Bryan Tarbell

A vegetarian Ron Swanson.

Posts from Bryan:

Mike Corts on “Love It or Leave It”

Mike Corts originally hails from Elyria, Ohio. However, if you have had your paths cross in the past 5 years it is likely that he was on the move. Mike’s quest for adventure has taken him everywhere from Binghamton to Australia. Mike was kind enough to take time out of his motorcycle restoration to share some photos and talk about his latest completed project, Shitluck’s “Love It or Leave It”.

This is the second full length Shitluck video. What should we expect when we pop this in our DVD player?

To put it as simply and basic as I can, people doing what they like to do and having a good time!

To elaborate, it started just as how most bike videos do. At the time, I was staying at Leland’s and we were going over all the footage we had. It was a mixture of a few trips we had gone on, times while people were passing through Louisville, stuff that Barlow and myself captured while we did a little exploring along the country side, and other things that I filmed while I was cruising around. As we gathered everything, we saw that we basically had enough to make a short video. Amongst that time, I was moving to California, so we decided that we would just keep filming some more and make a full video with sections.

Then the team Joe Mettille, Vince Smith, Brandon Burke, Chester Blacksmith, Richard Aryes, Tim Bunao, Chris Wilson, Cameron Wood, Ryan Metro, Marcus Grubbs, and myself all started to film for sections. With the exception of Chester, he tends to do crazy shit and sometimes gets injured. While at the same time gathering footage of our friends and family. Once all was said and done, I got everything captured and tried to make a fun having, great time feeling, ear wrenching, cowboy boot melting, gut explosioning, monkey turning into a snake having video. I guess thats what you can expect, or SHITLUCK and what we encounter.

I know that while you were filming this, you were traveling the country in your veggie powered Mercedes wagon. How many miles do you think you clocked in?

Well I’ve never really been able to tell cause the tachometer is broke. But after doing a quick rough estimate it would have been around the 12,000 miles area.

Your brother, John Corts, the brainchild of Team Major Air, has a strong presence in this video. Do you have any stories of life on the road with your older brother?

Man there could be endless stories. I guess I’ll share one that has come up a few times recently. This was while we were on the last Gypsy 3 trip. Our team one night in Vermont went on a hike on the Appalachian Trail to camp up in a cabin. It was about an 1.5-2 hour hike up. We get up there all fine and dandy, get to the cabin, start to settle in.

Some of us gather some wood to start a fire, get that going, and some people start to cook some food. Johnny had a can of soup on the fire, while its roasting he finds a stick to make tongs to take the can off of the fire. Finds that efficient stick then grabs my machete, as he’s nearing the end of his split. The stick breaks and my machete bounces off his hand and bumps the bone. Blood then began to squirt out all over his chest and ground. He then pinches it and says “FUCK!” I saw what he was in the process of doing and when I heard that fuck I new it was gonna be good. In perfect timing, the sun was about 20 mins. away from setting.

At this point, since every time Johnny would unpinch the slit on his hand blood would squirt out, we decided to head back down the mtn. I then got all my stuff back together and what Johnny’s I could add on. Then him and I put on some head lamps and began our trek back down the mtns with nothing more than a circle of light in front of us and a trail of blood behind us. Once we got back to the car, we drove to find a hospital. We found one near nowhere that looked like a bigger office building. Get inside to the empty lobby and fill out some papers. The Nurse is wearing black jeans, hiking boots, yellow glasses, and a rolled up shirt. Then she takes us into a room to start to get Johnny cleaned up. She grabs all the supplies takes us to the sink and asked Johnny if he wants to clean it himself. He said yea sure, so then he scrubbed down. Once it was clean this other lady doctor came in looked at it and was like we can glue it or stitch. If you’re on a bike riding trip your probably gonna want to stitch it so you can ride. As it was being stitched, we were informed that the most patients they’ve had in 24 hours is 24.

