Behind the Scenes at Reid Menzer
Learning and sharing the skate culture through photos and videos.
DAHS junior Brooklyn Orr performing a ramp trick on April 30, 2022. Brookyln has been skating for 6 years.
Precision, each photo requires it. So much goes into each photo, and so much outside of it.
Reid Menzer Memorial Skate Park in York was built to honor the Menzer’s family 14-year-old son Reid who passed in 2006.
This park has brought many communities together and provided many people with passions.
There’s a little for everybody with the park being flooded by skateboarding, roller skating, scooters, bikes, and photographers.
On April 30, 2022, I was given the opportunity to take photos at the park for a fundraiser.
I knew a select people from Dallastown, but the majority were unfamiliar faces. Breaking the boundary was the most challenging thing I would have to do.
I was astonished by the amount of support within the park, and even made some friends and gained new photography opportunities.
The evolution of skate photography has made it much more simplistic, from lugging larger digital cameras, to being able to use your phone or any form of digital film.
Experimenting with your options has become much more accessible now. Different lenses, editing methods, and easier shots have become more prevalent in media for preservation.
Most of my shots were taken on an iPhone, not a professional camera, but incorporating different elements and with a tiny bit of editing, they turned out perfect.
There is so much detail that goes into getting the right shot, timing, positioning, angles, lighting, and the list could go on.
After an hour of being there and just observing, I quickly learned that nobody cared about what you were doing.
In fact, everyone was more than happy to have someone putting their talent into something that can be shared with others.
It was a new experience for me and opened up many doors to similar opportunities.
I learned a lot about how skate culture has influenced many students at Dallastown and outside of it.
(Gia Elliot)
“Skate culture makes kids more social and outgoing due to meeting people at parks and always being heavily encouraged to keep improving,” says junior Nolan Crumbling.
The following week I was able to go back and continue shooting videos, and every since I’ve made it an effort to go as consistent as possible.
After having a wonderful experience at the park and feeling proud of my work, I started to look for a new camera.
I’ll be happily continuing on improving my videography and photography work in my spare time.
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