Interview by Larry Davis

We interviewed you in issue three, way back in 2010. What do you remember about that?
I was really hyped on that. You guys had just started and I feel like somehow we had gotten connected on Facebook. Probably through the Maine Skateboarding page that Travis Storer was running at the time. He was doing these profiles on different skaters in Maine and I was getting out shooting with different people in Portland for that. I got a camera when I was in high school and was skating with my buddies and we were always skating this skate spot called the Kids Rink, at this place called The Zone.

What was the Zone?
The Zone was an indoor skate park in the 90’s, early 2000’s. I never went to it and it ended up closing down and then that area became where kids would go to skate and do graffiti and kind of just, get away. It was a little lawless. It was all dilapidated. That building actually burned down I think during a 4/20 party or something.

So what was the Kids Rink?
It was like a slab spot, but it had a roof so you could skate there in the winter. I started shooting with other skaters in Portland like Mike Gustafsson. He was someone I really looked up to. If people haven’t seen his parts, he’s one of the best skaters from Maine for sure. I was pretty intimidated at first. Then he introduced me to Jay Brown, who was filming videos in Boston at the time. They both were working on a New England video. There was an old issue with a Jay Brown interview I shot. I came by the office a few months ago and picked one up because I didn’t have that issue anymore. I think I probably have one at my mom’s house, but I hadn’t seen it in so long. Reading it was so funny because I’m just talking about, I’m gonna move to New York and take pictures…

Look at you now, in New York taking pictures. It’s pretty great to see you achieving that goal that you made for yourself, and having it on record.
I was super fortunate to be able to move here and go to school. I went to school for photography at Parsons. My uncle at the time lived in the city, so I came to New York to visit him a few times. He took me to the banks when I was like 13. When I was looking at going to school, I was a little torn between S.F. and New York, and I’m really glad that I came to New York.

Do you go up to Maine often these days?
Probably like three or four times a year. I would like to go more. Usually holidays and then I try to go up at the beginning of the summer and the end of the summer. They got a good scene going. Mike Babbitt just came out with a video, Sucks To Be You. Around that time of my interview, it felt like the scene was super strong then too. We would pull up to a spot and there would be 12 of us. It was so much fun. And they really kind of accepted me, being a younger guy, you know? Letting me hang out and shoot.

Were there any photographers around that time growing up that you were looking up to locally?
Locally? There were some other guys like Wes Cunningham. But I wanna say he was a little bit after. I don’t know, I don’t want to say I was the only one, but it was kind of a small scene.

Your camera set up 14 years ago was a Canon Rebel XSI with some lenses and three flashes. So what are you working with these days?
It’s better, but it’s not super different. There were a few years where I kind of wasn’t shooting skating for a little bit. I would say maybe like 2013 to 2017 or so. I just didn’t really have the camera set up at the time to shoot skating. Then I ended up getting some flashpoint flashes that just totally changed the game for me because you could sync at like a thousandth of a second. You could really freeze it. I have a couple 200’s and then the flashpoint 400. But I’m still using a Canon 5D Mark IV. One thing about New York or East Coast skating specifically is I feel like the kit is a little bit more pared down because of the nature of the way you’re skating out here. I’m not really in a car, you’re carrying your gear around. I usually only bring like one light stand. I’ll have the more powerful flash on the stand and that’s kind of my key light, then I’ll either handhold one or have one closer to the ground. I try to have one light pretty close to the ground because that’s how to get the texture of the spot. Getting the light sort of skimming across the ground and showing how rough the spots are out here. Lighting a spot here is like a showcase of how rugged the spot is, you know?

You graduated almost a decade ago. What have you been doing?
Just freelancing in the photo industry pretty much. I did an internship when I was in school that was with a cosmetics photographer. It was sort of random, but we shot all these makeup ads or skincare products. After that I worked for a photo booth company, which was pretty funny. It was cool because I used to go all over the country just doing weird events. But I’ve always been doing things like on set lighting and photo assisting. More recently I’ve been getting into digital teching, which is pretty much managing the computer that the photographer is shooting to, I guess quality control. If the photographer’s shooting and the client is giving feedback, you’re kind of relaying that information to the photographer or you’re managing the files. I’ve been starting to get some more of my own clients recently too. Shooting a lot more sportswear and athletic type stuff, like people in motion. I feel like shooting skating has helped me learn how to do that. Looking at people’s body positioning when they’re doing active stuff.

