Tom Penny- the one that got away!

It was 1995. Went to Huntington Beach skatepark, the one next to the high school. Tom Penny rolled up and wanted to jump down the stairs across the street next to the police station.
It was kind of a bust, it would have to be a quick one.
I set up my lights and walked over to a good spot to shoot from, I was looking down at my camera, making some adjustments, f-stops and such when I heard the distinctive sound of rolling wheels. I raised my head and saw Tom rolling towards the set of stairs and was barely able to raise my camera and fire off a frame of film. He made the kick flip with ease and we got the boot and I knew I didn't have the shot. I had no time to focus my zoom lens. The photo was out of focus so I never used it. "If it's not in focus, it's out of focus.", Stacy Peralta. Photos of Tom Penny are rare and they rarely don't get used. A while later Swift went back and shot a frontside flip at the same spot, so I guess it wasn't in my cards all the way around.