Fast times at Belco Skate Park
“Oi, what rig are ya runnin’?’
A voice called out from atop a ramp. It belonged to Elliott, a 16-year-old BMX enthusiast sporting an unhelmeted mop - equal parts curiosity and confidence.
“I’m on a Lumix,” I replied. “Do you shoot?”
“Yeah, I got a Canon 5D,” he said. “Mark IV.”
After talking shop for a bit, I asked if I could get some shots of him doing a circuit around Belconnen Skate Park, reputedly one of the nation’s best.
It was 5.30pm and buzzing in the late afternoon sun with skaters of various levels of skills.
“Yeah, I can do this whole deck,” he said, gesturing around the concrete terrain of ramps, bowls and banks.
I had decided to revive my street photography account - @civic.duty.cbr on Instagram and TikTok, if you’re interested - which involves shooting Canberrans in their native environments. Wearing an action camera to record my interactions and POV footage, it started a bit over a year ago as a challenge to push me out of my introverted comfort zone and into new, creative spaces.
At the skate park and beyond, the sky was the limit for Elliott; he runs a BMX clothing and media side hustle.
He was the second of my three subjects that day. Moments earlier I had approached Peter, an accomplished skater – and music producer on the side – who performed an array of fast and furious ollies and grinds.
At this point, it should be obvious I’m not an insider to skate culture; most of my knowledge comes from Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater on Nintendo 64, which still boasts one of the best video game soundtracks 25 years on.
My final subjects of the day were a couple of mates, Alex and Cooper, who were attacking a ramp at speed with varying success. I’m not sure what the perfect execution of their aerials was meant to look like – it didn’t really matter – but what was obvious was how much fun they were getting just having a crack.
I was, too, perched at the crest of the ramp with golden hour and my still-new Lumix 9mm f/1.7 firing away in burst mode.
While the fisheye lens will always be associated with skate photography thanks to its exaggerated perspective and iconic place in the sports 90s folklore, anything wide and fast will deliver pleasing results – autofocus is just a bonus.
The Lumix 9mm f/1.7 was a dream for this environment: its ultra-wide perspective gave the images depth and energy without introducing harsh distortion. Shooting low amplified the drama, especially when the subjects were airborne.
I also liked the variety in the set: action shots, lifestyle portraits and contextual frames that show the architecture of Belco’s skate park. Including the high-rise buildings and ramps gave the images a sense of place and scale.
The harsh afternoon sun was a challenge. A few frames blew out the highlights in the sky, while shadows on faces were deeper than I’d like. If I had the shoot over again, I’d set up an off-camera flash or lean harder into golden hour for softer light.
That said, part of what makes street photography so challenging (and rewarding) is the pursuit of making the most of imperfect environments and equipment.
Composition-wise, I need to watch my framing. In some shots, the riders are too close to the top edge, leaving little breathing room. Better compositions would have leading space to show their trajectory relevant to the environment. Slight repositioning would also avoid background clutter, like trees and poles, competing with the subject in a few frames.
In post-production, consistency in colour grading remains a work in progress. The set shifts between warm golden tones and cooler, moody skies; sometimes I get a bit lost in the edit of a single photo and forget the broader ‘story’. While variety can add spice, a unified grade would make the gallery feel more cohesive.
I would also try and lean more into the documentary style of photography. Capturing finer details, like worn skate shoes or the underside of boards, tells a more compelling story. It would also be a cool prompt for the POV video interviews. Close-ups of eyes at angles, riders interacting with each other candidly, hands or even scars from falls – these all tell a story.
For now, I’m happy with the energy these images capture: the grit, the flow and the fleeting moments of flight make skate photography an addictive genre. Best of all, the lads were also happy with pics.