Historic Fourth Ward Skatepark

Wednesday, March 26, 2014

So I was working on ideas for a Three of a Kind for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution and for some reason my mind drifted back to when I lived in Massachusetts, While working for a paper there, it was left up to the photographers to come up with content when it was a “slow news day”. I would sometimes spend hours driving around our coverage area looking for interesting things going on. Every so often I would drive by one of the local skateparks and would spend some time photographing the skaters as they dipped into bowls, slid on rails and tried to land jumps and tricks. This reminiscing thought is what led to the next three days worth of photos as I researched skateparks around the Atlanta area to find ones that sounded pretty cool. I had never been to the Historic Fourth Ward Park in downtown before Wednesday. It’s pretty much a hidden gem, or at least it was for me. There is an awesome skatepark attached to the main one, with different sized bowls, all sorts of rails and even a half pipe which I have rarely seen at a city park before. Since it was a Wednesday, early in the afternoon before school even let out, I was unsure if anyone was going to be there. However as I pulled up there was a few guys skating through the park. They were nice enough to not mind being photographed and through talking with them I found out they had driven down from Minneapolis, MN for Spring Break to check out some of the skateparks around Atlanta. Talk about dedication to their sport. After a while a few more skaters showed up including Grant Taylor, a born and bred Atlantan pro skater who won Thrasher’s Skater of the Year in 2011. I stayed a while longer grabbing some shots of Taylor and the others. A pretty successful first day on my choice for the Three of a Kind on skateparks if I do say so myself!

Harley Tolzmann rides his board around the rim of a bowl at the Historic Fourth Ward Skatepark in Atlanta on Wednesday, March 26, 2014.

Harley Tolzmann rides his board around the rim of a bowl at the Historic Fourth Ward Skatepark in Atlanta on Wednesday, March 26, 2014.

 

Malik Jones catches some air as he rides his board at the Historic Fourth Ward Skatepark in Atlanta on Wednesday, March 26, 2014.

Malik Jones catches some air as he rides his board at the Historic Fourth Ward Skatepark in Atlanta on Wednesday, March 26, 2014.

 

Ryan Wood catches some air as he rides his board at the Historic Fourth Ward Skatepark in Atlanta on Wednesday, March 26, 2014.

Ryan Wood catches some air as he rides his board at the Historic Fourth Ward Skatepark in Atlanta on Wednesday, March 26, 2014.

 

Harley Tolzmann hangs on the rim of a bowl as he rides his board at the Historic Fourth Ward Skatepark in Atlanta on Wednesday, March 26, 2014.

Harley Tolzmann hangs on the rim of a bowl as he rides his board at the Historic Fourth Ward Skatepark in Atlanta on Wednesday, March 26, 2014.

 

Eric Clavel (right) uses a camera to film his friend Malik Jones as he slides down a rail on his board at the Historic Fourth Ward Skatepark in Atlanta on Wednesday, March 26, 2014.

Eric Clavel (right) uses a camera to film his friend Malik Jones as he slides down a rail on his board at the Historic Fourth Ward Skatepark in Atlanta on Wednesday, March 26, 2014.

 

Ryan Wood rides his board on the rim of a bowl at the Historic Fourth Ward Skatepark in Atlanta on Wednesday, March 26, 2014.

Ryan Wood rides his board on the rim of a bowl at the Historic Fourth Ward Skatepark in Atlanta on Wednesday, March 26, 2014.

 

Harley Tolzmann hangs on the rim of a bowl as he rides his board at the Historic Fourth Ward Skatepark in Atlanta on Wednesday, March 26, 2014.

Harley Tolzmann hangs on the rim of a bowl as he rides his board at the Historic Fourth Ward Skatepark in Atlanta on Wednesday, March 26, 2014.

 

Ryan Wood slides down a rail as he rides his board at the Historic Fourth Ward Skatepark in Atlanta on Wednesday, March 26, 2014.