We then went back to the base of the trail and slept outside the car. Then in the morning we waited for the rest of the guys to come down. Johnny then wore dried blood on himself for a day. Later that night, we tattooed tents on each other and Johnny’s had a machete in it. Good times.

In the ever evolving world of bmx cinematography, this video maintains the familiar feel of a Sony VX. Do you care to weigh in on the dslr/VX debate?

Yea thats cause I have a VX, and Leland has a Canon. I think HD looks awesome, they’re just real expensive!

Is there anyone that you would like to thank?

Mike Tag, the ultimate hero, will be forever missed. Leland and waiting for me taking so long, the team and everyone else on that note. John Corts he played a big part in making the video as well.

Rep Zine

Adam Spitalny recently finished his latest endeavor. Rep Zine focuses on the local Boston zine. The quality of the zine is top notch with plenty of attention to detail. You can pick up a copy here at the 90 east online store.

90East and the “Sound of the City”

“Sound of the City” marks the second release from the guys at 90East. Everyone put in a lot of effort on both sides of the camera. The end result is a video that makes you want to hop and the bmx and cruise down the street. Lino Gonzalez was nice enough to answer some questions about his latest endeavor. Be sure to check out the video available both in “hardcover” and digital formats here on the 90East store.

The crowd at the "Sound of the City" premier

At the premier you said the sort of video you enjoyed and wanted to make is something that you put in before riding. Growing up what were the videos that you were watching?

Yeah if it gets people excited to go out and ride and explore their surroundings then that’s great. That’s definitely how videos that i always watched effected me. For bmx videos Standard “Domination” was a big one for me. The music and the riding formed a great vibe in that video, and I especially liked all the lines in Moliterno’s and Bobby Fisher’s parts. A lot of my friends were skateboarders growing up so I was heavy into skate videos also. Some big skate videos for me were Zoo York “mixtape” and the EST (Eastern Standard Time) video series.

The EST series was awesome because the issues would have sections for each major east coast city, Boston, NYC, Philly, DC etc. That was cool because people really repped their cities and you would get a good look into the individual scenes going on in them. You would see the guys that were really out there skating and putting in work and not just the common guys you saw in magazines. Tons of spot oriented skating and night footage in those would get me hyped to go ride.

This is assuredly going on instagram.

Did they effect your editing and filming style?

I don’t consider myself to be a “filmer” or “editor” anything like that. I kinda just figured out how to make the footage look decent and the rider handles the rest, anyone can do it. The rider is always the most important part of the equation. One thing that did influence me though was seeing a lot of night footage in those EST videos. Riding at night is the best, it’s just a completely different vibe than the day time and that can be seen in the footage. A lot of our crew works during the day so we end up with a lot of night footage which works out perfect. As for editing those videos all had a simple style and format, that’s just what I’m into. Keep it simple and let the riding and vibe speak for itself.

“Sound of the City” is the second 90 East video. After this you are going to start shooting hdslr. Do you think the VX is really dead after all these years?

Nah I don’t think it’s dead yet and it won’t be until they stop making mini dv tapes which I imagine wont be a while. It’s not really so much about the format for us as it is about the actual convenience of using the dslr. It’s much smaller,lighter, doesn’t use tapes and it just generally works better with how we ride. I can carry it in a small backpack and I don’t even notice its in there. we don’t go overboard and carry all there rigs and steady cams and crap, nothing kills a good session more than waiting for someone to set all that stuff up or looking at them running around with all that nonsense. Plus you really don’t wanna be riding some joints in the hood carrying all that stuff.

As for the actual HD format I do like the way it looks, especially when it’s not over sharpened which is a common problem. At the end of the day though what really matters is the riding and the vibe of the production regardless of the format. Message over medium….always.

working the crowd at the premier.

What is next for 90 East?

Right now were in the process of relocating our shop so that’s been a major thing. The Sound of the City DVD will be out soon, and also spring/summer clothing releases as well as some other releases that are in the works. We are definitely keeping very busy this year and can’t wait for people to check out the new stuff. Thanks to all the crew and those who have supported 90East, never forget who your friends are.

