Then a couple skaters showed up, coming down from the East side. They were carrying videocameras and—yes, a generator. Interesting. The first good night of the year, and some out-of-towners (assumed: they arrived in an SUV) were gonna shut down the Banks for their own purposes. They started to set up lights across the whole bottom of the Banks. Everyone was skating Element decks, so at least we knew who to blame.
A couple of the guys were just skating, including one hessian-looking dude with long blond hair, a baseball hat, and a denim jacket with some sort of crest on the back. One of the other riders I was with poked me. "That's Mike V!" Sure enough, a closer look revealed that it indeed was Mike Vallely. Which meant no one was gonna disturb this particular session. BMXers can be pretty stupid sometimes, but no one's THAT stupid. He started hitting the bank, sliding sliders and popping bonelesses. Pure '80s style.
Since I had my camera, I figured I'd try to poach again (look back for my post about Mark Gonzales to see earlier efforts). Well, I was in a bad spot, and maybe the flashes weren't going off as long. Regardless, I only got one semi-useable shot. And here it is. (I actually really dig the shadow.)
Anyway, I once again apologize for the long absence. Now that spring is actually in the air, I plan on being out a LOT more. And I have a Nikkor fisheye on the way that should make for some really cool photos. So stay with me.
