SoCalUNCENSORED.com - Southern California Pro Wrestling - From Behind the Lens by Shane Kidder

From Behind the Lens
by Shane Kidder
www.shanesphotos.com

My flash goes off -- two wrestlers circle each other-- each ring general looking for a sign of weakness in their opponent before they lock up to show who is the most dominant.

As a wrestling photographer it is my job to try and convey the emotions and the power that surrounds the ring and everything around it during a match. To capture the urgency in the wrestlers faces and movements.

As I start my third year photographing wrestling, I feel that it is time for me to look back and reflect on what I have seen and done. What is this journey and do I want to continue on this path?

Let me fill everyone in on my background and how I got to photograph my first event. I received a degree in photojournalism from a local college and it was towards the end of my time there; and while i was on the campus newspaper, I realized that even though that I was good at the news side of photography, I really did not have the stomach to do it for a living. So I focused my attention on the design aspect of the business which is what I do for a living.

I have always been a fan of professional wrestling, following it since I was 8. I watched both WWF/E and NWA/WCW whenever I could. Every Monday night my friends and I would get together to watch and it was there I would be first introduced to SoCal wrestling. One day one of my friends brought up the idea to go see XPW at the Reseda Country Club. What I saw that night both intrigued me and disturbed me at the same time. I have the utmost respect for what these athletes do in the ring -- knowing that I would never have the guts to step in myself. This was not the wrestling that I grew up on. About half way through the show my friends decided that they had had enough. Little did I know the impact of the show on my future.

Although I did not go to another XPW show, I kept up with television show and the websites. I knew who was making the news. I knew who the main players were and what the storyline was, in front of the camera as well as backstage.

When the Messiah attack story broke at work, my supervisor asked if I could find any info about him on the Internet. I'm sure I do not have to go into detail since everyone already knows the story. Anyway, the paper covered the story and of course they wanted to do a follow up on his return to the ring at the ill-fated EPIC show in Hollywood. My supervisors asked me to accompany the photographer to the event and we followed the story all the way to the Anaheim Marketplace... and ended up with no photos and no story. Bum luck, huh.

I figured that I would never get the chance to photograph the sport I had come to love. I was wrong. One day I was twiddling my thumbs in the newsroom when an assignment request to cover a pro wrestling company named Golden State Championship Wrestling came across my desk. Once again I was asked to accompany the photographer. What I saw that night reminded me of why I love wrestling so much as well as teaching me a invaluable lesson... WATCH WHERE THE WRESTLERS ARE GOING!!!

During the Super Dragon/B-Boy vs. Bobby Quance/Jardi Frantz match, I was in the corner trying to to find that one shot to tell it all, when all of a sudden, someone taps me on the shoulder. I turn around and BAM... everything goes black.

Apparently, I was in the wrong zip code when Super Dragon came through the ropes to get at Frantz. It knocked me for such a loop, I spent the rest of the night babbling incoherently to some poor girl who was working the refreshment window.

Even after I was hit in the head -- or maybe because I was hit in the head I realized I still very much want to shoot wrestling. So I placed a message at socaluncensored.com and received a couple of responses and here I am. As I write this column I realize there is no giving up for me; it's a part of my life now. Anyway, c-ya next month.

So here's the deal. Scrub asked me to write this monthly column. But I cannot do it without you, the readers a help. If there is anything you guys and gals want to know or if you just want to rant about the sport we love let me know. I will try my best to answer all comers.

Shane Kidder
www.shanesphotos.com