Bla Bac Photo

"Itrs"s rad what I do." -Mike Blabac Blabac Photo: The Art of Skateboarding Photographyis 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-itrs"s a way of life that has shaped everything from fashion and music, to video games and art.Blabac Photoproves 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 skateboardphotographers of his generation. His career has been builton a strong work ethic, a small dose of good fortune, and anundying love for riding on a small board with four wheels. Hisparents gave him his first camera at age 13, but he didn'tgrasp the full power of photography until he started lookingat skateboard magazines. In the early 90s, Blabac caught hisfirst break. He began taking pictures of a rising skater namedJosh Kalis, and an image off the first roll he shot ran as afull page in TransWorld SKATEboarding magazine. Soon after,Blabac moved to California, where his career took off. Hebegan shooting spreads and covers for the top skateboardmagazines, including Thrasher and Skateboarder, andeventually became staff photographer for Mad Circle and GirlSkateboards. In 1999, Blabac joined friends Ken Block andDamon Way and helped to shape the image of their rapidlyexpanding skate shoe company, DC Shoes. J. Grant Brittain is a legendary skate photographer andfounding photo editor of The Skateboard Mag, a groundbreakingpublication he helped launch in 2004, andTransWorld SKATEboarding, the largest circulation skateboardingmagazine in the world. Over his career, Brittain hascaptured nearly all of the best skateboarders of the lastthree decades in hundreds of classic photographs. Jake Phelps is the longtime editor of Thrasher magazineand one of the most colorful characters in the skateboardingindustry. Never one to shy away from controversy, Phelpsembodies his magazine's f*** you attitude, maintainingthat skateboarding is an art and a lifestyle without rules orauthority figures to decide what is right or wrong.

Yolanda Cuomo, graduated Cooper Union with a BFA. She currently resides in Weehawken, NJ. Cuomo is an experienced art director and avid educator. Cuomo works collaboratively with her clients and artist friends, which include, Richard Avedon, Paul Simon, Twyla Tharp, Laurie Anderson, Gilles Peress, and Sylvia Plachy to develop memorable and meaningful cultural and commercial projects. She has also worked with globally known publications and museums such as Aperture Magazine, Life Magazine, Food & Wine Magazine, and The Whitney Museum. Cuomo also teaches courses on design and book-making in the Department of Photography and Imaging at New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts.