A few more shots from a filming day-trip we went on a bit ago to Seattle, and around this area a few weeks back. Caleb Quanbeck and Ben Hucke. Check the rest after the jump. The horizontal shots can be blown up by clicking to expand. Above is Caleb, no-hander down a big three-block set up into a high school track. 

It was 25 years ago, in 1985, that I went to my first BMX freestyle contest… an AFA Masters in Fitchburg, Ma. 1985 was also the year that Haro released a new version of its Master frame and fork set with new chainstay platforms, and an incredible new color — neon green. At the time I rode a Hutch Trickstar, but when that green came out I couldn’t resist. I added some green Haro bars to the Trickstar.

I never had a green Master at the time, but the release of that bike and colorway, looking back, seems like a turning point for BMX bikes. Since then, I’ve thought it would be cool to have one. And when I found this mint condition F&F online I couldn’t resist. So here it is. A 1985 Haro Master that now adorns my office as a piece of art. To me, it’s no different than a sculpture or a painting.

Half way across the country people were bitching and moaning about who got what place at the Dew Tour. But the reality is, that’s a small part of what happens in BMX freestyle. A very small part. A bunch of us headed down to Eugene from Portland yesterday for a backyard dirt jumping jam at Frank’s place. No credentials needed. No massive energy drink logos. No ticket sales. No judging. Just a large gathering of people having fun. Frank’s got some amazing jumps in his yard, as well as a cool mini-ramp inside a barn, located way out past the land of cell phone service. On the way down we hit up a relatively new concrete skatepark in Harrisburg, OR, which was awesome, although the new concrete was incredibly slippery. After a couple hours of concrete we headed 10 more miles to Frank’s house, for a day in the dirt. That’s Justin Inman above. Check out the photos from the day after the jump. Horizontal shots can be expanded to a larger size by clicking. Also, see yesterday evening’s post with a shot of Ryan Barrett.

Mark Rainha, Harrisburg skatepark.

Codie Larsen, no-hander transfer, Harrisburg Skatepark.

Racer Chris, no-footed can-can.

Justin Inman, last set 360.

Pauly, t-bog.

Racer Chris

Roman Tenza.

Justin Inman. Table over a hip.

Roman Tenza

Ryan Barrett is something of a bicycle legend. For the last few years he’s been living a bit under the radar up here in Portland, Oregon. I don’t know how many times I’ve been at a local skatepark and heard “Barrett did it” when someone asks “has anyone ever tried to..?” It’s almost mythical. Like the Yeti. You don’t necessarily ever see him, but the stories elude to the fact that he’s still there.

Alright, he’s not that mysterious. I see Ryan from time to time, but he is a legend. I first met Ryan years ago when he was riding for Hoffman Bikes, but this is the first photo I’ve shot of him since I’ve been in Portland.

I’ve got a bunch of photos from a day-trip down to Eugene today to ride the Harrisburg, OR skatepark, and some great trails at a guy named Frank’s house, but for tonight I’m going to leave it at this. Ryan deserves a post of his own, since there’s no telling how long it will be before another photo surfaces. But, I assure you, he is very real (like the Yeti).

Going through some old New England BMX footage this week I came across an old video part of mine from Wire Zine’s “Losers of the Year video from 1995-ish. Kieran Chapman produced the video, as well as most of the important New England BMX coverage from the time. I was digitizing it for another purpose, but figured I’d post it here… hopefully Kieran doesn’t mind. Not that anyone would want to, but it’s not embeddable. This was definitely the “baggy pants era.” Standard Bikes had revolutionized previously flimsy products with unbreakable components, which resulted in a presumably 50 pound bike for most of this.

While filming for a Shadow Conspiracy video a few weeks back, Ben hit me up to come out and shoot this rail a couple miles from my house. I’d seen a picture he posted of it on Twitter, but didn’t think he’d actually do it. Jump to rail to pegs, to jump over. You screw this one up and you’re done (and I would have been done as well). It didn’t make me feel real sure when he sat at the top of the stairs and said “You’re insured, right?” Yes, but no insurance needed. Pulled perfectly, a few times. Check out the photo after the jump for rail height reference. Not easy. Two story drop. This is one that would have been a video-ender a few years back, now it gets sessioned 10 or 15 times? Keep your eye out for the Shadow edit online soon to see the line.

Shot this photo of Caleb Quanbeck up in Seattle a few weeks for a print ad, but he was wearing the wrong t-shirt. Oops. Rookie move, Caleb. Supposed to shoot something else tonight down here in Oregon.

I Wound up doing an unplanned shoot with Roman Tencza riding some dirt jumps today. Dean Dickinson was filming a project for ESPN and wanted to get some behind the scenes photoshoot footage. Roman and I had been talking about shooting some dirt at his friend’s private spot, so it was a good excuse to get out there… He killed the dirt much like he does the concrete. If you’re unfamiliar, check out my previous post. Or continue on after the jump and check out some dirt shred. Note: the horizontal shots are expandable.

There was a BMX Jam and BBQ in Portland’s Mt. Tabor park yesterday. I sent some photos in to the ESPN BMX site, but while we wait for those to go up, here are some outtakes from the day. It started with a BBQ, followed by a rail jam, and then a hill bomb down Mt. Tabor, ending up on Hawthorne Blvd. Check out some shots after the jump and make sure to check ESPN BMX later today or tomorrow for the gallery. ESPN gallery is now up here. Check that out, after you check the outtakes after the jump.

Chester Blacksmith showing his American Spirit.

Vince Kroff, Party Planet, BFC, Levi (and Ben) Hucke, Shad, and more.

A few muddy spots.

Modeled after old Bully Bars. These are awesome. Goods made 'em.

Chet is pissed at Shad that the Goods video isn't out yet.

Might be a little small.

Vince figured out that SoCal isn't that awesome, so he's back in Portland.

Nick Morris almost made it down the kinker. Well, he made it down, just not wheels first.

I shot a bunch of photos of Roman Tencza last month (and over the course of the last year really) that turned out to be some of my favorite things I’ve shot recently. Those shots evolved into a bio for the ESPN site, which evolved into a video to go with it. This feature is a good example of why I like producing content for the internet: I can melt together all the aspects of content that I like into one piece (photo, video, etc). Roman shreds the skateparks up here in the Northwest. Don’t be surprised if you see him on the contest scene this year too. He’s got the big tricks, but the style and flow to go with it. Very Rob Darden, Brian Foster, and Brian Hunt inspired style. Awesome. Check out the video above, and click here to go through the photo gallery and interview. It’s worth it.