Tim Dowling filmed a good deal of many of the videos that we now consider "classics." He's seen more than his fair share of amazing skateboarding go down through the lense and has a lifetime of memories logged in his brain from those times. What makes Tim's story so interesting is that he didn't set out to become the filmer of the stars in the 90's, he was simply a kid with a camera that was in the right place at the right time. The following interview looks at Tim's history with skateboarding from then till now.

48 Blocks: You were born in Santa Monica, so you were surrounded by skateboarding from an early age. When did you first pick up a board and who were some of the people that you would see skating around Santa Monica?

Tim: From the very beginning I felt like skateboarding was something I couldn't escape. When I was 8-years old my next door neighbor built a mini-ramp and everyday his backyard was flooded with skaters and these insane sessions. On the weekends when I was 12 or 13 I'd skate around Venice and if I was lucky I'd see Eric Dressen, Tim Jackson and the Dogtown crew. Every once in a while I'd see Natas and Julien Stranger skating the beach curbs. That was so amazing, and needless to say it left a lasting impression.

48 Blocks: Being a local, what was the scene like in Santa Monica in the 90's? What was it like skating The Pit in Venice and the Sand Gaps in Santa Monica, both of these legendary spots were right in your backyard.

Tim: For me the 90's were pure fun. I was young, reckless, and I wasn't afraid of anything. I never felt like I was skating these legendary spots, but I thought it was cool that skaters from all over the world would come to Los Angeles just to skate the Courthouse, The Pit, the Sand Gaps or Douglas Park, aka the Ponds - remember Tim Gavin's long line at the end of his part in "Pack of Lies"? All of those spots were my EMB.

48 Blocks: When did you first start filming? What kind of camera did you have and who were you filming at the time?

Tim: Growing up I used to love making short movies with my dad's video camera so for my 14th birthday I got a Sony Hi-8. I was freakin' siked. At the time it was a great camera, it had a variable exposure, shutter speed dial, white balance and I bought a fish-eye lens. Within a few years I met and became good friends with Eric Dressen and we skated together a lot. Then one day he said, 'hey, can you film this trick for me'? And I said 'ok', and after that I was off to the races.

48 Blocks: At what point were you approached to film for World, who contacted you, and how did that go down?

Tim: Around 1991, through my friend Sam Baerwald, I met Daniel Castillo, Tim Gavin, Matt Schnurr, Kareem Campbell, Rick Howard, Guy Mariano, etc. and through them I eventually met Rodney Mullen. I started skating and filming with them, and one day Rodney saw some footage of Tim I had shot and asked if I wanted to work for World as a freelance videographer. I had no clue what that meant but I said yes immediately.

48 Blocks: After World, you went to Girl where you were a primary filmer for some of skateboardings most influential films. How did the transition to Girl go down and what was it like working with Spike Jonze and all of the talent on the Girl and Chocolate Teams?

Tim: Rick Howard called me one day and told me he had started a company called Girl and he wanted to hire me as their filmer. I knew all of those guys and we all hung out, skated and filmed together so it was a very natural and easy transition. Working under the Girl banner was so much fun. Whenever I'd go filming I always felt like I had the best seat in the house.

48 Blocks: Being that you've filmed some of the all-time great skaters, who was the easiest to film and who was the hardest?

Tim: I never looked at it that way, easiest vs. difficult. Every skater is different simply because their personalities are different.

48 Blocks: What was the craziest trick that you filmed in your opinion?

Tim: I'd have to say Guy Mariano's switch stance backside tailslide shove it at the beneficial gap to ledge. It was so hard to skate that spot, we'd always get kicked out, and every time we'd go there I'd be filming Guy with one eye and looking for the security guard with the other. The day he landed it I was so relieved because we'd been trying to get that trick for awhile. The first time he did it he came out straight and then he said he wanted to try one more. I said 'ok, but I got it and you landed it really solid'. Then he started trying to shove it, and he landed it in 4 or 5 tries. Mike York was the only other person there and when Guy was riding away we just looked at each other with our mouths hanging open. I need to say this - on video its impossible to tell how fast Guy skates. When he lands a trick he's freakin' flying, and I feel that video has never done him justice.

48 Blocks: Are there any near makes that you remember that would have shocked people if they would have seen it in a video?

Tim: I wish I could lie but no. Call it luck, but all of the bangers we set out to get we got.