Ryan Wood slides down a rail as he rides his board at the Historic Fourth Ward Skatepark in Atlanta on Wednesday, March 26, 2014.

 

Harley Tolzmann catches some air as he rides his board at the Historic Fourth Ward Skatepark in Atlanta on Wednesday, March 26, 2014.

Harley Tolzmann catches some air as he rides his board at the Historic Fourth Ward Skatepark in Atlanta on Wednesday, March 26, 2014.

 

Malik Jones catches some air as he rides his board at the Historic Fourth Ward Skatepark in Atlanta on Wednesday, March 26, 2014.

Malik Jones catches some air as he rides his board at the Historic Fourth Ward Skatepark in Atlanta on Wednesday, March 26, 2014.

 

Malik Jones slides down a rail as he rides his board at the Historic Fourth Ward Skatepark in Atlanta on Wednesday, March 26, 2014.

Malik Jones slides down a rail as he rides his board at the Historic Fourth Ward Skatepark in Atlanta on Wednesday, March 26, 2014.

 

Ryan Wood catches some air as he rides his board at the Historic Fourth Ward Skatepark in Atlanta on Wednesday, March 26, 2014.

Ryan Wood catches some air as he rides his board at the Historic Fourth Ward Skatepark in Atlanta on Wednesday, March 26, 2014.

 

Harley Tolzmann catches some air as he rides his board at the Historic Fourth Ward Skatepark in Atlanta on Wednesday, March 26, 2014.

Harley Tolzmann catches some air as he rides his board at the Historic Fourth Ward Skatepark in Atlanta on Wednesday, March 26, 2014.

 

Ryan Wood rides his board on the rim of a bowl at the Historic Fourth Ward Skatepark in Atlanta on Wednesday, March 26, 2014.

Ryan Wood rides his board on the rim of a bowl at the Historic Fourth Ward Skatepark in Atlanta on Wednesday, March 26, 2014.

 

Ryan Wood catches some air as he rides his board at the Historic Fourth Ward Skatepark in Atlanta on Wednesday, March 26, 2014.

Ryan Wood catches some air as he rides his board at the Historic Fourth Ward Skatepark in Atlanta on Wednesday, March 26, 2014.

 

Pro skater Grant Taylor dips into a bowl on his board as his Australian Shepherd Ozzy wtches from the rim at the Historic Fourth Ward Skatepark in Atlanta on Wednesday, March 26, 2014.

Pro skater Grant Taylor dips into a bowl on his board as his Australian Shepherd Ozzy wtches from the rim at the Historic Fourth Ward Skatepark in Atlanta on Wednesday, March 26, 2014.

 

Pro skater Grant Taylor rides his board at the Historic Fourth Ward Skatepark in Atlanta on Wednesday, March 26, 2014.

Pro skater Grant Taylor rides his board at the Historic Fourth Ward Skatepark in Atlanta on Wednesday, March 26, 2014.

 

Pro skater Grant Taylor rides his board at the Historic Fourth Ward Skatepark in Atlanta on Wednesday, March 26, 2014.

Pro skater Grant Taylor rides his board at the Historic Fourth Ward Skatepark in Atlanta on Wednesday, March 26, 2014.

 

Sam Buxton rides his board at the Historic Fourth Ward Skatepark in Atlanta on Wednesday, March 26, 2014.

Sam Buxton rides his board at the Historic Fourth Ward Skatepark in Atlanta on Wednesday, March 26, 2014.

 

Pro skater Grant Taylor rides his board at the Historic Fourth Ward Skatepark in Atlanta on Wednesday, March 26, 2014.

Pro skater Grant Taylor rides his board at the Historic Fourth Ward Skatepark in Atlanta on Wednesday, March 26, 2014.

 

Pro skater Grant Taylor rides his board at the Historic Fourth Ward Skatepark in Atlanta on Wednesday, March 26, 2014.

Pro skater Grant Taylor rides his board at the Historic Fourth Ward Skatepark in Atlanta on Wednesday, March 26, 2014.