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CPH SKATE (2011)

I was going through my archived negatives today and happened upon a project I had almost completely forgotten about. Not that it wasn’t interesting, but well over a decade is enough to fade out plenty of memories.

Recap: in my Amsterdamize days of traveling the world and fulfilling my duties as an ambassador of cycling, I was hired by the UCI to cover the BMX World Championships that summer. With ‘cover’ they meant to bring in someone a bit removed from sports cycling, which would probably provide an interesting take. My (street + bicycle + culture) photography angle in those days was about the natural flow of things. Just people on the move, doing what they do. No pigeonholing, no stratification, no labels. So through my lens I got to witness a spectacular and fast paced event just outside of Copenhagen, roaming the paddock and learning more about the competitive side of bmx. Mind you, when the bmx-craze took off in the late 70’s, I was no different, I caught that fever as a kid, too. Not a total stranger to it, then.

Anyhoo, I arrived a day ahead of the event and my UCI hosts took me on a tour of Copenhagen (which was also getting its streets ready for the UCI Women’s Road Race World Championships). I already knew the city well, but you always find out more. As was the case, because one of our stops was at the Faelledparken skatepark and there would be a photo shoot with an up and coming young skate phenom.

Perfect. I love to just linger, observe and move with the flow. I wasn’t on any clock, no pressure, so I was happy I hadn’t carried around my hefty Contax RTS with its concrete block-like motordrive for nothing. The Zeiss lens, the sun, a nice Danish-chill vibe and a roll of Kodak Tri-X 400 did the rest.

Developed in Adox Rodinal
Scan: Epson V550

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