/slides are almost twice as big as your normal 35mm film! Everything here was shot with a 150mm f4 lens and Kodak Portra 160NC and 400 speed film. Enjoy!

Shout out to Defgrip for using the following photo as their “Flickr Find” yesterday.

This book “My Eyes Are Open” spans 12 years of your photography. During that time you have traveled to some of the most revered spots in the world. Do any spots in particular stand out in your mind? Any spots you wish you could be a local at?

Yea… I have been to quite a few spots through out the years, and many of them were amazing, and still are. When thinking of ones that stand out, I can really think of hundreds. The old Asbury, NJ park stands out cause it was located in an old, run down building that at one time, years ago it was a casino. All the trails I’ve been to I can remember quite well, like the first time I traveled to cali to ride places like Sheep Hills and Bo’s trails, and I can go on for hours about all the other places. I just feel that any place that I was at surrounded by friends will always stand out in my mind. I’m not sure about wanting to be a local at any place besides where I am right now at the Panamoka trails on Long Island… well… maybe I could see myself being a local at Posh.

Is there a Shredder Dan photo in the book?

Haha…no, there is not. There almost was though. I have some good shots of him, but now looking back at them I just wish I shot them better and I feel i wouldn’t be giving him justice with a photo I have doubts on.

I remember a time when it seemed you shot almost exclusively in black and white. Since then you seem to have incorporated a lot more color into your work. Any reason for the change?

It’s the digital age, brotha. It has just became so much easier to get photos places to where they need to be, and also my dark room has been out of commision for a bit now. If I’m going to shoot a b/w photo I want it to be film, and I want to print it up myself and give it that unique feel to it. Sometimes I do fall victim of changing a color photo to b/w, but I die a little bit inside every time I do… haha.

What is your favorite film stock?

With b/w negatives it would be Illford hp5 plus 400 speed for 35 and 120. As for color slides it’s Fuji Velvia 50 speed. For color negatives I really dont have a process.

Where do you enjoy shooting the most the trails or the streets?

I would easily say the trails. I feel the possibilities are endless when it comes to shooting in the woods. Every set of trails are different and so are the woods that they lay in. When shooting street, alot of spots look the same. A ledge is a ledge and a rail is a rail. Don’t get me wrong, there are some really unique street spots, but not as many trails as there are. Another reason I like shooting trails more is because it’s the thing I like riding the most. In my opinion you can’t beat a day in the woods at the jumps with your friends enjoying an all day session.

How long did it take you to pick out images and compile the book?

I’ve been working on this on and off for about a year and a half. I would get motivated and really bang out a few pages and find some good images, and other times it would take me hours to just make one single layout, so I would give a break for a bit. It was hard going back through all my photos over the past 12 years and trying to pick what images made the cut or not. I actually cut myself off when the book got to 144 pages, but i got a test copy of the book and when i went back to make some changes i wound up adding 6 more pages. I easily could have made this book something like 200 pages, but I think that would be a bit much for people looking at it.

Is there anyone that you would like to thank?

There are hundreds and hundreds of people I would like to thank that I’ve shot photos of, traveled with, and have met through out my times riding and shooting bmx, but I’m not goin to name them all.. haha. This crazy life of riding bmx and being a photographer has brought amazing people into my life and has allowed me to see amazing places. So to all those people and places, I thank you. I would also like to thank Least Most for this interview and showing interests in my book, and that goes to anyone else who shows interest in it.

These 10 photos by Chad share part of that experience, and it is unique for sure.

"A Positive" - Your blood type needs to be displayed on you in case something were to go wrong. They even like to have our blood type on file as entertainers.

Apache Chopper" - the most deadly helicopter ever built was under maintenance and we got to tour the chopper. Even got to sit in the pilots seat, not much room to move around but then again it wasn't built for comfort.

"Bike Rack C-130" - We have a few transports between bases flying in C-130 airplanes so we strap all the bikes to one pallet and all our bags and boxes of product for the troops on another pallet. It has the ability to be a wild ride if you convince the pilots they should show you what the plane can do, so much fun to float off the floor for about 4 seconds... ha ha.

"Feeble Drew" - Drew B. found a short feeble grind in the back of Saddam's Ba' ath House that had no run up and as soon as you land had about 3 feet to stop before falling in the manmade ces-pool of a lake. We were told it takes 17 shots of vaccinations to clean you up if you fall in.

"Fuck Saddam" - This is the last known standing portrait of Saddam still in Iraq since all the rest were destroyed by the people after we took him out of power. We stopped by to pay our "respects" and I think I made it pretty clear what I was thinking.

