Meeting a Skateboarding Legend
They say that you should never meet your childhood heroes.
My obsession with skateboarding began 45 years ago in the late 1970’s. At school, I seemed to be the only kid interested in skateboarding, as everyone else was obsessed with football.
I brought my first pair of Vans ‘Off the Wall’ skateboarding shoes from 'Trade Winds' a skateboarding store in Fulham Broadway, in London. They were the same shoes as those advertised in the Skateboarder Magazine. They were blue and red blue and I just had to have them!
And so began my life long love affair with Vans, and to this day I cannot remember a time in my life when I did not have at least one pair in by wardrobe.
I first saw 'Dog-Town' skateboarding legend Tony Alva, aka ‘Mad Dog’ at the skatepark named after him, The Mad Dog Bowl (M.D.B) in the Old Kent Road, in South East London. The M.D.B was built inside an abandoned cinema, which meant you could skate all year around, without the great British weather ruining your day.
Tony Alva Skating at The Mad Dog Bowl in 1978 Photo Credit: Wynn Miller
Fast forward 45 Years and I’m a little older and greyer, but still wearing Vans. Over the years I have tried to find a pair of Vans the same as my first pair, in the original red and blue colour, but without success.
As the kids are currently on summer holiday we decided to arrange a trip to Covent Garden. On Thursday evening, the night before the trip and at the end of a very stressful week, I had a strange sense that the next day, I would finally find my holy grail pair of Vans. Upon arrival at Covent Garden tube station, we decided to check out the Vans store first on the off chance that I may finally find what I have been looking for all these years.
Once in store I noticed some amazing old photographs of Tony Alva, from 1978 when he was on a UK tour. Whilst chatting with the friendly staff about the photographs, I mentioned seeing him at the M.D.B. It was then that I noticed a display of the original red and blue Vans that I had been seeking all these years!
As if things couldn't get better they then informed me that the man himself Tony Alva (T.A) and Mr Vans Steve Van Doren (S.V.D) would be visiting the store later that day for a meet and greet session. I almost could not believe my ears, not only had I finally found my dream shoes, but I would also get to meet my heroes.
All we had to do was to kill 6 hours before the in store meet and greet.
The hours passed slowly until it was eventually time to join the end of the friendly and well-mannered queue. My amazing wife had agreed to travel into central London to join us for this special event. We finally made it in inside the store, and down to the basement, to join another shorter queue for the meet and greet. Time seemed to stand still and after a brief word with T.A who signed my limited edition T-shirt, agreed to a photo, and a high 5 handshake with S.V.D, we were back out on the street.
Meeting Tony Alva
We finished the end of a perfect day with a Pizza and a a weary train ride home. Later that night I didn’t sleep too well, as the excitement from the day was still bouncing around inside my brain.
So, the lesson I have learned is everything comes to those who wait (eventually) and meeting your childhood heroes is actually cool, and nothing to be feared.
A big shout out to the amazingly friendly staff at the Covent Garden store including the store manager Bella, for her warm words and the merch!
My home studio homage to Tony Alva and Vans merch. Note the double spread at the bottom of the photograph is my old school art homework book, carefully wrapped with a photograph of Tony Alva, taken at the Mad Dog Bowl 45 years ago in 1978
Travelling with Italian style and panache
We are a week into our holiday on the Italian Adriatic coast, it is interesting to observe how the locals travel around town with such effortless style and panache. It really is very different from the frantic craziness of dodging e-bikes and scooters and the traffic snarl ups back home in South London.
So I decided to set myself a project to photograph as many different types of transport I could find, in and around Cattolica harbour.
Italy is a country famous for high performance sports cars, so I was disappointed to only see one Ferrari, and a classic Fiat X19. So far he only Lamborghini I have seen was on display at Bologna airport. I did also spot a couple of Ducati motorcycles
It seems that two wheels are as popular as four, with three wheelers also having their place. The classic Vespas and Piaggio scooters are very much part of daily life, as are the newer Piaggio MP3, three wheeled scooters. Bicycles are still very popular, but many are now e-bikes and also e-scooters. Electric golf type buggies are also a popular way of getting around.
