Skateboard Photography With Maria De La Cruz Barton

Finally after a few months of waiting Europeskate has another interview with a skateboard photographer, one Maria de la Cruz Barton (love that name!) out of Spain. Her pictures just were different in my eyes and they transfer the flow and freedom of skateboarding in a manner which I haven’t seen in a while. Enough of the intro, here’s what she had to say! I decided not to include all of the subtitles to the photos Carlos Rodriguez, Foni and Lolo are the skaters in the photos…

Who are you? Tell us a little bit about yourself (age, what you do in life, where you live)

Hello, my name is Maria, I am 22 years old and I live in Gijon, Spain. I skate for like 2 years now, and I have been taking photos for around 3 years.. I study photography and I would love to work with it in the future (and stop working in a fucking McDonals haha)

How did you get into photography, especially skateboard photography?

Let’s see, all of my life I had artistic influences as all of my family paints so I always try to paint but I really don’t like painting and I was very bad at it. Then a few years ago I picked up a camera and started taking photos myself. Right after that I started skating because of my boyfriend and at the end I added the two passions together and I take skateboard pictures as well.

What type of equipment do you use for your photos? (outside shots, night shots, indoor shots)

For digital photos, I have a Canon 350d (I will change it now for a 7d) with a 18-55mm Canon lens, a Tamron 70-300mm lens, and a Sigma fish eye 10-18mm lens, and a Sunpac flash.

For analog photos, I have a Nikon “Nikkormatic”(35 mm) with a Nikon 50mm f1.4 lens and a 35-105mm Hoya lens. I also have Bronica etrs (120mm) with a Seico 75mm f2.8 lens. I also have a lot of “toy” cameras, like a lomographic fish eye, a Diana f+, a Polaroid plates..etc
I usually use negatives from Ilford, hp5 400 iso and the delta 3200 (I like the texture and the fact of shooting at night with high speeds) are the ones I use the most. I develop the black and white films at home by myself.

Where do you get your inspiration for making a specific picture or how do you work to create a specific photo?

When I arrive to a spot, the first thing I do is to check the natural light. Then I look at the spot and the trick that is going to be done, and decide about the lens and the angle. I try to not shoot the “typical” photo, so I take a few minutes looking at the spot to find a different point of view. After that I just shoot and wait for the trick to be done.

If you had to choose one lens, which one would it be and why?

I think I would take a long lens, for example the Canon 70-200 f2.8 is perfect because it’s a long terrain lens, you can make lots of different pictures with it, it’s better for me to compose with a long lens than with short ones. For example with my fish eye, I used to get the closest to the skater as possible and then shoot, but with a 105mm or a 200mm I can play more with all of the spot. And for all the chilling or non-skating pictures, a 50mm f1.4 is perfect.

If you could get any new equipment for free, what would you love to have?

All free? Uhmm .. I will love to have a Canon 1d mark IV with a complete Canon fist gamma lens, and good flash equipment. And also a Hasselblad with a fish eye and a long lens..

What do you feel is the most challenging thing about skateboard photography?

I think the most difficult part of skate photography is not only the fact that your photos are good and if you are going to get a publication in a magazine, but you also have to have a difficult trick, and if possible the skater must be known. Many times, seeing a picture in a magazine, I think perhaps I would have done it differently, many photos do not convince me …

Is there a general part in your photographic work where you would like to improve?

Everything can be improved so I would like to improve picture after picture. I also like to tried different kinds of photos like portraits, fashion etc. But basically skateboarding pictures are what I like the most.

Any last words?

Greetings to my boyfriend Carlos, the people of Sanpe, Marcos, Tachi, Juanito and everyone else, the people of Aviles, etc. And thanks Slash Boards for supporting me.