The Art of Skateboarding Photography

DC celebrates Blabac, the legendary skateboarding photographer, with a limited edition piece.
Blabac Photo: The Art of Skateboarding Photography is a stunning chronicle of a youth movement as seen through the lens of Mike Blabac, a man who is as dedicated to his craft as he is to the skateboarding lifestyle that inspired it.

For millions of people around the world, skateboarding is more than a mere hobby or a sport—it’s a way of life that has shaped everything from fashion and music, to video games and art.

Blabac Photo proves that point with 300 awe-inspiring images that communicate the stories and exploits of some of the most creative athletes to ever step on a skateboard including Eric Koston, Stevie Williams, Colin McKay, Rob Dyrdek, and Danny Way.

As skateboarding evolved over time, from a hobby for kids on the Venice boardwalk into a global culture, skate legends were born, records were broken, titans of industry materialized—and Mike Blabac was there to document the history of the movement as it developed before his eyes.

Mike Blabac is one of the preeminent skateboard photographers of his generation. His career has been built on a strong work ethic, a small dose of good fortune, and an undying love for riding on a small board with four wheels. His parents gave him his first camera at age 13, but he didn’t grasp the full power of photography until he started looking at skateboard magazines.

In the early ’90s, Blabac caught his first break. He began taking pictures of a rising skater named Josh Kalis, and an image off the first roll he shot ran as a full page in TransWorld SKATEboarding magazine. In the ’90s, Blabac moved to California, where his career took off. He began shooting spreads and covers for the top skateboard magazines, including Thrasher and Skateboarder, and eventually became staff photographer for Mad Circle and Girl Skateboards. In 1999, Blabac joined friends Ken Block and Damon Way and helped to shape the image of their at their rapidly expanding skate shoe company, DC Shoes.

“From my point of view, Mike shooted some of the most immortal pictures in skateboarding, and his work had been essential to bring DC where is now.” Says Ken Block, Co Founder and DC Chief Brand Officer.
“I started to shoot Lansing local skaters in in 1987, with a second hand Nikon F3” says Blabac, “I feel very lucky to be sorrunded from skater who gave me the opportunity to create pictures that not only inspire people to go skating, but also that will be admired for many years to come”

To celebrate the pubblication of the book and his priceless help for the brand, DC created a limited edition shoe, avaible only in the shops that will host the book presentation. The shoe is customized with some personal touches such as the photo print inspired sole, or a limited edition signed print in a even more limited numbers of shoe boxes. This piece has to be considered very important, if you consider how DC jealously reserve the signature series only to the top pros.

Barcelona Blabac Gallery Show
With great events already in NY, LA, Melbourne, and Tokyo, saturday night (July 18) saw a distinctive spin on the Blabac gallery shows as the tour hit Barcelona.

http://www.dcshoes.com/blabac10/