7 frames
By Eric Bissell
15 July 2008
Skateboarding has always fascinated me. Its ability to awe and amaze people is now reaching all over the world. It turned from a recreational activity for surfers to a global phenomenon. The tricks in skateboarding are complex and happen in front of a viewer in an instant. It can be difficult to comprehend what the athlete is doing in that split second. Thanks to things like slo-mo replay and cameras that can shoot nine frames a second, the audience gets an opportunity to admire the performance of the athlete.
Having picked up many skating magazines, I am always drawn to the sequence spreads. I love taking the time to path the pattern of the plywood deck hurtling through the air. As I trace my fingers across the page, I imagine I am at the skate spot, witnessing the trick unfold before my eyes.
I translated the visuals in my head to my studio. I flipped through a recent skate magazine and found a trick by professional skater Chima Ferguson of the Volcom Youth Against Establishment Skate team. The switch stance inward heel flip is the trick illustrated in these seven frames. The original sequence was done over a six-step 10-foot gap, landed and then to a high five to a skating buddy.
This series is to give the viewer a closer look at a sport that happens in a flash. The images provide a beautiful clean medium to better appreciate the intricacies involved in sticking a skateboarding trick. Lastly, it is a tribute. It is a tribute to the art form that skating is, It is a tribute to the endless hours of practice and perfection put in by professionals. It is a tribute to the minutes it can takes to learn to skateboard and the lifetime it takes to master.
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