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Ian Cush

@iancush

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trapeze artist. fatalistic farmer. digital determinism. analog agnosticism.
@takemedowntoterabytecity

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IT’S GONNA HAPPEN FAST.

Business attire. After-hours skating.

One last run along the Embarcadero with @iancush behind the camera. Swipe through to the power slide.

The full photo story is live in Field Notes at terabyte.city.

Photos: @iancush
With @takemedowntoterabytecity

#TomErikRyen #SuitSkater #Skateboarding #SanFrancisco #FieldNotes taken in The Embarcadero San Francisco by @iancush

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a day ago

BEHIND THE FLASH.

With the Ferry Building nearby, the Bay Bridge in the background, and the last light slipping away along the Embarcadero, I grabbed a Profoto A10 speedlight.

The clock was ticking. The crew was loading out, the city kept moving, and the light wasn’t going to wait. Find the angle, follow Tom, get the shot.

A little high fashion. A little ’90s street flash. @tomerikryen brought the suit, the board, and the personality.

Story & photographs by Ian Cush.
The full edit is live in Field Notes at terabyte.city.

@takemedowntoterabytecity @tomerikryen

#IanCush #SkatePhotography #PortraitPhotography #ProfotoA10 #FieldNotes taken in The Embarcadero San Francisco by @iancush

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2 days ago

📸Serious or smile😃??? San Francisco night shoot skating around the City🛹 Photos by @iancush #skateboarding #photoshoot taken in San Francisco, California by @iancush

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3 days ago

IT’S GONNA HAPPEN FAST.

The halfpipe was down. The trucks were waiting. TomTom was still ready to skate.

After the OC Ramps crew’s show for Ramp in San Francisco, Ian Cush and Tom Erik Ryen stepped out along the Embarcadero with a Profoto A10 speedlight and the last of the evening light.

A suit, a skateboard, and a few frames before it was time to go.

Introducing Field Notes: stories from the studio and on location.
Read the full photo essay at terabyte.city — Field Notes.

Story & photographs: @iancush
Skater: @tomerikryen
Film studio: @takemedowntoterabytecity

#TeraByteCity #FieldNotes #TomErikRyen #SkatePhotography #SanFrancisco taken in San Francisco Ferry Building by @iancush

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3 days ago

7.28.2024 @ 11:55 am Effin’ Steve White laid to rest on a beautiful sunny Santa Barbara day surrounded by the fragrant aroma of fresh lavender, mint, and rosemary. Bees and butterflies circled the crisp air. In the company of friends guided by a fantastic veterinarian, Steve collapsed his head into my arms as we said goodbye. @shaunwhite @nina were present on Facetime to comfort him. Everyone was torn up about this, but Steve couldn't suffer any longer. He was so brave in his final moments.

Steve had been suffering from acute liver failure, but he was bold, courageous, and stoic in his final days. He visited family and friends, put on his game face, and showed love. We took a coastal cruise in the big truck he loved so much. We sat on the beach and watched his final sunset. We dipped our paws in the calm Pacific Ocean and strolled on the sand. He ate his favorite Hawaiian BBQ and slept in his favorite bed.

In the morning, he bathed in the sun and walked his final steps down to sit beside me and welcome the guests' arrival. He surrendered to his fate with bravery. He looked death in the eye and charged head-first into the light. He had a big heart and lots of love. He impacted so many people's lives and shared his love openly. Steve was proof that we can all change. He reformed his life from anger to love as he aged. He was a champion of love, a protector of the elderly, and a bold connoisseur of sunsets and flowers. He even took up skateboarding and surfing in his later years. Always one of the boys and part of the crew, Steve lived life like a human.

Thank you, everyone, for sending and sharing your love with Steve!

#alldogsgotoheaven taken in Santa Barbara, California by @iancush

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2 years ago

My birthday. It’s always been a love-hate. I am forever grateful to be birthed into this simulation with you all. It’s joyous to rotate the sun another year. But I’ve always been reluctant to celebrate. I am acutely aware that one person celebrating permits the next to celebrate. Before we know it, we are all celebrating, so on that, I want to celebrate all of you beautiful fuckers out here in the world. I love you all, and I hope you are living it up! Note we are halfway through the new year.

July 2 is the 183rd day of the year (184th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar; 182 days remain until the end of the year. This date marks the year’s midpoint in typical years, as 182 days proceed and follow it in the Gregorian calendar.

It’s also this nation’s actual birthday. Officially, the Continental Congress declared its freedom from Great Britain on July 2, 1776, when it voted to approve a resolution submitted by delegate Richard Henry Lee of Virginia, saying “That these United Colonies are, and of right ought to be, free and independent States, that they are absolved from all allegiance to the British Crown, and that all political connection between them and the State of Great Britain is, and ought to be, totally dissolved.”

