LENSAMIZ.PRO
MÓMENTS OF AÚTONOMY.
Skaters by the bridge.
During the Hungarian winter of 2019, I had an idea to travel and photograph two different countries in almost 4 days. These days were my days off and I wanted to make the best out of them to capture different cultures and get to introduce my work to others.
Living in Dubai makes you miss a couple of things, for me I miss street walks and the cold weather the most. During the winter of 2019 I have decided to travel and do the things I miss and it was a rich trip.
One of these cold days in Budapest or Budape’sh’t as they pronounce it, I was exploring the streets at night carrying the normal gear which is my camera bag and the heavy tripod that I regret buying after a while.
Across the road, I can see an interesting looking bridge with lots of lights and different road signs that says under-construction on the side of the road. I had to take a right turn so I can continue the road and explore more, then I heard some noise coming from the same direction I was going towards.
I have found 4 Hungarian boys full of joy and freedom skateboarding on a passengers’ sidewalk. The minute I came close by, they looked at me with everything I carry and they did not pay attention. Except for one of them who smiled and looked carefully at my camera. I stayed around them looking and enjoying how hard they fall, stand back up, and try again.
I was thinking to myself, oh it seems easier than it looked. Using some body gestures, I asked their permission if I can take some photographs and they felt good about that, so they agreed. Once I started photographing them, they became super energetic as if a tv channel was recording them live for a wide audience.
I wanted to have a conversation with them to understand are they just having fun or there’s something more to tell. I understood that there’s a huge culture behind this “sport” I mean it is not a sport even, but it has its own slangs, tricks and ethos. Some said that skateboarding gives meaning to their local spaces if they don’t have skate parks like the ones in other cities.
They preferred to be around the Chain Bridge, an iconic mark of their city to show up and practice. These boys did not have any smart phones except for one of them that had an old one, but to me they were ignited by their passion for skateboarding.
Some researches say that skateboarding gives them moments of Autonomy and freedom and a way of expressing man’s self. It gives them confidence and independence while allowing them to navigate their urban environments in different ways.
We clicked together from different perspectives, one that both of us has a passion and we are trying to find our voices. While the second, lays down in the amateur attitude we had. Joy and freedom of expressing ourselves were the bond we have had at this Moment of Autonomy!
When we asked another skater to simply describe what skateboarding is, he offered: “Infinity, and it represents openness. It’s a lifestyle for inventor minds. Skateboarding is falling down and getting back up. Inventing. Playing for the sake of playing. Toying around. That is why I do it and what I feel from my participation is similar to meditation, like a lulled-out, relaxed state – the very act of riding the board changes the way you move through life.”--- Source ‘www.theconversation.com’ > https://theconversation.com/skateboardings-spiritual-side-skaters-find-meaning-in-falls-and-breaking-the-monotony-of-urban-life-177021
We exchanged laughters, kind words, creativity, and most importantly –– respect.
All that was through body language and little bit of google translation, the only downside to this story that we couldn’t connect after that to share with them those photographs. Please if by any chance you know them, I would love that they see how far they came on the internet.
Moments of Autonomy.