This is what you get when you take a trail rider out to shoot a street photo.

Keith Terra’s “My Eyes Are Open”

Since I can remember I have been seeing Keith’s work published in just about every magazine I can think of. Not much has changed over the years in that regard. What has changed is his affinity towards the mustache and his new photo book “My Eyes Are Open”. Keith was gracious enough to answer a few questions about his latest project. The book is available for purchase over on blurb.

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.

Winter Skatepark Gallery

Every year the reality of winter sets in. For riders in the Northeast this can mean a number of things. Ditching the bike and hitting the slopes, setting yourself up on your favorite bar stool, or packing up the car and driving to your indoor skatepark. Warmer weather is right around the corner. It is time to get ready for it.

Kyle Hibbard scrubbing the snow off the side of his shoe in the now relocated yet world famous Little Devil bowl.

Here Kyle Muggeo leans into a table on the hip.

After driving over an hour through rain, snow, sleet and the local Starbucks Ryan Souva still had the energy for this foot jam at East Shore Skatepark.

Cabin fever can lead to some questionable decisions. Paul Bucholtz drove across New York State on I-90 to do this one footed x-up and watch his friends drink four loko.

We still aren't too sure what to call this. Some are adamant that it is a flair others consider it a flat spin 540. Either way Alex Capalongo makes them look good.

You may have seen a photo of Kyle Hibbard doing a toboggan on the site before. There is a good reason for that.

Joel Barnett of FBM fame was able to pencil in enough time to do this stretched no footed can-can in between his travels.

Kyle Hibbard feeling out a new obstacle far above the deck of the box.

Ryan Scott Photo Gallery

Ryan Scott is a Philadelphia area photographer. I have actually known him for awhile via the internet. This summer I had the pleasure of crossing paths with him a couple of times at two very important Pennsylvania trail jams. Ryan was gracious enough to throw together a photo gallery for us chock full of strong images. Like what you see? Take a look at RyanScottPHOTO.com and TheLastPeople.com for more work.

Like a lost puppy, this tabletop doesn't currently belong to anyone. It was found at the Catty trails at the end of the summer of 2010. If you know who the owner is please let The LeastMost know immediately.

If you don't know, now you know. Derek Brower has been better than everyone before you could tabletop. You won't ever hear him say that because he's such a modest, down to earth dude, but when you see him ride you know he's amazingly talented on his bike. Here he whips it sideways over a hefty set at Catty.

Justin nose manualed this platform a couple times but not before hitting the eject button a few times.

After spending 10 hours riding Ray's MTB park the day before and a late night of festivities that night this photo shouldn't really have happened. Everyone was beat and half of our crew had already started the trek back home to PA. Jon Vozzo mustered up the strength to blast and I'm thankful for it. This is photo is one of 3 that I shot because I couldn't force myself to stop riding Ray's the day before to open up my camera bag.

Mike Swift used that 2 inch speed bump to launch him onto this 50 inch high ledge. Mike doesn't believe in math.

Paul Horan left the packed cement skatepark in York, PA to solo session this rail. He didn't get snaked once.

Look closely at this photo and you'll see Amos Beury blasting through a tree transferring from the line on the right to the landing on the left. Amos is one of the main people responsible for the Beury Patch trails in Lock Haven, PA and he's got every line dialed. The day after this was shot he headed out to Travis Pastrana's house to help build a ridiculous bowl/ramp setup, which, if you're unaware, is one of the raddest jobs ever.

Justin Care is a street killer and is awesome to shoot photos with. He's like a rider and assistant all in one. When we're done shooting, half of my stuff is packed up before I even get back to my camera bag. Solid dude.

I'd trade every single thing I can do on my bike to go as high as Jon Vozzo goes on absolutely everything. Here he's making new friends with the rafters in the barn where this ramp is. Jon's also a large part of The Last People, a collaborative online BMX and art mag that's definitely worth checking out.