The first year of my forties was filled with ups and downs, many of which I’m still coming around to. I have been sad and feel like there were so many rainy days, but I’m learning to “dance between the raindrops” (thanks, Matthew). I’ve said goodbye to two business partners, Arvin & Brian, and the dissolution of my work life. I have shed tears over a woman or two, but I still remember the laughs and smiles. I’ve created much good work, built beautiful homes and spaces, and shot some incredible photos. I see the horizon, but I’m not there yet (thank you, Earnest)

This year will mark new beginnings. I’m so thankful to have such a fantastic family, my friends; you are all so unique, and the dogs all of the dogs that have kept my feet in the dirt and my head in the clouds (thank you, Steve)

#happybirthday taken in Kauai Veteran's Memorial Hospital by @iancush

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2 years ago

I said goodbye to my good friend Brian Wellens yesterday. Amazing people surrounded me: family and friends. I hesitated to post anything as Brian was always a very private person. I have very few photos of him. The leader of the Ocean Frimt West gang. A friend and a mentor. He was always filled with love and class. A true gentleman, he Could drive a vintage Porsche with easy play scratch golf and cook a darn good steak.

My life is forever better knowing him.

So, I leave this quote here from one of his favorite movies. It might sound gloomy, but he always loved this scene. It’s been seven weeks today since we last talked, but I still hear his voice in my head daily.

“I have no wish to paint the world in colors more somber than those it wears, but as the world gives way to darkness, it becomes more and more difficult to dismiss the understanding that the world is, in fact, oneself. It is a thing which you have created, no more, no less. And when you cease to be, so will the world. There will be other worlds. Of course. But they are the worlds of other men and your understanding of them was never more than an illusion anyway. Your world— the only one that matters— will be gone. And it will never come again”

Cormac McCarthy, The Counselor: A Screenplay taken in Heaven by @iancush

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2 years ago

This is an appreciation post for the strong backs—the thick-back boys club. The price of admission to this club is shouldering the weight, carrying the burden, picking yourself up when you're down, and pulling your people along. I'm fortunate to get to spend long days surrounded by thick-back men. Durable, strong, and caring men. This isn't an anti-pencil neck rant. There is plenty of space for my desk dwellers, but I can often tell the path of a man by the strength of his back. The chest and arms are vanity. But the back, that's hard work. The back, the shield to protect you from the things you don't see coming. We build the back as a layer of protection. But I've recently realized The strength of one's own back is far less important than the strength of those who have your back. So maybe this is an appreciation post for all the people in the world using those strong backs to pick others up, using their strength to hold it down when you can't hold on anymore. Look around. Who's got your back? Love for the real one's ❤️ #igotyourback taken in Basecamp Boulder by @iancush

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2 years ago

I have been thinking about this guy (pictured above). Be dynamic; try new things. I've always loved taking on a diverse smattering of challenges. But as one muscle grows, others atrophy. I feel I am losing touch with my creativity. The bender of light, the slinger of cameras, the setlyfe bro from years ago, where did he go? Also, look at me with that tiger 🐅

#setlife taken in La La Land by @iancush

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3 years ago

My pack got a little bit smaller. The good ones. The dogs. We have run the hills, wrestled, and played ball. Splendid in the open air, the pack flourishes. I try not to post negative things here so I'll spare the gruesome details. I will save my anger for my next run up the hill. But this past Friday night, my sister's dog Mooney “moon man” took his last adventure.

All dogs go to heaven, so I'm not worried about that, but it's the rest of humanity that troubles me. We can learn a lot from dogs. So thank you for the lessons, moon man.

I heard my sister read this quote at his burial, so I'll leave you with this.

“You may not agree, you may not care, but
if you are holding this book you should know that of all the sights I love in this world — and there are plenty — very near the top of the list is this one: dogs without leashes.”

-Mary Oliver taken in Landers, California by @iancush

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3 years ago

Hey girl.

I know it's cold and rainy. Come inside, let's light up a fire, read a book, and I'll play you some songs in my underwear 😆. taken in Montecito, California by @iancush

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3 years ago

Be Useful.

My whole life, I’ve had a pervasive underlying compulsion to feel helpful to be of use. I’ve always seen my body and physicality as a tool that I can lend out to overcome my shortcomings and make up for my lack of utility. People will keep me around if I can provide a long, enduring physical presence. My father is the hardest-working man I’ve ever seen. For him, exercising or lifting weights was always just viewed as wasted energy. Time and effort should be dedicated to productive, valuable work. Exercise is just Effort that should be applied to a beneficial outcome rather than wasted on meaningless pursuits of physical vanity. He was raised on a farm with a work-horse mentality. If you want, exercise, move some rocks, dig a hole, build something. My first physical pursuits were always work. Moving a mountain of dirt was just a series of repetitions. One shovel by 20 reps is a wheelbarrow, 100x sets, and you can move a truckload of dirt.
I find the mindless, repetitive Sisyphus tasks comforting. On this day, cutting and bending rebar for ten straight hours could be seen as torture, but honestly, it feels more like what I imagine a day away from work fishing feels like for most. It’s a repetitive physical zen, with no complex decisions to be made, no uncertainty, just precise directive work. Work and working out are the only places I have ever seen a direct correlation between effort and outcome. You can dedicate so much time, effort, and energy to many pursuits and often have no results. But if you lift the weights, swing the hammer, or lift the shovel repeatedly, one rep after the other, the job always gets done; you grow no matter what. Effort equals outcomes. I guess It’s this simplicity that I enjoy.

“Through comfort, no one ever grows.”
— Arnold Schwarzenegger

#beuseful taken in Montecito, California by @iancush

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3 years ago