Billabong Skater Jeff Gonzales deep inside Manila...

The following are a collection images used for a future editorial about the state of our Manila Skate Scene. Billabong team rider Jeff Gonzales hit the streets and I tagged along to document what he does best.

I used the K5 for the action shots and the Pentax Q was used to document behind the scenes footage so that the viewer can see how and where we are positioned for each shot.

Pentax K5 with Pentax DA 10-17 fisheye, 1/250 f7.1 iso400

Pentax Q + standard prime

Pentax K5 & Pentax DA* 16-50 1/100 f7.1 iso160

On foot to the next spot. Athletes always want a preview.

Pentax K5 & DA* 16-50, 1/320 f2.8 iso1000

Now taking the MRT train. Skating is illegal inside the terminal, so we shoot fast and spontaneous

In the queue for the local bus. Nice thing about my gear is that it is small and lightweight, which makes photojournalism on the fly a pleasure.

In skate image publishing the rider must successfully complete the trick with a proper landing. If he doesn't land correctly, the image isn't published. Hence, sequences are used to show the start to finish. Pentax K5 at 7fps, all images 1/1000 f5.6 iso200

Last find for the day... A 9 step drop located at the University of the Philippines Campus

Yes this is quite a drop with a short landing strip, but the dramatic thing about fisheye lenses is that scenes are always more dramatic and more exaggerated. Hence, the popularity of Fisheye lenses for skate and surf photography.