The three wheeled Piaggio Ape (pronounced Ah-Peh) is a small commercial pickup, and are very common around the harbour. The dotto train is popular tourist attraction, but does not really count as a regular mode of transport.
Being on the coast, sailing boats and motor launches are common place, so no surprises there. What did surprise me was not seeing a single skateboarder, long-boarder, or anyone paddle boarding in the calm sea.
Ferrari F8
Classic Fiat X19
Piaggio MP3, E-Buggy and Mountain bike
Piaggio Ape (Ah-Peh) Commercial vehicle
Classic Yamaha RD400
Harley Davidson
Honda Goldwing
Laid back scooter rider
Inflatable and sailing yachts on the Porto Canale Cattolica
Sailing
Dotto train and ghost rider
The heat is on, Italy during the Heatwave.
The extreme heatwave that has been gripping most of mainland Europe was of major concern before flying to Italy. We decided to take a chance, or risk not going on our first holiday since 2019. The scary temperatures being reported by the UK media have thankfully not been the case on the Adriatic, with the temperature at the time of writing being 26 Degrees C.
Passing through Bologna it was very hot and humid and I did manage to get a bit char-grilled whilst taking the photographs of the rail tracks of Bologna Central station, (below). Thankfully our connecting train to Cattolica, was air conditioned, and departed on time, and our journey took only 1.5 hours. Travelling by train is a great way of seeing the Italian countryside, and I am always impressed by the Italian rail system.
So far our holiday has been gone to plan, with no flight or rail delays, and the hotel in Gabicce Mare is comfortably familiar (we have stayed here before). It's great to be away from the doom and gloom of the UK economy, endless strikes, and the cost of living crisis.
We have also discovered a family of feral cats living around the swimming pool, that only seem to appear at night. The kittens love to play whilst their mum keeps a watchful.
The Italians really know how to organise their beach fronts, with neatly arranged parasols and beach chairs as far as the eye can see, it may not be to everyone's taste but I love photographing it.
The resort has a wonderfully family orientated feel, and the sunny blue sky and warm breeze is in stark contrast to our weather back home in London. I've just returned to the hotel, hot and sweaty to download some more pics, including an amazing flotilla of sailboats moored in the harbour, and a cool Ferrari, which I will post in my next blog.
Event Photography and The Magic of Believing
During lockdown, I discovered and read a book called The Magic of Believing by Claude Bristol which was first published in 1948, and is still available on Kindle. The author Claude Bristol was 57 when his book was published, which was just three years before his death. At the time of reading I was not in the best place mentally, and not feeling very positive about the future. The basis of the book was how to utilise the power of positive thought as a way of achieving what you want in life, simply by believing it will happen.
Fast forward three years and I have used the power of positive thinking on many occasions and been surprised by the outcomes. I recently applied this technique to a photography assignment that I had lined up. I had photographed the same event the year before in 2022, and my client was disappointed that a key sponsors photograph had been missed at the networking BBQ. Last year's event was held the day after I had moved house, and I had not been as prepared as I would have liked. This year I was determined things would be different, and I began to mentally photograph the event in my mind at least four weeks before the actual event. I visualised being on top of my brief, successfully engaging with delegates, and that all of my photographs were perfectly exposed and in focus.
The event is hosted annually by the wonderful 5 star Taj Hotel in Buckingham Gate in Central London. It's always a treat to visit the hotel, which has a real sense of occasion. The BBQ in particular is one of the highlights of the day. The main conference room is very impressive, with dark wood panelling covering the walls and an amazing curved and recessed light well to the ceiling. However, as a photographer the conference room poses a real challenge. It's not very well lit, and the lighting is a mixture of exposed chandeliers fitted with halogen bulbs and flush downlighter bulbs. I'm no expert when it comes to white balance, but using the automatic white balance setting on my Nikon DSLR rendered all the images with a browny/yellow tinge. This is where knowing how to operate your camera equipment can really save you a lot of work in post production photo editing.