48 Blocks: Give us one crazy story from being on a filming mission.

Tim: Once I was filming with Robbie McKinley in a seedy part of downtown Los Angeles and I looked across the street and saw these two guys fighting. I don't know why but I started to film them, and when the fight broke up one of the guys, who was bleeding from a dozen different places on his body, saw stupid me with my big, silver video camera pointed at him and he started jogging towards us. I began to get nervous so I said, 'hey Bob, let's get outta here'. My car was parked right there so I opened my trunk, threw the camera in and slammed it shut just as he ran up on us. He started screaming 'my pelicula, my pelicula!!!' (which means my film in Spanish) and waving his bloody fist in my face. I had my board so I took a few steps back, held it up like a baseball bat, started waving it around and that really freaked him out. He turned towards my car, yelled 'my pelicula!' one more time, punched out the passenger window then started running down the street. I was really pissed but I said, 'fuck it Bob, let's go'. He was probably on speed or pcp or something.

48 Blocks: You left Girl and independently made the Listen video. What caused you to part ways with Girl and what made you decide to make your own video?

Tim: Well, the situation with that was a few months before Mouse was finished I became very disillusioned with skateboarding. The thing I loved to do and film felt like a job and there was a lot of pressure I didn't know how to handle. Looking back on it now I can see what a jerk I was, putting demands on people, doing stupid things, pissing people off, so I was let go from Girl. Afterwards I decided to keep filming because I didn't know how to do anything else. Then, a week or two later I was driving on the freeway and the concept for Listen hit me and I began shooting immediately.

48 Blocks: Listen was the biggest underground video at the time, how long did it take to film and edit and what was the hardest part about making it?

Tim: It took about 10 months to film and a few weeks to edit Listen. Thinking back I don't remember any of it being extremely difficult. Making Listen was one of the best experiences of my life.

48 Blocks: Listen didn't have any music, what was the reason behind that decision?

Tim: In my opinion skateboarding is acoustically dramatic and unlike anything else, and at the same time it's instantly recognizable. I don't care who you are - if you hear the sound of a skateboarder riding on the sidewalk you know exactly what it is. So I decided to make that the soundtrack and if I remember correctly, I don't think any video had done that yet, right?

48 Blocks: You left skateboarding and went to film school, what was going on in your life at this time? Was it a conscious decision to leave the realm of filming skateboarding or was it just a natural progression of wanting to go further with your camera work?

Tim: It was a combination of both. I really wanted to develop my filmmaking style and get my hands dirty with narrative work.

48 Blocks: Are you sitting on any unseen footage from your time filming skateboarding?

Tim: I have some fun b-roll type of stuff - for example, one night Tim Gavin and Guy Mariano stayed over, and Tim & I woke up early and started messing around with Guy while he was sleeping. Its pretty funny, but its crazy to see how young we look.

48 Blocks: You currently do camera work for the Captain & Casey show on Fuel TV. How did you get involved with those guys and how has it been working on that show?

Tim: Matt Solomon, the director of the show, called me and told me he was making a skateboard television show and he wanted me to shoot it. I've known Matt forever and I've always wanted to work with him so I jumped on board immediately. Working with those guys and shooting C&C is a blast, sometimes I can't believe we get paid to produce it.

48 Blocks: Other than your work for Captain & Casey are you working on any other film projects currently?

Tim: Yeah, I always try to keep a ton of stuff on my plate. At the moment I'm shooting a lot of still photography, writing scripts for feature films, developing a show that'll hopefully be bought by Fuel in the winter, and I'm in the process of obtaining legal rights so I can re-release Listen on dvd. When all's said & done Listen will be available through my website, tmdfilm.com. How's that for a shameless plug?

48 Blocks: Do you film skateboarding at all anymore and is there any possibility that we will see some new work from you in the realm of skateboarding?

Tim: I don't film skateboarding as much as I used to but I'm down to hide out in the bushes and film a kick flip every now and again. No, seriously, I'd really like to put out another video, I feel like I've got a few more in me.

48 Blocks: What camera set-up are you rocking now?

Tim: If you can believe it, right now I don't own a video camera. The industry is changing every day, DV is on its way out and HD is still in its infancy. I'm holding out until the digital world becomes a little more defined for my tastes.

48 Blocks: Any advice or techniques that you can share with filmers reading this?

Tim: Whatever it is your filming, shoot it the way you see it - nobody else sees the world the way you do. But, most importantly, never allow your technique to draw attention to itself or take away from the trick.