Click. The shutter closes on Porock Luis as he lands a Nollie in front of 11 participants. Ajiem looks particularly satisfied with the photo; while everyone else relied smack on burst shots to compensate for the speed of the trick, he only took one, right at the peak point of the landing. This then, is the end result of 13 years of passion and dedication, in a very niche segment called skate photography that Ajiem has tirelessly pursued, all in the name of that one perfect shot.
We were a bit late when we arrived at the Putrajaya Challenge Park during the theory segment on the basics of skate photography, and only caught him halfway when he was explaining how to compose a shot. “It’s key that you capture the motion of the skateboarder as he is performing the trick,” says Ajiem, “The visual impact radiates forward moving energy and pace, and you can feel it through the photo.”
Nods and intense staring were shared as Ajiem shows his golden tips on how to take the shot. He then proceeds to take out his equipment, a variety of zoom lens, wide lens and 3 flash guns, of which 2 were cylindrical in shape. “I use all three and position them so that when the skater lands a trick, light is produced evenly without any dark spots present,” Ajiem explains.
We then proceed down to the skate park to put theory into practice. The searing heat wasn’t a deterrence for some of the participants, as they take their positions on the curbs as two of Vans’ skaters, none other than Azreen Azman and Porock Luis ready themselves for the run down to perform one of the more simpler tricks in the book: the nollie. Ajiem takes his stance, and proceeds to track Azreen as he skates down from the sides all the way to the ramp and jumps.
Shutters click amidst the noise of skateboards landing and grinding. While everyone was frantically taking as much shots as possible, Ajiem coolly takes one shot, reviews it, and waits for another. This went on for about 15 more minutes as the skaters alternated and performed tricks for the photographers.
Just before the mislanding
After that, we adjourned to Putrajaya City Centre for a change of scenery. After finding a bench to grind on, the participants proceeded to take their place, once again priming their cameras to fire, this time with Azreen on deck, performing a simple nose grind.
At this point we were all drenched in sweat, persistent against the heat in order to defy odds and capture as much shots as possible.
We were all drained by the end of session, but not before finishing off in one more location, in front of the national treasury building. Azreen got to grinding on one of the benches, but was met with much difficulty. Apparently, the tiles weren’t smooth enough to execute a smooth grind, and carrying too much speed before the trick could mean a greater chance of falling over after trying to stick on the railing. After about an hour or so of multiple failed attempts, Azreen managed to land a grind, and we packed up back to the skatepark.
It was interesting to know that it definitely wasn’t easy to do skate photography, especially when the weather isn’t on your side. “That’s the thing about skate photography. Patience is key, but the persistence always pays off when you get the shot that you need,” Ajiem explains. It’s a no brainer really, and after multiple award winning shots, compiled into a book, I think he’s very much qualified to tell that patience is all you need.
