ON Shorty's
Shery's
SILVER
TAMPA
STREET
2000
Words and photos by Andrew Hutchison
HEN I THINK OF THE VARIOUS JOBS
I've had in my lifetime, being a skateboard
photographer is definitely the easiest and most enjoyable. At
all the others, I had to clock in and answer to a boss. Now as
long as I keep film in my camera and my lens clean and
pointed in the right direction, I'm bound to do fine. A month
or so prior to the Tampa pro contest, I was asked if I was
interested in covering it, as Mike Burnett was going to be in
Japan and Luke was elsewhere. If it was going to get done, I
had to do it. Maybe it's a rite of passage into the ranks of
skateboard journalism, but who really wants to cover the
same event that everyone else has been doing for years? How
was I going to find a new angle from which to shoot the flat
bar or somehow make the vert ramp look different? Would it
be possible to maintain any bit of creativity in such an over-
documented environment? The more I thought about what
was in store for me, the more I realized this was going to be
as close to real work as this job will ever get.
This was my first time in Tampa. After being there through
practice and qualification, I realized I was being selfish to
have that attitude about work. After all, plenty of
other folks were having to work. Brian Schaefer,
Left to right: After winning the "am"
contest last year, this "pro" frontside flip
to flat was a snap for Mike Peterson.
Class clown. Justin Strubing can
and will tailslide anything.
BAEL
RATERLAR)
Shortys
Shorty's
DUFFS DUFFS Du