Mike Trawicki Photo

When I first met Mike he was simply “Opie” a four pegged street rider from Cleveland. Since his arrival in Binghamton I have gotten the pleasure to watch this cat shred any obstacle that he comes across. These days Opie is by and large a trail dog. His first time riding street this year was in mid November. Returning to his roots he was able to fire out this chain hop gap.

Red Bull Trick or Treat Photo Gallery

Halloween brought another Red Bull Trick or Treat contest. This year the venue was in Brooklyn, NY. The street course was put together in front of a Manhattan back drop. Riders from all over the world descended on New York to do back flips in costume. Originally my plan was to shoot the riding in the event. However, after a couple flash failures I took to the course with a point and shoot camera. These are some shots from the contest.

An over view of the course with New York in the background.

Serpico

Mean muggin’ Steve Crandall and Ralph Sinisi

Joel Barnett and one of the coolest rolling rail set-ups around.

Corey Martinez and Aaron Ross in his Corey Martinez costume

Judge/Beer/Latane Coghill

Patrick Nugent of ESPN and Russ Barone of Cult

Unknown ice pick down the hearse rail

Tommy Verochi gettin’ his

Sean Sexton and Edwin De La Rosa

Brad Sims and Scotty Cramner

Ben Hittle and Kenny Horton

Big Daddy in a suit and Garrett Reynolds

Bruno Hoffman took best trick with this 540 over the rail

Trails Photo Gallery

Every fall, trail builders get to fully enjoy the fruits of their labor. There’s nothing better than cruising through a line that you’ve spent all summer dialing. Here’s a montage of trail photos I’ve shot in the Northeast this year.

Chris Hancock and John Lee took two separate lines to meet at this table top in the middle. Endwell, NY.

John Lee toboggan. Endwell, NY.

Chris Hancock look back. Endwell, NY.

Kyle Hibbard coming through the jungle. Endwell, NY.

Ryan Hoey .com coming around a berm on his home turf. Panamoka, LI.

John Lee with a proper no footed can-can. Endwell, NY.

Kyle Hibbard with a look down. Allentown, PA.

Mike Trawicki, aka “Opie” on Gypsy Tour. Providence, RI.

Kyle Hibbard enforcing the argument that toboggans are a trail trick. Endwell, NY.

Imaginary Friends Photos

I have always been amazed with the bike culture in Richmond, VA. Having my prior experience grounded in northern cities it is a trip to see cyclist of every variety traversing the streets of Richmond. Naturally then I should not of been surprised at the turn out for the Invisible Friends art show at Books Bikes and Beyond. Nestled within the main drag of Richmond’s first Friday the streets were full of art aficionados. Evan Venditti and Joby Springsteen put together a show that came from their passion of cycling. Evan and Joby were kind enough to answer some questions about their work. Also be sure to check out Steve’s photo gallery.

Evan and Joby, real talk.

Joby Springsteen

Where do you draw inspiration for your sculptures?
All sorts of places. Sometimes it is music that inspires the idea, others it is just seeing a piece of scrap and what I could do with it. On occasion people suggest or ask me to make something and I do what I can to portray it. However, a lot of the time its a dumb thought of something I think would be cool or funny to see done. I generally do it to amuse myself and for the ladies :)

You certainly have a number of creative outlets. How do you divide your time between manufacturing bicycles, playing in a band, crafting sculptures and propagating text messages?
Making bikes is the 9-5, sculptures come when the inspiration is there, music is done whenever I can, and texts are generally 24/7. There are few more things I like to spend my time doing too and never enough time (sigh) plus I don’t sleep as much as I should.

Of those disciplines is there one you wish you had more time for?
Music is my passion but there are even times I’m not in the mood for it. So I guess id say that… and sleep

Have you had any schooling in sculpture or music? If not how did you arrive at the knowledge that you have?
I have taken art classes in high school and college and some college music classes though I still work from the gut as I always have. A few bits of knowledge and techniques have been added from schooling but I feel they just supplemented what I knew already or gained from experience. Besides, school is lame.

