Marco Hernandez

Like the best documentary photography, Marco Hernandez’s shots don’t require you to think deep to “understand” them, yet the more you look, the more they reveal and the more you end up feeling. His photos give an authentic sense of lives being lived, largely because his subject matter comes from what catches his eye as he skates. A fascination with his city comes through in all of Marco’s photographs as they are instantly recognisable as snapshots of New York. His perspective is unmistakably through the eyes of a skater, from the vantage point that only a piece of Canadian maple can provide.

When/why did you start shooting pictures?
“I started shooting photos in 2011. I always had an interest in photography but didn’t think I had the skills and talent to pick it up. It only took one roll of film for me to commit to being a photographer. It’s therapeutic for me, a way of expression. Years from now I will look back at my work and remember the awesome times I had and the people I met.”

What cameras do you use and what do you like about them?
“I have been shooting a lot with my Polaroid 420 land camera and a Canon AT-1 SLR. I also have other 35mm SLRs and point and shoots. I’ve started a little collection. I love shooting a roll of film, imagining how the photos will come out makes me anxious. I love peeling apart the Fujifilm for my Polaroid, it gives me more satisfaction than shooting digitally.”

What things/subjects/locations are you drawn to in your photography?
“I was born and raised in New York City, and I feel like it’s the best place to shoot photos. I am drawn to so many things while I’m walking the streets. There is so much going on around you that it’s almost impossible to focus on one subject. I am mostly drawn to skateboarding, but while I am out skating, I will shoot anything that catches my eye. I always have a camera on me; you see the gnarliest stuff when you’re out skating.”

How would you describe your photography style?
“In technical terms, street photography. But really, I just see my work as a documentation of my life.”

Who/what inspires your work? Any other photographers?
“Ed Templeton is a huge inspiration to me, I admire his work a lot. After seeing the photo booklet that came with Toy Machine’s ‘Suffer The Joy’ when I was a teenager, I saw how creative skateboarders were, which had a huge impact on me. It eventually gave me the push to start shooting my own photos.”

What do you do for a living and how does photography fit into your life?
“Just to have a steady income, I hop between basic cashier/sales associate-type jobs and finding freelancing work with my photos. I do hope one day I can make a living with my photos, but nobody knows what the future holds. I actually got fired once for calling out of work so many times to skate and shoot photos, so I always make time to take photographs.”

How do you share your work? Zines, books, exhibitions, blog etc? And what’s the editing process like for you? Are you trying to tell stories with your images? What are those stories?
“I have a tumblr blog where I upload most of my work, but lately I have been holding a lot of images to release in a new zine I am working on. I’m working on for a publisher called Blood of The Young, which is run by my friends Dimitri Karakostas and his lady, Sonia. I wouldn’t have made it this far with my work if it wasn’t for them discovering my photos through their Flickr group pool.

“I just want people to relate to my work, especially the skate scene. We know the feeling of pushing down a busy street listening to the cars honking you out the way and not giving a damn, getting kicked out of spots, climbing over fences, doing whatever you want. It’s so much hell getting photos with so much going on, some people don’t like us and some people just stand and watch like it’s nothing they have ever seen before.

“I feel like our culture is not being seen the way it should be with all these fashion campaigns trying to get their hands on skateboarding as a marketing tool. I don’t take photos to confuse you, you don’t have to look at my photos and scratch your chin to find a deep meaning. I shoot photos that speak for themselves and you get it as soon as you see it.”

Are your photos staged/posed or documentary? Can you describe why you choose to shoot in this way?
“I don’t usually stage any of my photos, it all just falls into place at the moment my camera is drawn. I feel like capturing images candidly and without alerting anyone really shows what goes on in the photo.”

How do you hope viewers respond/engage with your photography?
“I hope viewers are hyped on my work, I want to make people go out and explore and have fun with their lives. We are all going to grow old and will eventually forget what we did when we were young and doing everything without a regret.”

What are your plans for the future?
“Continue to have fun shooting photos and keep myself productive. I am in the process of making a new zine, which should be out at the end of the month. A huge goal of mine is to have a photo exhibition in my home of NYC within this year, so stay tuned.”

If you had to take one photo that summed up your view on life, what would it capture?
“It would capture someone skating through traffic while taxis are driving in the brightly lit city of New York. It’s something about the city and the freedom people feel when they are there that intrigues me.”

You can see Marco’s work on his tumblr here.

Are you a film photography fan? To be considered for a slot on the Huck site, send a folio of 10 analogue images to hello@tcolondon.com using the subject line MY LIFE IN ANALOGUE.

Submissions made before December 20, 2013, will be entered into a competition to win a Lomography camera. See competition for further details.

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