"Kickflip in Baghdad" - We were able to convince the military to let us find some street spots on the base and got to ride the Flinstones Village. It's a replica of the only TV show Saddam allowed to air in his country from America and gave this facility to his grandkids after having their fathers killed. Billy Rohan found a spot on the roof to kickflip and not fall 30 feet to the bad water below.

"Palace Destruction" - Self Portrait inside one of Saddams palaces that was partially destroyed in the last war. Odd fact about this scene is that the stairs are different sizes and in a pattern that Saddam had for all his palaces. If an attacker was after him he could run up the stairs but those chasing him would trip on the random sized steps. Dude was crazy!

"request denied" - We were asked by the crew of this Apache Chopper to sign the hellfire missile so we added to what was already there... "Facebook Friend Request DENIED!"

"restricted" - We got approval from the Mayor of Camp Slayer to tour the giant palace.

"Wessel Ziggurat" - This may be the only time during out Bikes Over Baghdad tour that Nate Wessel had a chance to sit down and relax for a minute. Pretty amazing being on top of the Ziggurat outside the wire with a large military escort. Once in a lifetime experience for sure.

We asked Ryan to share some photos of his creations and installations from over the years.

Enter Ryan.

Queens museum exhibition. Aka Fast Forward This is the project I did with Dizz Hicks. Todd Oldham helped me get the carpet made. Erin Sickler the curator and everyone at the Queens Museum was great! Skid marks, holes in the walls, no problem. I was finally forced to assemble and cleanup all these old school bikes I had been collecting. I have probably added another 10 or so. We also installed this at The Moore College of Art and Design in Philly. Next stop is Miami in June. Then the West Coast…although I have no idea where.

In 2010 I got asked to rework two BCBG dresses for an event supporting The Whitney Museum. One I did ahead of time, and one I had to do live. The Model is Jewelry designer Pamela Love. She was great, she drank cocktails and texted people the whole time she was being filmed.

My friend needed a chicken coop for his Brooklyn backyard. We made this largely from found materials. The roof shingles are Texas license plates. Rats are an issue in New York. So I used a bed frame as the base so that the coop was up off the ground, and it is completely incased in hardware cloth instead of chicken wire.

This is a totem pole made from beer kegs. Ken from Brooklyn Machine Works helped me weld this thing together. He also helped me push it to my studio on a moving dolly. Ken rules.

RedBull Treat or Treat Jam - I was teaching at TCU in Texas and I had to fly in to paint the ramps. I made stencils ahead of time, and lost a lot of sleep. It is stressful to focus on something so intently and then have some dude fly by you on a bike testing out the course. This happened hundreds of times. Imagine playing chess in an intersection. I don’t know if was the traveling, the 20 Red Bull’s I drank, the giant gash I got on my leg from the broken anntena on the hearse, or the cold. But I was stressed out. I got up at 3am and pulled out the generator to finish the grim reaper in quiet and solitude. It was an awesome opportunity and I was psyched to do it. Hopefully they will do it again next year.

This is a storefront I did with Maschino and The Whitney Museum. The motorcycle is based on the third horseman of the Apocalypse which is Famine. I filled one of their handbags with metal spikes and built an aluminum holder for it. The rugs are dipped in black rubber, the wave painting is made from Automobile sheet metal. The walls are painted and covered with black camo fabric. I still have that damn motorcycle in my studio. It isn’t street legal and I don’t have the title.

This was from my last solo show at DCKT Contemporary. I made all the wall paneling by hand. The chandelier is made from a car rim and professionally wired. (UL Listed) The Monster truck rim and tire was abandoned at Brooklyn Machine Works, and I cut a piece of lexan for a table top. The chairs are coated in Black rubber and the arms have spikes. Paintings, spears, and mirrors are hung on top. The table is covered with record covers, bottle caps, and bottle openers.

This is a small sampling of old school bmx stuff I have collected over the years. This is the storefront of The City Reliquary Museum in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. They have a different person’s collection in the window every month or so.

Chase the Ghost - This piece is made out at least 30 scavenged bike frames, ramp wood with tires marks on it, fabric, silkscreen etc. That is an old school shot of Dennis McCoy at the top. I was considering that intangible feeling you get from riding when making this piece. DMC has been chasing that ghost for a long, long time. I gave him a t-shirt I had made from the same screen he couldn’t have seemed less psyched. It made me feel like a dick.

This is a silk screened replica of an 80’s Lasonic boom box. I made over 100 of these in conjunction with my exhibition at Kunsthalle Galapagos in Brooklyn.

