While walking around the streets of Porto in Portugal, I saw a group of students practicing skate jumps in front of their university.
I am not experienced with playing with the shutter speed, and hoped to shoot not only blurry photos. These may not be very sharp but they surely can represent my interpretation of an ephemeral moment, which is the prompt for WP Weekly Photo Challenge: Ephemeral.
Ephemeral: adjective – Lasting for a very short time.
Not only these are fleeting moments but the time to do that may perhaps be reduced when they leave uni and join the workforce. I hope for them to never lose their playful, curious, and adventurous spirit, and that they bring it as an essential part of their lifestyle, no matter what they become as future professionals.
I could be wrong but they don’t exactly fit the Portuguese university student stereotype … Great pictures!
Well, as a tourist, I bought what I saw . They were in front of the university of Porto, had bags and books and some just came from inside the uni. There were many foreigners there as visiting students, so you have a point here. Thanks for bringing this up. Reality is not always what we see.
Thanks also for visiting and commenting.
Indeed that is not important – I’m sorry if I was rude or something like that!
Please don’t think like that. You’re neither of these. I liked your observation as it adds layers of reality to my story telling. Thank you!
Great action shot, Lucile! 🙂
Thank you so much!
Wow, and now you are adding superlative action shots to your portfolio! These are great…
You are too kind, Andy. They are not exactly sharp and the post processing didn’t improve it so much. Thank you for being so generous and supportive.
These kind of pictures don’t need to be too sharp, and anyway, I think sharpness is too often a goal sought at the expense of art, so I love these!
You’re right and I shouldn’t complain so much either. I’m not even a perfectionist! lol
Sometimes we don’t see perfection because we are looking too hard…
I cannot agree more.
Action! Love it! Not blurry, these are great shots. Talented skateboarders too!! X
They surely were more talented and self assured than the enthusiastic photographer…I was running after them from one side of the square to the other, and shooting like mad, at a fixed speed after I made the first and checked that it could perhaps work. I enjoyed doing it though. Thanks, DJ!
So cool, I’m jealous that you have access to such action and excitement. I need to go into the city and spend a day being a ninja photographer 🙂
Lol Can be I a ninja photographer too?
Oh you are already the master ninja photographer, flitting about snapping great shots! X
Thiese are very good photos… You have suspended their action in the exact moment. It is truly an “ephemeral” timing. I “super like” this photo set!
Thank you very much for dropping by and for your encouraging comment. Much appreciated!
Love the action and the story hinting at not only the movement but also their future.
Hi Julia, thanks for visiting the blog, as well for your lovely and supportive comment.
Great shots! I think you did fantastic for someone who doesn’t have much experience with shutter speed. I don’t see blur at all. They are perfect for the “ephemeral” prompt.
Amy, you’re so supportive and encouraging! Thanks for that. I got carried away with the opportunity and quite liked doing it not knowing what the outcome would be. I am glad I didn’t blur it all! Thank you!
I think they are not blurry at all. These shots are great!
Thank you so much, Nalinki! I was sweating a bit to make those! 😉
Wow! You definitely captured these guys in flight! Perfect… Ephemeral indeed… I always wonder how they’re able to perform these skateboarding tricks!
I did get them flying and was amazed with their skills. I wish the best shots of their flights had not been blurred! I guess it is a mix of boldness and practice that makes them perfect that art!
Indeed they are bold and fearless! You helped to show that to your viewers via the photos!
Have a super Friday :-)))
These are cool shots! Not only the skateboarders, but also their boards are caught in mid air! Nice, Lucile.
Hi Lois, I’m very glad you liked my first attempt. Thanks!
OMG – Fabulous shots Lucile! I am having street photography envy! LOVE!
LOL. That is ok, Lisa. If it is coming from you, it is most welcome, as it is quite a compliment! Thank you!
Love your action shots! (and Porto, incidentally) Wish I had any hope of doing this without breaking and ankle. (the skating, not the camera work 🙂 )
Lol for a second I thought you meant skateboarding…why not? Some fell a lot and didn’t break anything. So we can try too!
Isn’t Porto a small lovely place?
Thanks, Jo!!
It is! I hope to go back some day, and see a bit more of the Douro. 🙂
GREAT captures! The second one with his feet on the board is way cool!
Hi Terri!! Thank you so much. I was lucky that it didn’t turn all blurred!! Lol I was shooting non-stop.
Great action shots and perfect for this challenge.
Thank you so much for visiting Helen. I’m grateful for your comment.
NICE!!!! My son is a skater-photographer-filmer, and I see a lot of skating shots. These are all very cool and a couple are awesome. I know from past experience how tricky it is to get good shots. When the boy-child was little he used to get me to shoot him doing various tricks — which always seemed to take about 20 attempts, and when he finally landed the trick I would have missed the shot. It’s amazing we’re still speaking 🙂
Wow. Then you’re really a pro by now in photographing his moves! I had never done it before and had failed miserably trying to shoot birds. Besides, it was a very cloudy day, but I decided to try it anyways, as the sight of those guys and their skateboards was not to be missed.
Funny to hear how you did it. I shot endlessly, following their moves and hoping that some would work. Eventually some became ok and not a shame but hey, I have nothing to lose but learn, and just gained a bit of experience with action photos.
Thanks for commenting. Really appreciated it.
It really is all about taking the shots again and again. I found the hardest part often was finding a vantage point where I could capture the trick with him face-on, so I wasn’t always getting the back view. Drove me crazy. The kids who do this all the time are so amazing at finding a spot where they get air, plus a face, plus the skaters arms not thrown out at odd angles. Too much for my brain to take in. But I enjoy trying to photograph the odd occasion when I’m with the boy-child and he is skating. I thought a couple of your shots looked really good; my boy would have approved! 🙂
Cool pictures. Are these the action photos you were mentioning?
I wonder what is the Portuguese university student stereotype? I’m glad you did not only take photos of culture, but of life too 🙂 These are perfect, Lucile.
I am under the impression that their dress code is very formal. Is hot some girls singing at the central station and they wore suits.
I spent a lot of time walking there and had plenty of street subjects to capture. Will post it slowly to not bother you all. 😉
Thank you so much for your encouraging comment.
It will be very interesting to see. I am sure you loved Porto 🙂
hah what cool and funky shots, my sons have yet to acheive this kind of skill with their skateboards x
Thanks! Maybe you just prefer that they cannot yet do like that so they’re safer and you don’t need to make all these photos? lol
yes very true, good point , wise Lady x
😉