Look Out For Traffic

Last night I mentioned it's fun shooting youthful subjects because they usually aren't shy about putting on a show for the camera. But in this case, I'm sure this skater had no idea I was shooting him since I was up the street and using a tele-photo lens to capture his antics. He and a couple of other guys were boarding in the middle of busy Smith Street whenever there was a lull in the traffic flow.

I knew what I wanted to do when I walked passed them and I hoped they'd still be skating after I made it a half-block or so away and took my position next to a NYPD squad car whose occupants didn't seem interested in stopping the skaters as long as they didn't hold up any cars. While I've taken sharper images, this pose makes the picture. His body and especially his arms are in the prefect position and the lights of the oncoming car had a 12-point glare to them that gives the image an artsy look. My timing had to be perfect since I was shooting one shot at a time. But having been an avid skate -boarder back in the day, I had a feel for when he was going to take flight.