This is the first large edition I ever did. It has sold really well. I have learned all kinds of stuff form selling these on the street: Self defense gun take away techniques for example I have met retired police and FBI agents, been harassed by undercover cops, made some serious cash, freaked out some people and met some people that freaked me out.

POST bike shop in Brooklyn needed a serious face list so I stepped in. I spent a week in there painting nearly every surface. They moved out like two months later. At least I got some nice photos and whatever I need at cost.

I customized this vintage Steelcase table and four chairs for The Armory Art Fair in NYC in 2010. The top of the table is a mosaic of old skateboard decks underneath security glass. Everything metal was powder coated an insanely bright color. In the sea of black clothing that art world people wear they really stood out.

This is a Tic Tac box filled with map tacks. I wanted to make the meanest artwork ever on an intimate scale.

Tonka Winnebago skateboard - I have wanted to make this for a long time. I finally got on Ebay and bought the damn thing. Maybe it will end up in a video or something. It is like riding a cement block.

This ramp is made from 'abandoned' street signs. I may do an exhibition completely from things stolen from the public realm… Time will tell. I have lots of ideas.

Coffin – Death should be celebration. This casket holds a giant speaker system, centerfolds, Jack Daniels, a coffee can for ashes of the deceased, lots of stickers, and paint that Krink supplied for the show.

Check out more of Ryan’s work over at Humphrey Industries.

Justin Luong was one of the first people I met when I moved out to the New England, and I consider myself lucky for that. Justin knows everyone around here, he has a crazy job, and he can throw down on a bike. Justin is also a pretty prolific photographer. He has a large portfolio that spans back at least a few years and features a wide variety of riders from around the Northeast. I asked him to share a bit of his background, along with some of his favorite photos from over the years.

Shamus Kelliher footjam @ Haven.

What’s your current setup and what got you interested in shooting in the first place?

Currently I have a Nikon D90, pocket wizards that fire a Nikon SB600, and a Vivitar 285HV, a few tripods to mount the flashes and the camera. For lenses, I have a 50mm f/1.4, 18-70mm f/3.5, and a 10.5mm f/2.8. Recently the Vivitar broke, so I will soon have two more SB600s for some extra fire power.

I got my first taste of photography from one of my roommates back when I went to college. I was never really interested in photography, I always thought some photos looked cool, but never really understood how these photos came to be the way they were. During my first year at college, I met two colleagues, Dave Damant and Mike Tnasuttimonkol (aka Mikey T). Dave was a graphic design major, and Mikey was a photo major, and boy could he shoot photos. He has an amazing eye for capturing the best pictures, even with a simple point and shoot, and he can make magic happen…I am honored to say he was my inspiration and the sole person for getting me interested in photography.

Thought this was quite a neat photo from my friend Mikey T. Doing some work with the Jabbawockeez.

Being a Californian resident, he loves the waves…and because of that, he initially wanted to shoot body boarding/surfing photos. Being that it was action photography that he loved to shoot, he of course asked if he could shoot photos of me riding my bike, since there are no waves anywhere close to Rochester, NY. As I watched him setup for shots, and watched all the work that went on behind a shot, it intrigued me…but what really got me, was the photos he would produce from them. He came through with amazing photos, and it made me appreciate photos at such another level. I would help Mikey setup in future shots, help take down flashes, and tripods (which is so helpful from a photographers point of view, so next time help a friend out if he is going to shoot you!) and I soon learned how things worked…why he placed the flashes where he did, and how wireless triggers worked. I wouldn’t understand the shutter speed, aperture, and ISO until I picked up a camera myself, but Mikey’s photos and his amazing ability as a photographer was the reason I gave it a shot and the reason I am shooting to this day.

This was one of the many photos that inspired me to try photography as a hobby. Mikey T shot this of me in a newly built olympic size pool. So many fond memories come back to me when I look at this, including a memory of a bunch of us acting as if we came from ESPN to shoot some clips in a pool so the security guard would let us through.

There’s a lot of diversity in your shots – different styles of riding, different places, and you don’t really limit yourself to shooting one group of riders. Is that something you do on purpose?

I have a goal I set for myself, where I want to shoot at least one photo of every one of my friends I ride with. I believe each one of my friends has their own style, their own way they see things, and because of that, I believe all these different photos come to be. I don’t do it on purpose, I just happen to ride with them, and think “hey that would make for a good photo.” and I’ll usually just ask them if they’d like to shoot a photo of it. Because of the diverse riders that we have in our scene in CT, I believe that diversity comes out in the photos I shoot as well.

