This image was shot for a feature article for RideBMX magazine, titled One Moment In BMX. The idea was simple, have a group of photographers shoot a photo at the exact same time, 1:00pm PST on a specified Sunday. My friend Andrew Jackson proposed this hop into a gutted escalator at an abandoned mall and I couldn't have dreamed of a better idea.
Getting into the mall was a fun little adventure. We lugged our bikes and all my gear – three bags, stands, and more, up a wall, across a small gap with a three-story drop, and then we shimmied on our butts across a ledge against a fence under barbed wire over the same gap. When we finally we reached the entrance it was a hole someone smashed through the stucco wall not much larger than a skateboard.
Once we got inside I was surprised how empty it was. It was completely gutted. I wanted to look around for a bit, but I knew time was limited so we just got down to business. I hustled back and forth for a while setting up my lights, metering, readjusting, tweaking, and finally, setting up a video camera. Once everything was dialed I think we might have had 10 minutes or so to spare so before the appointed time to shoot the photo.