John Haynes / April 14th, 2009 / Photo Journal
PHOTO JOURNAL: John Haynes #10

Snow is a memory that does not seem to want to be distant in the minds of Minnesotans. We deal with the stuff for five months, and the mud for two. I took this photo of Kevin Meland at a spot built by skateboarders on March 21st and it was 60 degrees. On March 31st we got hit with a blizzard dumping 16 inches in parts of the state. Even without snow, you can see the factor mud played while Kevin maneuvered to a Zero Porn over the dirt channel. This is in a largely deserted industrial part of west Minneapolis, and the spot has been overgrown with saplings and the concrete is cracked from the winters. I really wanted to communicate the grittiness of the environment itself when choosing my angle. It’s also important to talk to the skater you are shooting and make sure they are doing a trick that works well with your angle. The light was low in the sky to camera left, lighting the spot nicely and dappling the street with shadows that made Kevin’s white shirt really jump off at you. I placed a Dyna-Lite Jack Rabbit II light almost perpendicular to Kevin for a softer overall fill, with a Metz flash back 3/4ths to give him a rim light. The overall lighting from the left and the tightly controlled light on only Kevin from the right draw attention to Kevin quickly and give it a surreal look while still being anchored in the over all scene and not looking fake. — John Haynes

Discussion / PHOTO JOURNAL: John Haynes #10

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  • nick korompilas - April 15th, 2009

    this is so good, I’ve always been a fan of John’s work… although I prefer the sky to be cut out – it probably would make a dope print. Keep it up and thanks for the lighting info!

  • nick korompilas - April 15th, 2009

    forgot to mention the sick trick too! whoops

  • John Haynes - April 15th, 2009

    hey thanks nick… as far as the sun goes, use it or lose it! as you know skate photography is all about adapting to situations, i can count the times that the conditions were ideal! I would have to wait a long time for that spot to be in the shade, so gotta do what you can,, i agree with you though and keep it up yourself!

  • Really liking the technique involved with the spot, trick, and originality in general. More photos like this are needed in a time of unoriginality or what you could call fake, but hey what determines real and what determines fiction anyway? Anyone? Anyone?

    Neo, you are now free to do as you please, live off the fat of the land and don’t forget to tend to the rabbits. Neo, you are now entering the matrix where nothing is real: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YDRFO49ct6E

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