Seth Bernard getting steezy. I pretty much sat on the sidelines watching this kid progressively get better and better. Everytime I get to ride with him he'd would be doing the most unique spins on tricks. He's got a great attitude toward riding, and I'm excited to see what kind of fun and rediculous tricks this kid comes up with next.

What kind of stuff do you like to shoot outside of bmx?

To be honest, I don’t really shoot much outside of bmx. I mainly got inspired through photos of bmx, and also got into photography to shoot photos of bmx, so that’s what I mainly do. However, that does not mean I haven’t been curious about shooting other things. The majority of the photos unrelated to bmx are scenery, and landscapes. Portraits are really fun too. People do rediculous poses, dress up in funny outfits, and have a blast. It sounds pretty childish, but photoshoots are really fun, mostly since your imagination can run free, both for the photographer and the subject being shot. I like to make some ideas in my head and try to take a photo that best shows exactly what I’m thinking of. To be able to use your imagination and recreate it in a photograph for all to see amazing.

Roommate and close friend of mine, Pauly Misbach, participating in a little fun.

Where are some of the places that you’ve traveled to, and some favorite spots close to home?

I love traveling! As far as traveling for riding goes however, I haven’t been to many places that far from the Northeast, though I am starting to bring my bike everywhere I travel. So far, I’ve been to Las Vegas, Paris, and Vienna with my bike. I’ve also been out to Woodward, a lot of upstate NY, all over New England and NYC. I will say though, that there are plenty more places in the future that my tires will be touching. That DK Golf bag was the best investment I ever made.

Pauly Misbach riding a compacter. The best thing about photography are the memories. With each shot I take, I take away something from that day. And each time I look at each of my photos, I feel like I can travel back in time to that moment.

Explain your day job. Does that background ever come into play with photo stuff? Riding?

I work as a Engineer at a place that makes Airplanes. Commercial and Military. I myself have been mostly working on the 787, which will be replacing the 747s that most airlines are using…so soon enough, you’ll be flying in planes that a BMXer has been working on. I don’t believe too much transfers over when shoot photos, mostly because photography is more of an artistic form of expression, and engineering is pretty much crunching numbers, and pretty much black and white type. The planes either fly, or they don’t. As far as engineering and riding goes…I’ve always dreamed of designing parts. I love the new designs Fly and Odyssey have done, and love how those companies are pushing innovation in BMX, and not taking what we ride as the standard. I’ve kept a few ideas in the back of my head…maybe one day we’ll see them come to fruition.

What happens if you have a shot all set up, flashes out etc. and security shows up?

I come up with an excuse fast haha. But thankfully…this hasn’t happened a lot, but it has happened before. The few times I was caught by security, they have let me pack my equipment up and leave. At those times, I really wish I got into videography instead hahaha.

Matt Horak roastin' a lookback.

On that topic, I’ve seen a few videos you’ve shot on your DSLR, do you plan on doing that more? Is it weird shooting video on a still camera?

Haha, it’s not really anything I plan to do more of, or any less of. I just thought it’d be fun to try and film an edit. As for using my D90 to film, it is quite hard seeing as the camera’s ergonomics were based off of shooting a photo, and not needing much wrist movement and freedom. I will definitely be making small edits periodically but my main focus is still photography.

Garret Serven, flowing on the streets of Hartford. I always love capturing moments like these in a photo. Something so simple, and so stylish would never have gotten used in a video edit or DVD, but in photography...you can appreciate the artistic side of bmx riding.

Do you have a process for setting up a riding shot? Is there any one thing that you always try to capture?

I would first start off with what exactly I’m trying to capture. I would look for the best angle and best way to frame the photo. If at all possible, I would try and keep the approach and landing in the shot so the viewer could understand what’s being done and from where to where. From that point on, it’s all about lighting. That’s when you will see me running back and forth from where I am shooting to where the flashes are…changing settings, and moving the location of the flashes. All that for that one moment…that one amazing moment. =)

Anthony Villani doing a brakeless fufanu on a sub box.

What are some things you’re looking forward to this year? I know you’ve got at least one trip planned….

Oh man…there’s a lot of things I am looking forward to this year. Definitely the trips and the good riding sessions that will be had. Camping trips, lake jumps, summer fires, good times with friends, and with family. I’m looking forward to seeing the capital of Connecticut possibly getting a skatepark, and seeing the CT bmx scene grow.

Don't shoot too many skateboarding shots, but I definitely am gonna try to more.