Skateboarder, Austin, Texas, 2009 by Phil Douglis

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01-JUN-2009

Skateboarder, Austin, Texas, 2009

I thought I was finished shooting for the day, and was trudging back to my hotel, when I heard the roar of a skateboard in the distance. I followed the sound, and discovered a young man using a sidewalk leading to a warehouse loading dock as a skateboard run. The warehouse itself offered a clean, unifying background, and the canopy over the loading dock provides a strong diagonal shadow as a counter point to the diagonal thrust of the steps below it. All I needed to complete the image was this final diagonal – formed here by the raised arm of the skateboarder as he floats through the air over the jagged diagonal of the steps. I have seized a moment in time here that stops movement, creates geometric coherence, and offers crackling tension in the negative space between the skateboard and the steps.

Panasonic Lumix DMC-G1
1/640s f/6.3 at 56.0mm iso100 full exif

other sizes: small medium large original auto

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Phil Douglis		22-May-2014 19:23
Thank you for humanizing the parking meters, Bernard. I did not intend them to represent eyes, but included them in the frame to extend the flow of the image. However I can certainly agree that the meters can well be seen as the eyes of an audience within this image.

Bernard Bosmans		22-May-2014 11:22
The parking meter seems looking at the boy with ogling eyes and at the same time happy to see the place energized by this energetic youngster. Terrific shot.

Phil Douglis		05-Aug-2011 20:06
Thanks for seeing what I had intended to express here, XaioBernard99. There are many factors working together here to help the image convey its message.

XiaoBernard99		30-Jul-2011 20:55
Structured background,the lines,the grey/red opposition,the motion by the hair,the arms, the posing...Helped by the both stuffs , one fixed to the wall and the other the parking meter,All runs well for my looking

Phil Douglis		08-Jul-2011 17:24
Thanks, Claudia, for noting how important it can be to make an image at the right place, and in the right time. I knew a lot about the place itself long before I made this image. It was located just around the corner from my hotel, and I had passed by it a number of times, at various times of the day. I noted the presence of the steps and parking meters, the clean background, the texture of the wall and how it reflected light and held shadows. Forearmed with such knowledge, it all came together for me when I came through this area again and heard the roar of a skateboard, and noted the warmth of the late afternoon light. From that point on, it was simply a matter of shooting the jumper himself over and over as he continued to make his runs back and forth across the space. In this single instant, everything worked.

BleuEvanescence		08-Jul-2011 13:14
This is a one shot deal... It is also an art of seizing the opportunity when at the right place at the right...time. We see the experience of the eye of the master photographer and the skills you maintained and buffed over the years... Bravo, j'adore. ;))

Phil Douglis		23-Apr-2010 19:13
Thanks, Brian, as always, for coming to my galleries. This photograph has acquired a life of its own as pbase members continue to add their own insights and impressions here.

Guest		23-Apr-2010 10:46
A truly classic image Phil, everything about this works beautifully - and thank you to everyone above for your commentary too. Much to share and learn here. Kind Regards Brian

Phil Douglis		19-Aug-2009 21:37
What a lucid, eloquent commentary, Celia. Thanks for picking up on my HCB-isms here. I deliberately structured the context around its geometric character, and shot the kid again and again, using multiiple burst mode, as he flashed through my frame. I noticed the energy of the red shorts early on in the shoot. I also noticed that the kid always threw his arms out like this as he flew through the air, no doubt to maintain his balance. I was fortunate to catch the right arm as it echoed the diagonal line of the shadow behind it. The parking meter was always a part of the plan here -- Kal called it the "eyes of the audience," as the twin meters watch his leap. Thanks, too, for the wonderful metaphor of the skateboarder's "escape from of conservative orderliness" -- I guess that's why so many of them are kids. It's an officially sanctioned form of rebellion.

Cecilia Lim		19-Aug-2009 20:49
This is an amazing modern, urban Cartier-Bressonesque shot! It reminds me very much of "Behind the Gare St. Lazare" fast-forward to the 21st Century! The diagonal lines of the shadows, steps and the boy's arms, all work together to suggest an escape from a world of conservative orderliness of horizontal and vertical lines. The red color is crucial in expressing the energy and passion of the skateboarder's gravity-defying pursuits! I love that you've also intuitively included the parking meter - its static, symmetrical form acts as a wonderful counterpoint to the boy's freestyle spirit! A perfect image in every way Phil! Just brilliant!

