New website! www.PhilBlairPhoto.com

I spent the past couple months working on a new website. The design and building of it took a long time but I also spent a lot of time going through my portfolio and deciding what to put up, so I am pretty happy with how it all turned out. Take a minute to check it out and let me know what you think!

www.PhilBlairPhoto.com
www.PhilBlairPhoto.com
www.PhilBlairPhoto.com

Z! One from Orange County

(Click for Larger view on flickr)

In between the first and second legs of tour this summer Mark Waters graciously let me and a few of the other Game of SKATE guys not only crash at his house, but also skate his amazing backyard bowl well into the night. Here, Matt Zweisler, an Indianapolis local and recent transplant to Long Beach, floats a frontside ollie over the bump into the deep end.


And looks like after posting this photo on flickr, Z got some attention from overseas, being featured on www.EuropeSkate.com as the photo of the day. Nice!

Productive Fall Day

Almost halfway into November here in Chicago the days are getting shorter and the air is getting a lot cooler, so any chance to get out and shoot some skating is great, but a weekend of warmth is even better. Last Sunday I got out with Andy Patterson, Eric Thomas, Nick Merisko, Thomas Hawver, plus a few more, and wound up with almost more photos in that one day than the sum of what I've shot since getting back from tour. I shot 4 or 5 rolls of Velvia, but here are a couple of digi shots from the day..

Nick Merisko tossed a crooked down this previously untouched metal rail/hubba in Chicago. Andy and Eric also both threw some crazy tricks here, the film of which is at the lab. This spot is going to blow up, but these three laid down an admirable foundation of tricks for kids to step up to.

At the last spot of the day, Bank One, I had pretty much packed up for the day, satisfied with my pocket full of 120 film, when I saw Thomas trying this Pop Shuv off the bench and into a slightly banked wall. I threw up some flashes and Thomas rolled away in a few tries.

Also, if you haven't checked out http://PhilBlairPhoto.com since its redesign last spring, check it out, because I am tried of the layout again and am working an all new redesign. The new site will most likely include a blog page so further content will be over there, but I'll post here when that is ready to go. Enjoy the autumn air, everyone!

"Featured" in The Program Zine

The Program Zine is a project from Louisville photog Andy Collins that is gaining steam with every issue it puts out. Presently only available for viewing online, the tenth issue just dropped last week and I was pleasantly surprised to see myself as the "Featured" photographer for the issue. Andy laid out a whole bunch of my photos in a great looking format, featuring mostly skate photos, but also a few portraits and some panoramic stuff too.



It would be awesome if you would check out my Feature, but also take time to "flip" through the whole issue, there are some great stories and photos in there. Head to www.TheProgramZine.com or click one of these tear sheets to be redirected!

2009 Maloof Money Cup

On the weekend of July 10th, 2009 a year's worth of planning came to a head in Costa Mesa, California when the biggest names in skateboarding came to the Orange County Fairgrounds to compete in the 2009 Maloof Money Cup. Thanks to my internship with éS, a SoleTech brand, I had the awesome opportunity to shoot photos at the contest for the MMC and its title sponsor Etnies.



The following photos are a few selects from throughout the weekend. Being contest photos, I didn't have the option to set up flashes and shoot the way I normally shoot skating, but it was still a completely unique chance to shoot a huge number of top skaters all in one place, so the photos are cool in their own way. Not to flatter myself, but just to cover the bases, these photos are all shot by Phil Blair and are not to be taken for commercial or personal use without the consent of the photographer. Thanks!

Click on any image in the slideshow to see it bigger.

Back Smith Before I Left

Shot this snap of Pat Devine back smithing across the gap a few weeks before leaving Chicago.

éS Internship of A Lifetime

About two months ago that is what I saw after submitting my website and a short statement explaining why I wanted to hit the road with the éS Game of SKATE to take photos. Honestly, the next thing I expected to hear about the contest was an update on the éS site (which I checked daily) awarding some California photographer this amazing oppurtunity, but it was a bit sooner when my phone rang on a particularly slow day of workm which happened to be the day of the judging for Red Bull Get It On Record, and Mark Waters and Jay Brundege at éS were on the other end running through some questions with me, the biggest of which being "Would you be interested in hitting the road with us?" And just two days later they called to let me know that out of everyone who applied, and the finalists they interviewed, they had chosen me.





From there out the whirlwind began. I had to quit my job, find a leaser for and move out of my apartment, and gather everything I would need for an entire three months of skateboarding, taking photos, and living out of a van, basically a dream summer, and did I mention it was all expenses paid in addition to getting college credit. And now here I am, on Jay's couch, two Games and two weeks down, many more to come. We will be leaving Sunday for everywhere from Seattle to New York to Tampa and back. There will be lots more to see over at the éS Game of SKATE Website where I and others from the tour will be blogging from the road. My first post is up there now, so click the picture to check it out: