A different view on the Volcom Bergfest 2012
July 30th, 2012 by admin received 2 Comments » TweetPictures and cronicle of the event © Inka Utrata/Inkalude
I’m pretty sure you already checked the report (here) that our friend Nicola from Dobermani Production did at the Volcom Bergfest 2012 in Munster, isn’t it?
But here we have a different view from a young girl that was shooting at the event – and guys, it was the first time for her shooting a skate competition! She did an amazing job! – and she’d been so kind to share with us this amazing experience. We have to say, we like so much when people work hard to follow their dreams and doing the things they love. All our support goes to these people! Now enjoy Inka experience and her fine photography! Don’t forget to chek her website www.inkalude.com
“I grabbed my camera (EOS 60D) with my two objectives (50 mm 1:1.8 II and 18-135 mm 3.5-5.6 IS) and hopped on my car. It was still quite early in the morning, regarding the fact that I had a day off and could sleep till early noon if I wanted to. But today was going to be an amazing day and leaving early felt pretty good actually.
Normally I carry my camera with me a lot and almost everywhere, but this was a premiere for me. Today was the day of the VOLCOM Bergfest 2012 in Münster, Germany. I was ready for some of the finest skateboarding in the legendary Berg Fidel bowl. No idea how I managed to not shoot any skateboarding or snowboarding before, maybe due to a lack of camera or just the fact that I normally prefer to be the one on the board instead of standing next to it. This is also the reason why I was excited for weeks before the actual contest. I was prepared, battery charged, empty memory card, ready to capture some impressive skateboarding moments on camera.
The moment I arrived at the event was kind of relaxed, not many people were around yet. The Pros were practicing and the actual contest would start in about two hours. A friend of mine wanted to join me later on and till then I took the chance to scan the whole place. This was a great opportunity to find the best shooting places, the rider’s preferred runways and the trick hot spots.
I was really impressed by the huge bowl and was shooting every drop in, jump, bail and trick I could capture to make sure not to miss anything and to adjust the settings of the camera at first. I think that getting close to the riders allowed me to capture the great dynamics of the moment, but at the beginning I found myself taking photographs of riders jumping out of my pictures because I was too slow to follow them or they were coming closer than expected and than I could move backwards (because of people standing behind me) to set the focus right. This was indeed frustrating sometimes but all beginning is difficult, and I still had the rest of the day to shoot and practice. I couldn’t wait for the contest to begin.
The crowd had grown a lot since I arrived at the event, consisting of all different age groups from toddlers with their parents to older ones. It was great to see that this sport is able to fascinate and connect all age groups and that everyone is welcome. This pretty down to earth impression was supported by the fact that the people had the chance to be very close to the bowl and the riders. Feeling as if you’re in the middle of it – this is what I call a great event!
The contest started and the excitement reached its climax; the Kids, Amateurs, Masters and Pros impressed the crowd with their skills, showing some great style, incredible speed-lines and crazy tricks.
I was really happy to be there and to soak up the whole atmosphere. Hence, I decided to not only capture some tricks but also the little details that normally might stay unnoticed, such as damaged shoes, concentrated riders, happy kids.
My conclusion:
Shooting skateboarding photographs is one of the coolest things I have ever done, not only that I saw some incredible skateboarding, I also met some really great people there and can’t wait for the next chance to go shooting.
If you’re at a contest, try not to get too mad if a professional photographer decides to stand right in front of you. This just means you picked the perfect place for a photograph, which actually is a very good thing showing you have the right sense for it. Further, it’s definitely nothing you can’t talk about. And one thing is for sure, I will be there next year too and if you want to experience this amazing event and atmosphere as well, just visit Münster in 2013 and maybe I’ll see you there!
If you like my pictures and want to see other pictures I took, just head over to my homepage (www.inkalude.com). I update the page regularly and present not only photographs but also illustrations. My shop in the ‘For you’ section has some sweet sport and photography inspired apparel.”
Thank You Inka! now check out the rest of the gallery!
Tags: bowl, first time, graphics, Inka, Inka Utrata, Inkalude, Inkalude.com, photographic, shooting, sk8, SKATE, skateboarding, volcom, Volcom Bergfest, Volcom Bergfest 2012
Posted under: SKATE, TRAVEL JOURNALS
