Skateboarding has been part of Ramon van Loon’s life for more than twenty years. What started as a fascination with skateboarding itself quickly grew into an appreciation for the culture surrounding it: the spots, the people, the graphics, the videos and, especially, the photography.

Growing up, skateboard magazines such as Thrasher and TransWorld Skateboarding were a constant source of inspiration. Long before taking photography seriously, Ramon was fascinated by the way these magazines captured skateboarding. A single photograph could show much more than just a trick. The architecture of a spot, the personality of the skateboarder, the use of a fisheye lens, harsh flash and carefully chosen angles all helped tell a story. 

After more than two decades on a skateboard, photographing skateboarding feels like a natural combination of two long-standing passions. Having spent so much time skating himself gives Ramon an understanding of timing, tricks and the way skateboarders move through a spot. It helps him anticipate the moment, find the right angle and, just as importantly, understand what makes a skateboard photograph feel authentic.

His skateboard photography is strongly influenced by the visual language of the skate magazines and videos he grew up with, particularly the photography of the late 1990s and early 2000s. Fisheye perspectives, direct flash, strong compositions and getting close to the action are recurring elements in his work.

In many ways, photographing skateboarding is something Ramon has wanted to do since those first magazines landed in his hands. Now, camera in hand and skateboard never far away, that childhood fascination has become part of his own photographic work.