The photography of skateboarding is unlike most other types of photography.  The main goal of skateboarding photographers is to capture the difficulty of the trick and to make the viewer believe that the trick will be landed.  Since Carlos Jaramillo moved to New York in 2012, he has focused on capturing the part of skateboarding that happens on a daily basis.  His photographs show the diversity of skateboarding locations in New York City and the unique style of New York City skateboarders.  Carlos Jaramillo’s photo essay “Skating New York”, the elements of light and color highlight the actions of his subjects and show the viewer the city of New York these skateboarder’s eyes.

This photograph is not similar to most other photographs of skateboarders.  Jaramillo focuses on the area that the skateboarder, Jacob Gottlieb, is in rather than a trick he his performing.  The shot concentrates on the skateboarder’s movement towards the bustling city.  Because of the openness of both the mid and background, the viewer focuses on the larger objects in the photograph; the couple on the bus bench, the skateboarder, and the taxi.  The viewer looks over the shoulder of the couple and thus has their gaze pulled towards the skater by the semi-reciprocal gaze of the couple.  The skater’s view is more peripheral, centered forward towards the cars, pedestrians, and other hazards that may be ahead of him. The peculiarity of a man skateboarding carelessly through the middle of the street draws all of the couple’s attention.  The yellow taxi contrasts the other colors in dark side of the photo and reminds the viewer that the skater is travelling through the streets of a busy city.  The separation of light and dark in this picture demonstrate the clear boundary that New York City skateboarders violate every day.  The darkness of the background is due to the shade given by the skyscrapers, further intensifying the image of a city.  The viewer also sees a cluster of pedestrians crossing the sidewalk and several others cars in addition to the taxi.  The feeling of congestion and traffic is conveyed through the background of this photo.  The foreground where the couple and the skater are present provides a much different feeling to the viewer.  The lighting is much brighter and no other objects are present save the couple and the skater, drawing the viewer’s attention to only them.  The overall color scheme of the shaded area is passive and contrasts greatly with the bright light and the shades of brown that occupies the area the skater is in.  The lighting of the city and the color scheme of the photo spotlight the skater’s movement and show that the city is seen and used by skateboarders in a different way.

Matt Town is pictured here, performing a kick flip, in front of a grocery store in Brooklyn.  This establishing shot shows the skater in a lower income neighborhood during the day.  The tree with no leaves in the background and the clothing of the skateboarder suggest that it’s fall, showing that the community of skaters in New York are passionate of the sport and do it daily.  The lack of movement in the background makes the skater seem frozen in the middle of his trick.  This is rare in skateboarding photography because the photographer is usually trying to show the progression and completion of a trick.  The photograph uses red, yellow, and green-blue, to complement each other throughout the scene but the colors affect each other in several other ways.  The value of the red building is too light to compete with the brilliant saturation of the blue windows. The building along with the shade of the sidewalk and the dark greens throughout the photo give the scene a passive feel.  The overall passiveness of the photograph helps draws attention to the brighter yellow corner store.  The yellows of the corner store absorb the blues of the windows and complement the green of the awning and the skateboarder’s attire.  The lightness of the building and top of the corner store suggests that they are in an area that is older and not in good of condition as other areas of the city, showing that the skaters of New York are able to utilize all areas of the city to their benefit.  The color scheme of this photo helps draw attention to not only the skateboarder but also the area of the city that they are in.

Carlos Jaramillo’s main goal of this photo essay was to capture the uniqueness of the skateboarding culture in New York City.  He wanted to show that the skateboarders are able to go to all areas of the city and do what they love.  He was also trying to use skateboarding as the subject of fine art photography as opposed to the conventional skateboard photography that is solely focused on capturing trick difficulty and completion.  The contrast between light and dark in his first photograph captures the separation between the skateboarder and the daily happenings of the city.  By photographing the taxi, pedestrians, and intersection in the dark half of the picture and the couple focused on the skater in the other, he shows that the skater and the people on the dark half view the city in two very different ways.  The skater views it as his playground while the others are merely focused on the task at hand and not what the city has to offer.  The second photograph uses it’s color scheme and properties to show the skater’s actions and describe the area of the city they are in.  The colors of the building and corner store suggest that the area they’re in is not as well taken care of as downtown.  This photo proves that these skaters are able to utilize the entirety of the city regardless of an area’s social or economic standing.  By creating fine art with skateboarding as its subject and showing the true freedom skateboards have throughout the city, Jaramillo his intentions stated in the text to photos.

The utilization of visual elements throughout Jaramillo’s photos strengthened the message of his photographs.  He was able to use the relationship between light and dark to symbolize the difference between a skater’s use of the city and other citizens.  His use of color sets the scene for his photographs and helps focus the attention of the viewer on his subject.  Jaramillo’s photographs are rare in the world of skateboarding.  He focuses on the setting and lifestyle of his subjects instead of trying to capture an impressive trick.  This is uncommon in the skating community and there are very few photographers who are able to incorporate color, light, attention into their photographs the way Jaramillo does.  
