10 Shots from the Toronto Skate Scene

All photographers can ultimately be divided into two categories: the hip or the lame. The former, for example, includes grizzled, chain-smoking photojournalists wearing bullet-riddled vests and aviator sunglasses. The latter, conversely, is typified by frumpy, balding, middle-aged dads who snap shots of their family, friends and pets.

For better or worse, I’m a card-carrying member of team lame. Believe me, I’ve tried to sneak into the hip club. I even bought an over-priced, Vietnam-era photo vest and a Bruce Springsteen-inspired bandana. But, alas, my photos are still consistently the antithesis of cool.

Well, on a recent weekend family getaway to Toronto I said” “Screw it! For once, I’m going to break free of these dad vibes and take myself some hip shots.” The problem was that my wife, Dawn, had planned the schedule, and it was full of lame dad things. You know what I mean: family-friendly parks, museums, aquariums, hotel swimming pools and libraries.

After our first day in Toronto, I stood on the hotel-room balcony looking out at the nightlife. I turned to my wife in my vest and bandana and said: “Honey, I’m going out to get some shots. Don’t wait up.” But when I squatted down to take my first street pic, I threw out my back – the consequence of lugging a snack-laden rucksack across museums, aquariums and libraries all afternoon. I shuffled back into the hotel room and watched a Disney animated movie with my son, Kipling, feeling more lame than ever.

The following morning, we woke to a beautiful fall day and decided to spend most of it in a small park near downtown Toronto. I was in my natural element, taking photos of Kip on swings, seesaws, and monkey bars. As I was pondering once again the photographic merits of a jungle gym, I spied at the corner of my eye some new arrivals to the park. No, it wasn’t a bunch of eight-year-olds looking to play tag. It was a group of hip skaters in their early twenties!

This was my moment. I ditched my wife, letting on I was grabbing a coffee and tactfully made my way over to the cool kids who were doing ollies and kickflips over a traffic cone. Unfortunately, I’d left my vest and bandana back in the hotel room, so I undid a few buttons of my flannel shirt and loosened my belt one notch.

I remembered from my high school days that one must approach cool kids like a herd of gazelles. You need to be careful not to scare them away. Luckily, I was down wind. I slowly sauntered into their concrete arena, took a seat on a park bench, and crossed my legs (if I had to do it again, I would have kept them straight). As I was coming up with strategies to break the ice (the colour of that bong is divine), one of the skaters rolled over and asked, “Is that a Leica M6?”

I wanted to say, “Oh, baby, it’s actually the 2022 reissue of the M6 with a black chrome Leicavit and a 50 cron version 5!” But I played it chill. “This old thing. Yes, it’s an M6. I sometimes grab it for my weekend walks through the city, in case I come across something interesting.” The young skater said: “That’s awesome, man. My friends and I are getting into analog photography. My dream camera is an M6. Anyway, feel free to take some shots of us if you like.”

And, voila, after 43 years I was finally accepted by the in-crowd. I spent the next hour photographing the skateboarders, doing tricks, smoking joints, and looking cool. I kept looking over my shoulder to make sure my wife and son weren’t coming over to break my cover by asking where I put the organic granola bars. Luckily, I was able to stay incognito.

What you see below are some photos of when a lame dad goes rogue in downtown Toronto. I don’t think Thrasher magazine will be calling me up for an assignment anytime soon. But, heck, I think we’d all agree that this takes me one inch closer to the hip club. All I need now is some aviator sunglasses — but they’ll have to be prescription.

If you liked these pictures, please consider following me on Instagram. You can find more of my photos at Leica Fotografie International and Lomography.

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