Your Current Writer and Photographer

Maybe some of you want to know what I look like? Probably not, but here's a self portrait from a few weeks ago anyways. I kept the half beard for a little over a month, but then birds started getting caught in it so I shaved the rest.

Orangatang Balut Wheel Review

So, I've been testing out the new Orangatang Balut wheels and worked up a review for them. Y'all should check it out over on SkateSlate! These wheels are a blast to ride, and are coming out soon! Keep an eye out because they drop on Thursday, Feb 2nd. Here is an outtake shot from when I was still warming up and getting used to sliding in the rain. Gotta love that facial expression.

Finals!

SO EXCITED FOR FINAL EXAMS

Summer in Davis

Where it is hot enough to do Bikram yoga without setting foot into a studio.

Bhangra Freeride

This board is still going like a champ and is treating me great. I've definitely been putting it through some hell lately and i've got nothing to complain about. Been working on holding out longer slides and learning a few tricks here and there. Also, as a heads up, I think I have a video in the works. All self filmed and edited. Hopefully I'll be able to finish it up by the end of the month.

Free From One More

So I finally took off my bike chain bracelet. I had it on for almost exactly a year without taking it off (since the only way to take it off and put it on was with a chain breaker). Well, it is now off, and to be honest I hardly notice the difference haha. It's funny how the feeling of a piece of metal can be so easily be forgotten, even though its been there for an entire year.

Less Hair

For those of you who don't know already, I shaved my head last week and donated everything to Locks of Love . It feels amazing. Here's a before and after shot.

Deer In the Headlights

I shot another self portrait to kill some time yesterday so I wouldn't have to study. I had an idea for this ever since my last organic chem midterm (the overlaying shots are my notes from practicing reactions over and over again). I am really happy with how it turned out and was not expecting it to be this successful.

Ultimately, I wanted to try and capture the fear that gets into students when finals time comes around. At the precise moment the final is handed to you, it is a mixture of feeling like a deer caught in the headlights and acknowledging the idea that it will all be over after this. Just one final push and you get a well deserved break.

Weathered Hands

My hands take a beating, but these last two days have been ridiculous. On Sunday I managed to nick a decent amount of the tip off of my left ring finger while cutting up some sweet potatoes for a cinnamon sweet potato walnut bread; the sacrificial bread was totally worth it, by the way...The next day while I was setting up the local slackline I managed to crush my hand while tensioning it with a group of people. Stupid mistake on my part, and now all I can do is wait for it to heal up. I don't think anything is broken so I just wrapped it, iced it, and elevated it for awhile to keep the swelling down.

Today at 5pm

I will be in a state of mind-numbed euphoria. It has been a hell of a week, and today is the day that all the studying hopefully pays off. We shall see...

One Man Band

Well, I know some of you are my friends on facebook, so you may have already seen this shot. Either way, I'm posting it here because I'm pretty happy with it being my first attempt at editing a shot like this. At the moment I'm using Photoscape, which has been good to me thus far, but for slightly more advanced stuff like this, I think I'm going to get Photoshop.

Anyways, this shot features RJ Roush on his native instrument, the Fender Jazzmaster guitar, RJ Roush on his jam on the go instrument, the two-bit harmonica, and RJ Roush on his first true instrument, the flute. Maybe one day we will all get together and record something...

Ian Anderson and Adam Colton inspired this photo.

Hiding Behind Lace

It's like everyone can only kind of see you.

Hair

Theres a lot of it on my head. I guess there really isn't much to this photo from a technical or composition standpoint. I just like the color and texture.

Loaded Bhangra Review: After Further use

above: finding balance with the bhangra and testing out its durability with a nice fat boneless. Both timed self portraits.

So, I received a Loaded Bhangra a little bit ago (check out the first impression here) and have been rocking it as my primary board for about a month now. Here are a few follow up comments I have.

What is the Bhangra?

I had some trouble classifying what type of board it was at first; dancer, freeride, cruiser, etc. But the more and more that I rode it, the less sure I was. Many people pushed for the idea that the Bhangra was the second version of the late Dancer, but that only makes sense as far as using the Dancer as a jumping off point. Thats right. Loaded created a whole new monster with this deck (no pun intended).

The Dancer was exactly what it said it was. It was the perfect platform to bust a move while speeding along and feel confident while doing so (check my review here). However, it was limited in that it really was a board specified for dancing. And while you could technically do all other types of riding on it, it just didn't feel as good as cross stepping and pirouetting your way down your favorite chillar run.

The Bhangra on the other hand is an all arounder. You can feel confident sliding and freeriding on it (thanks to the improved grip and the concave to hold your feet in), you can feel confident hucking it off some major drops (thanks to the shorter wheelbase and stiffer flex), you can use it as a carver if you like (with the proper truck/bushing setup), and if you are so inclined, you can use it to bomb hills to some extent.

The Bhangra is capable of accomplishing all of these tasks, as well as others, but there is a CATCH. Because it is such an all arounder, it is not really specified for one task. You can definitely find a better freeride deck, or a better downhill or carver deck. But that deck most likely won't be as versatile as the Bhangra is. It is essentially your one board quiver.

Now, We Can't Always Be Positive

While there were few negative things to bring up with the board, I wish to address two that I found.

1) The griptape. Yes, yes, it was a HUGE improvement on the Dancer's griptape, which would rub off within the first month. The problem was, it seemed to stick more to my shoes than the board itself. Maybe I just got a lemon? But my grip went over the boards edge and was actually peeling off at one point. Some bits chipped off on the nose and tail. Eventually I just went around with a razor blade and cut off the excess and sanded everything down a bit. So yea, little griptape problem, but quick fix.

2) COST. My god this board is one of the priciest on the market (next to carbon fiber boards and things like that). And while you are getting a hell of a lot of bang for your buck when you invest in a Bhangra, the price alone is going to be a huge limiting factor in who can actually ride one of these decks. That being said, if I spy people eyeing my board, I try and get the to try it out. That way, they will at least know if its worth dropping $350 for a single complete.

thanks for sticking around and reading, guys. Hope this was helpful. And as always, remember to spread the stoke. Now go out and skate!

My Head is Reaching Critical Mass

but my finals don't even start to Wednesday. This should be fun.

In the Library

I forgot how many books I still have at home.

Another Technique Shot

Here I did something similar to the last entry, except with "3 exposures" rather than just two. It is all in the same exposure though. The first part (center RJ) was done with the flash to get it nice and clear and then immediately after the flash went off, I turned to my right and held a pose, and then to the left after, achieving a rather ghostly effect on the two side RJ's. The exposure was 30 seconds long so each pose was held for about 15 sec and this shot was taken in the dead of night on Stinson Beach.

"Out of Body Experience"

No Reason To Post Anger

I shot this one day at the beach, I don't know why. I haven't really had anything to be angry about the past, I don't even know how long, but it has been sitting in my picture folder for too long, so here it is. I am kind of in a photographic rut, I feel like I haven't taken any really good shots in awhile. Hopefully I'll get out of this soon.

I Feel Out Of Shape

Time to ride my bike.

Enjoying Summer and Hair

It has been a wonderfully relaxing summer so far, and hope you all feel the same way. In case you did not know, I have been growing out my hair for a bit now for Locks of Love, and at some point I intend to cut it all off to donate. I'll most likely do a before and after picture because those are always so much fun.