The event went off without a hitch, and I was very pleased with my days photography. I spent the weekend sorting and editing my photographs, before submitting them for my clients approval. I'm please to say that my client was very pleased with this years photographs, and I have the satisfaction of knowing I did a good job. I certainly believe that the power of positive thinking had a part to play in it all! If you are interested in viewing some more of the photographs from the event, I have added them to the Event and Brand Photography Gallery, under LLAS Event 2023.
Thanks for taking the time to read my blog, and the next time you need a parking space, have an important job interview or an exam, try the power of positive thought and you may be surprised by what happens.
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Dog Photography-How I got Started
I first became interested in dog photography about 10 years ago whilst walking Charlie our miniature schnauzer. I took a photograph of another dog chasing a ball, and I was instantly hooked. Charlie became my inspiration and I perfected my skills taking photographs of him. I then started a Facebook page called Barks in the Parks Dog Community @barksintheparks, featuring dogs that I met whilst walking Charlie, as well as dog related news content. I have also recently launched a second Facebook page called Pro Dog Tog @prodogtog which is my more focused professional dog photography page. It wasn't long before I was approached by a number of dog owners, eager to have photographs taken of their own beloved dogs.
I took the photo of Buddy below on Cooden Beach in East Sussex, using my Nikon D500 and trusty 300mm lens. I managed to capture him frolicking in the surf. When I look at this picture, I'm always reminded of a shark, as Buddy's fur behind his neck almost looks like gills. Again, it's all about timing, and being in the right place at the right time. It's not easy running along wet sand with a heavy camera and lens, trying to get 'the shot' but I love every minute of it!
Although I enjoy all kinds of photography, I now mainly specialise in dog photography. There is something magical about capturing a dog's personality and character in the blink of an eye at 1/8000th of a second. When I am in the zone, I instinctively know when I have that ‘special shot’ and, I will do whatever it takes to get it. On one occasion I ended up lying chest down on a wet sandy beach, to get as low as possible to include the sea in the background (see Finn below).
Dog photography can also be quite a hazardous, I once narrowly missed being kneecapped by two 35kg Labradors, play fighting and charging past me at top speed! Despite the potential risks, my happy place is being surrounded by a group of dogs having fun, with my camera in hand.
It is important to remember that dogs age much quicker than we do, and sadly do not live that long. Maisy is our third miniature schnauzer, having lost Charlie at 6 years and Eddie at 5 years. Despite being short lived, I have a particular love of the miniature schnauzer breed, (it must be the eyebrows and the beard), Maisy is our bearded lady, and is a crazy as a box of frogs. She loves nothing more than stealing my slipper, and charging around the garden triumphantly daring me to try and retrieve it! When Maisy plays fetch, she never lets the ball go! (see below).
‘When Maisy plays fetch, she never lets the ball go!’
I am really pleased with the photograph below of Maisy romping through the bluebells in the local woods. Everything was against me when I took this photograph, the evening light was fading fast, and I was struggling to get a descent shutter speed on my camera. I only managed 1/160 of a second at an aperture of f5.6 which is very slow, and my ISO was 1250. I was using a 300mm tele zoom lens, and Maisy was charging towards me at full speed. I managed to fire the shutter at just the right time to catch a shaft of light illuminating Maisy's eyes and face. You can see catch lights in both of Maisy's eyes, which if left unlit would have looked like black boot buttons.
I care passionately about the quality of my dog photography, and I will only show my best images to my clients. I use professional quality Nikon equipment, which is capable of capturing 10 frames a second, come rain or shine. To get an idea of the quality of my work, take some time to look at my website www.davidjamespage.zenfolio.com and view the Pro dog tog galleries. However, if you are looking for a static studio dog portraits, I am probably not the dog photographer you are looking for!
So if you have ever thought about arranging a FUN photo shoot with your four legged friend, get in touch (unlike some dogs I don’t bite) for a no obligation informal chat. We can discuss your needs and wishes.
Me and Maisy, my best friend