Phil Douglis		12-Jun-2009 01:30
Thanks, Jim -- skateboarders are acting out a fantasy of sorts when they do such things as this, so yes, you have summed it up well. Thank you.

Phil Douglis		12-Jun-2009 01:28
Fascinating thought, Tim. I always see him as heading left, because that is how he was actually moving as I stopped this moment in time with my camera. However, you can certainly make a case for the opposite direction here. His arm flies to the right, and his lowered head seems to be twisting that way as well. Thanks for pointing out the ambiguity of movement here. And thanks, too, for mentioning the other two images you are comparing this one to. The Tunisian boy kicking the ball is athttp://www.pbase.com/pnd1/image/106455700 and the Moroccan boy leaping into the arch is athttp://www.pbase.com/pnd1/image/72900078

jlm		11-Jun-2009 17:58
Fantastic shot!

Tim May		11-Jun-2009 17:18
I can't help but compare this image to your other action shots - the kicking boy in Tunisia and the running boy. Wonderful images all (including this one) in their Cartier-Bresson-like capture of the moment and joy of youth. But here there is an interesting incongruity. In the other two images the figures have traveled across the scene and are exiting to the right of the frame. Because of the placement of the figure in the frame - there is a sense that that is happening here. But in order for the physics of the scene to work the jumper must be entering the scene and using gravity to jump- so he is going to left, but seems to be going to the right because of the stance of his body, the angle of the diagonals, and the placement in the frame.

Phil Douglis		09-Jun-2009 15:32
Thanks, Carol -- the diagonal slope of the steps certainly echo the diagonal thrust of the skateboard as they flow to the left here. And the parking meters not only speak of time -- as Kal notes they are like two eyes, watching the leap with mute approval.

Carol E Sandgren		09-Jun-2009 04:45
As far as angles go, the shadow diagonal opposite the steps diagonal seems to thrust from the side of the image the urban surfer's action to the left. And as far as time goes, I did notice that there are parking meters, yet another indication of the idea of time, maybe time limits. Love the composition here.

Phil Douglis		08-Jun-2009 21:57
You are right, Rose -- the red shorts not only draw the eye, they energize the jump itself. If I had converted this image to black and white, the image would look more journalistic, but lose a lot of punch in the process.

Phil Douglis		08-Jun-2009 21:56
Glad you mentioned the body language here, Jeroen. One arm echoes the shadow of the loading dock's canopy, while the other arm is aligned perfectly with the sidewalk. Meanwhile, the diagonal skate board hangs directly over the diagonal created by the steps.

Phil Douglis		08-Jun-2009 21:54
Thanks, Nancy, for offering us the metaphor of the jump here. He can represent the potential that lies within all of us to defy the boundaries we set for ourselves, and get as much out of life as we are able to.

Phil Douglis		08-Jun-2009 21:51
The parking meter does indeed become the eyes of the audience here, Kal -- thanks for noting this incongruity.

Phil Douglis		08-Jun-2009 21:26
Tbanks, Dan -- I did indeed try a conversion, but the image lost a lot of energy when those red shorts turned gray. So color it is.

Jeroen Bosman		08-Jun-2009 17:32
very good capture, love the way the position of the boy's arms matches the line in the building, v!

Nancy Good		08-Jun-2009 17:04
Phil, I gasped out loud in delight when I saw just the thumbnail. I love the feeling of "suspension" that jumps out from this shot - I know boarders love the actual feeling that they're suspended in air and defying the rules of gravity that we're so bound by in our everyday lives. Sometimes we just need to be reminded to JUMP! :-)

Dan Chusid		08-Jun-2009 05:56
Looks like this would be terrific in B&W Phil. Love the opposing angles on the right side.

sunlightpix		08-Jun-2009 04:08
Amazing shot! The red shorts really pop from the textured gray wall. Let's grab a board and go urban surfing! Vote!

Phil Douglis		07-Jun-2009 22:55
Thanks, Endre. I photographed him on at least five different "runs." I used burst shooting mode, which gave me several moments to choose from on every run. Although the lens on the G1 is a bit "slow" in terms of aperture, there was plenty of light available for me to take advantage of a very fast shutter speed here.

endre novak		07-Jun-2009 22:10
great timing and visual impact. excellent result from the g1,too which is a wonderful camera but not that very fast.

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