What are some pros and cons to freelancing?
The pros would definitely be the flexibility. To shoot skating you have to be able to get out pretty frequently. I still wish I could get out more than I do, but I’m working on it. The cons is it’s pretty unpredictable. Just the mental stress of trying to get through those slower times and staying busy. You really have to discipline yourself. But if you’re freelancing for a while, you’ll end up meeting people and they’ll help you out and you help them out.

Would you ever shoot actual sports, like basketball?
I think it would be cool to shoot editorial stuff, but not shooting a game or anything. Atiba does a lot of that. Atiba is definitely someone that I looked up to as well. I think he struck a really good balance of being a total legend in the skate world, but he also is able to shoot music and do stuff with Canon. He does all these cool projects and it seems like he just has a lot going on. I always thought that was super cool that he’s not afraid to get into other stuff.

Who are your favorite crews or skaters to go out and shoot with?
I go out with a few different crews for sure. I like skating with Naquan Rollins a lot because he always has a solid crew when he’s in the city. I really appreciate what he does because he shines a light on the New York skate scene in a good way. He’s from the city, and I always thought that was cool. I’ll go out with Jasper, Neema, and Eric Swick and those dudes a lot. I really like skating with Brandon Stepanow and Neil Herrick. It kind of ties into being freelance too, my schedule’s a little chaotic, so I just bounce around with different filmers. That’s my approach to getting out with people usually, just hitting up filmers because people are already hitting them up.

Speaking of Neil Herrick, is he the most productive skater ever?
He is definitely up there. It’s shocking if you go out with him and he doesn’t get a clip.He always has a list of five things that he could do. If you name a neighborhood, he’ll be like, “Oh, I got this, this and this that I’d be down to try over there.” I feel like there’s never a time where you link up with him to skate and he doesn’t know what he wants to do.

Tell me about Noah’s cover from issue 75. There was some pretty intense security stuff going on?
What’s so funny about that is I didn’t even know that they had kind of held back the security guard until the video came out. I’m not even kidding. The way the spot is, those guys are up there and I was down below. I was just focused on trying to make sure I was ready to go. It can be a little hectic getting clips out here.

Is there anywhere you’re trying to travel to that you haven’t been yet?
I really appreciate the Japanese skate culture and the way they approach filming and photos. I would love to go out to Tokyo or Yokohama and just stay out there for a little while and shoot. That’s been on my mind. But I’m pretty down to go wherever. I just went to L.A. for the first time last winter. I don’t know why it took me so long to get out there.

Favorite and least favorite things about Maine?
Obviously my homies that I’ve known for a long time. Every time I go up there we all get together and it’s such good times linking up with them again. Most of them still skate, and they still get out all the time. A new skateshop opened up there called Sal’s, and that’s been really good for the scene. Besides that, nature. I feel like the longer I’ve been in the city, the more I appreciate the fact it’s just a really beautiful place, with the ocean and the trees and everything. I’d like to get more into doing some camping and stuff like that. Obviously the winter is really brutal up there, so that would probably be my least favorite part.

What about favorite and least favorite things in New York?
I mean, the skate scene here. It’s just so fun. There’s so many people and you can pretty much go to a spot or a park or whatever and you’re gonna run into someone that you’re friends with. There’s always stuff going on and, and there’s always something to do, or there’s a new spot. A lot of skate parks popping up too, that’s been really great. The worst part I would say is it can just be tiring sometimes. Even though that’s kind of what I just mentioned was my favorite part, the lifestyle here, it’s so fast sometimes. I feel like last year I was really getting out shooting and trying to work on my photo stuff that’s outside of skateboarding and was just kind of pushing myself. So I’m trying to be more conscious of taking care of myself, taking it a little slower.