Skating in Buffalo can often times feel like you are just going through the motions. What I mean is that there are weeks at a time where we all find ourselves at the same spots, doing the same tricks, and skating with the same people. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but change is good. The day we shot this photo was a great spring day, which was a nice change from the long and snowy winter we had this year. Dan and I met in the city and skated some ledges. We were there much longer than we typically are, and debated where to go for a new spot. I suggested checking out this kink rail that you can see from the highway, but as luck would have it, there was a tree growing less than a foot from the rail, and it was unskateable. Dan threw out the idea of heading to Niagara Falls to this semi-pro baseball stadium to do this drop ledge from the roof…

We got some drinks at the gas station and headed north towards the Falls. Dan and I pulled up to an empty parking lot and unloaded the car. Immediately after we hopped the fence and got all my camera gear over, a cop pulled in. I thought for sure he saw us, but apparently not. By this time Dan was hiding from him on the roof, and I was setting up my flashes and scoping out an angle to shoot from. The cop didn’t stay long and after that it was on! I was shocked at how little wax Dan put on this gritty ledge, but that just goes to show Dan’s confidence level. The roof was real soft, according to Dan he could hardly roll on it, but landed the back royale first try anyways. It wasn’t up to his standards, and we shot it a few more times until we both felt the photo came out the way we wanted.

With the trick laced and a great photo, we left satisfied. On the ride back to Buffalo we talked about how the drop ledge was a change of pace. Not only was it a new spot, but for Dan, it’s a step towards something different, as he usually doesn’t skate stuff like this.

— Nick Demarchi