Photo of the Week: Adam Cook

The rigid composition of this shot (and it’s monochromatic palette) reminded me of Thomas Struth’s older cityscape photos that I was really into when I was first learning about the structure of photography. The verticals are straight and the horizontals are (pretty much) flat. The subtle grind box in the foreground is a nice touch. Quite unusually, I think the shadows created by the flash add to the photo. The lighting is simple yet effective, the trick is good and nicely timed. The shadows aren’t very deep but I like flatness it creates. Last but not least, this is one of the skateparks from my childhood so it plucks a certain chord on my heartstrings.

“We won’t disclose the riders name, he’s an Operation Iraqi Freedom Veteran, so we’re going to give him a new name. John seems fit.

This was another one of those photos that kind of just happened, we headed out to chenga for the 10$ Sunday session. I hadn’t rode with “John” in about 6 months, he himself didn’t ride for that long either. He’s an older guy, I don’t know his exact age but he isn’t 16 and he could possibly be a father to some of these triple whippin’ dew tour champions. Usually when we roll up to a park, its those same kids who are the first ones to say something about his old school 35 lb bike and 7 inch bars, but its tricks like these that usually shut those kids right up. John will be off a bike for months to years at a time, show up at a park and shut it down in 15 minutes before his first smoke break. This is a good example because his first 3 runs at this quarter (that he never rode before), he ice picked the sub rail, abubaca and then foot planted it.

I didn’t even bring my full camera bag, just my camera with the 40mm already on and a flash, no stands, no other lenses nothing. I asked John to foot plant it one more time for the camera. The session in this side of the park was quickly dying, so I literally turned my flash on to half power, laid it on the box jump to the right, focused some where in between the coping and the hitching post and told him to go for it. Within what seemed like 30 seconds we had set up and taken the photo, apparently we nailed it.

Settings:
550D 40mm 2.8
1/200
F 5.6
ISO 400
Yongnuo 560 II ( 1/2 power on the right)”

Check out more of Adam’s work here.

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