Dylan

Everyone, meet Dylan. Dylan...well here is everyone.

My second love to photography is probably rollerblading. And not the type of tight spandex wearing rollerblading, but the type, where you will see people sliding on rails and ledges and maybe doing some jumps.

The other day, I decided to stop at the skatepark and have a small session. The normal crew that I usually hang out with, are all in college, so I thought it was going to be just me.

The Hilton Head skatepark is a really fun park. My favorite part, is a small free standing rail. As I was skating the rail, this little dude comes up to me. He wanted to tell me, that I was good but in response, I told him he should skate this rail with me. Only thing is, his never skated a free standing rail before. And I know what he was fearing, because there is nothing to fall on to, if you mess up. After a bit of talking to him, I got him to try it and he actually laced a few tricks.

Now, I love to teach. Its not something that I go out of my way to do all the time but if someone approaches me, I will teach them. Now lazy people, that ask for help is a different story. I truly believe that if I teach someone something and they are not willing to apply it and take interest in it, then it is a waste of my time and their time.

 Growing up, I never had a role model when I was skating. I had a few role models in the art world, that pushed me to where I am now but with skating, most the people I looked up to locally, were jerks. The same goes for some (maybe even most) photographers. Everyone is always going to be better than someone else and people like to flaunt that.

I have been skating for 11 years now, so you would think with that much experience behind my belt, that I would be good but really I am okay. I would never win a competition and I could never become sponsered, only because I am not at the level that professionals are at today (and physically, I'm getting to old for it). In other ways, I am also not a good photographer. I think I can take a picture and I know how to take a picture, but I am no where near some of the master photographers such as Richard Avedon, Irvin Penn, Jack Mitchell, Lois Greenfield and Annie Leibowitz. Or even photographers that I really look up to, like Chase Jarvis, David Bean, Jeremy Cowart, Zach Arais or Dave Hill. Even my peers, I believe are better than me.

The one thing that I have learned , is that you got to keep trying and you have to have confidence in yourself and what you do. Because you'll never become good at something, if you don't push yourself to become good. Most people need a little push, like Dylan. But the thing is, your not always going to find people that will help you all the time. Sometimes you may not find anyone and even when you do ask for help, people will just laugh at you or ignore you.

I guess the one thing to remember, is that when you build yourself up to wherever you get to (and no matter how hard it is to get there)...rather you are sailing a boat, writing a novel, running a business, skating or taking pictures...that there will always be someone who is in your shoes, when you first started out.

Also, this kid below, really wanted his picture snapped. So hopefully this will be his ticket to fame.