Photo Features | Quartersnacks

The Photographer Formerly Known As Jail

Daily News January 24th, 2012 · 9:35 am

That gap is totally the opposite of chill.

Jail AKA Killer Kowalski AKA Zach Malfa-Kowalski has consistently been one of the best (and most active) New York-based skate photographers over the past several years. He also has a good hardflip.

Zach updated his website with a new layout and a bunch of recent work (ZachMalfaKowalski.com.) There are photos from the summer 2010 Quartersnacks and Nike SB project (including some shots that didn’t make it onto the site), Zach’s work on the catalog for Habitat’s strange foray into the footwear market, and a whole gallery of straightforward (mostly east coast) skate photos. Plus, there are portraits, landscapes, Corey Rubin teen heartthrob fashion shots, and all that other art school stuff. There’s also a blog on there now. Shout out to every photographer who doesn’t have a Tumblr.

Related: In case you missed it, back in November, Zach shared his archive of Jake Johnson photos from the Chapman and Mind Field years with us.

The Jake Johnson Files – Part 3

Time Capsule November 18th, 2011 · 10:05 am · 9

Ok, so, there’s no interview this week. Does the interview actually exist? Yes, it does. Will it be up next week? Probably, but you’ve heard that one before. Like last time, it was 65 degrees for half of this week, and web content creation took a backseat to enjoying what was the best weather New York will have until March 2012. Things still had to be edited, followed up on, etc., and that takes time. To quote a popular rapper that we don’t particularly even like for the second time this week, “Sorry 4 the wait.” (Don’t click that last link. That mixtape is pure garbage.)

As a consolation prize, here is a gallery of photos taken by the homie Zach Malfa-Kowalski from roughly the same time period as those two clips we posted earlier in the month, with some shots even dating back to the Chapman / Short Ends days. No, we couldn’t break into Brengar’s house or bribe him with cigarettes to release any potentially unseen footage that may be buried in a stack of dusty DV tapes from 2008. Big thanks to Zach for sharing these with us.

Feb. 2002 Transworld Article on 9/11 & Skateboarding

Time Capsule September 11th, 2011 · 6:30 am · 3

Photo stolen from Matt Weber

Following September 11th, Transworld ran this article asking New York skateboarders about their experiences on that day. It appeared in the February 2002 issue, which means it probably hit newsstands in December of 2001.

Skateboarding is at the bottom of the list in terms of things affected by 9/11, but this is a skateboard site. Every news outlet in the country is doing a “Decade After 9/11” feature, so if you’re looking for something with deep insight, you’ve come to the wrong place. That day was a turning point for skateboarding in the city (as trivial as that is in the grand scheme of things), just as it was such for every facet of life. It’s the reason the T.F. exists (you couldn’t skate anywhere else, so ABC made a safe spot), it’s the reason New York is the gigantic bust it is today (buildings heightened security and never let up), and it’s the reason Lower Manhattan is more residential, thus no longer the skateboard-friendly desert it once was at night.

The months proceeding that day were odd, I don’t think I tried heading downtown until Christmas break. If memory serves right, EST2 came out sometime in October, its New York footage largely being from the past spring and summer. Watching it was a glimpse at the normalcy of skating an area that had become completely inaccessible due to rescue efforts, air hazards, and fire. Strange how even in the context of a meaningless skate video, the world of just a few months ago felt like a much different place.

The article’s layout has been modified to fit this website’s layout. If you prefer to view the full pages, here you go: Page 1, Page 2, Page 3, Page 4.

Big thanks to our good friend Adam Abada for the scans.

Related: 9/11 photo post from last year, World Trade Center skate clips, an interview with Ian Reid that discusses some of the aforementioned points

Fashion Week: Presenting Our Latest Collection…

Daily News September 9th, 2011 · 5:29 pm · 3

It’s been a slow day at the office, as our staff has slowly crawled to work after indulging in overwhelming amounts of free alcohol last night, so we apologize for the delay in posting our latest lookbook online. Big thanks to everyone who came out for our runway show at Lenox Ledges yesterday, it was a great success, and the kind words regarding our collection mean the world to all of us who worked so hard to bring it to you. So without further ado, here is the latest ready-to-wear fall collection from Quartersnacks, “Grown & Sexy.” Lookbook styled by Switch Mike. Available at Barney’s, Bergdorf Goodman, Transit Active Wearhouse, and Caldor.

Related: Last year’s lookbook