Are there any artists that have influenced your style?
Are there any that specialize in welding crap together? haha but really, there aren’t any that I know of. I just take my inspiration and do what I can with it.

Is there anyone that you would like to thank?
For sure my mom she has supported everything I’ve ever done, and that includes building a 7.5ft junk robot in our front yard. Also my friends and teachers that have helped my along the way.

Evan Venditti

photo: Crandall

Where do you draw inspiration for your sculptures?
I’ve never really thought about it… Considering most of my work is from found items, usually I pick something up and notice a certain resemblance to something organic and go from there, months can go by between those instances though. This time around inspirations were drawn from certain romances, and typically a twelve pack and a spliff help things flow.

You certainly have a number of projects going. From running a bike shop, traveling on a bmx bike and creating sculptures. How do you find time for all of this?
I don’t know. There is always that feeling of something needs to be done, in the back of my head. Lately, I have been noticing that I will go, go, go for weeks or months then burn out and be unmotivated for a week, charge the batteries, and then… repeat. Run it, life’s too short.

Recycles (bike shop) certainly must provide a multitude of possibilities for bike sculptures. What helps you decide what is transportation and what is art?
For sure, I try not to use parts that can obviously be used/ridden again, most of the stuff I’m looking for is pretty decrepid or overly abundant, like punctured tubes.

photo: Crandall

Are there any artist that have influenced your style?
Not really. I’ve never really understood the concept of art school and don’t really pay attention to “the art world” so mostly just the beautiful and disgusting world around us influences my freestyle.

Is there anyone that you would like to thank?
My father Brad, when I was young I never understood why he saved everything that myself and most others viewed as crap, now I get it.

Aaron Buckley

Name:
Aaron Shelby Buckley

Age:
20 fucking 3

How many years have you been riding?
I did my first one footer when i was 13, so I guess ten years.

How many years have you been shooting photos?
7 years i think.

What have you been shooting lately?
Pictures of my shitty friends, doing fun stuff. Life style stuff mostly. some professional jobs in between work, and some BMX stuff when people ask for it. I’d like to shoot more but working a 9 to 5 and having a bum knee prohibits the BMX end of things a little bit. (Side note: we just white faced my Filipino friend with baby powder )

First camera?
minolta maxxum 4000. I felt like such a bad-ass when i got it. I had no clue how to use it and i wasted a bunch of film trying to figure it out. Then minolta went out of business so the whole bad ass camera idea kind of went out the window.

First bike?
I know it was a diamondback because the local shop was a diamondback dealer. I had broken a few frames so my friend Ty (now roomate) gave me a haro mirra pro frame, I eventually broke that too. Right on the fat wishbone in the rear triangle. I’ve always been kind of a fat ass, so i break a lot of shit.

Where would you rather ride, street, park or trails?
Trails, bro.

Where would you rather shoot, street, park or trails?
street, i feel like you can have some way more creative shots on street. (that sounds super gay, but its true) Randy brown is probably the funnest dude to shoot with. Ive only shot a few times with him but he is super chill and always does cool shit. which makes my pics look way cooler than they probably actually are.

Would you like to tell us about where you are working these days?
I work at a small camera shop in downtown philly called Webbcam. Its funny, hood ass dudes come in all the time asking if we sell security cameras so they can spy on their girlfriends cheating on them.. They always tell us long ass stories and we just tell them that Webb refers to the owners last name. Incidentally a bad choice for a name of a camera store.

Being that you work in a small camera shop how is it competing with larger online retailers such as Adorama or B&H?
B and H and Adorama can suck a dick. They always have shit priced lower than we can buy it for. Moms come in asking for a camera, waste 2 hours explaining how it works, then they go buy it on the internet. It can ruin your day pretty fast.

Is there anyone that you would like to thank?
Waylon Jennings changed my life.