The other day, I was walking along the Embarcadero shooting photos with a friend when I spotted Adrian and his buddy skating Cupid’s Span (a large bow and arrow sculpture on the Embarcadero waterfront that sits roughly halfway between the Ferry Building and AT&T Park).
Camera already in hand, I fired off this shot of him executing a buttery kickflip to fakie. This sculpture is by no means easy to skate, as there is no runway and you land in gravel, so you literally have to get a running start right onto the sculpture.
I shot this pic from approximately 40-50 yards away. Surprisingly, it came out alright. I would have liked to get the whole sculpture in the frame, but then Adrian would have looked like a spec of dust on the lens.
Not a fan of poaching skate shots, I approached Adrian afterwards, introduced myself, told him I also skated and let him see the pic I shot of him on the camera’s display screen.
“Damn, that’s sick!” He exclaimed.
Turns out, Adrian was visiting San Francisco from New Jersey for the first time, so he was uber stoked just to be in The City, taking in the vibe and skating all the legendary spots…or what’s left of them anyway.
“Have a good trip,” I said before parting ways, then watched as Adrian and his buddy skated off down The Embarcadero, weaving in and out of the pedestrians and other obstacles along the way.
nice snap!
As a non-skater, what’s so bad about poaching skate shots? How is it different from any other pic? I ask cuz I have a coupla great shots of skaters in North Beach and I wouldn’t want to tread on toes…
Also, if we’re being technical here, I think it’s posted that you’re not s’posed to sit, climb, or skate on said sculpture. I’m just saying.
I’m not trying to be bitchy. It is an awesome shot with an always interesting Travis story.
Hey Sparkie:
First off, thanks for your comment. This is a great question.
About poaching skate shots, technically there’s nothing wrong it. It’s really just something that’s frowned upon amongst fellow skaters, especially if the skater already has a designated photographer and/or videographer on hand to document the trick. If the individual is sponsored and/or pro, chances are the image/video clip will be used for publication, which in turn is a means of income for both the skater and photographer/videographer. The skater gets photo incentive from his/her sponsor and the photographer/videographer is paid by the publication and/or company for rights to the photo.
I’d love to see your skate pics if you’re willing to share them. Maybe I can help identify some of the individuals.
And you’re right, skateboarding is in fact prohibited on the sculpture. Not sure what else to say about that =)
Thanks again for the great comment!