jovian-moons

[jovian-moons]

I’m about to leave a home that I’ve lived in since around 2006-2007, so I thought I'd document my last few weeks in my room - the third room in this house I’ve stayed in. I’m not one to take photos of myself or really show much of what I look like as you can see in literally both of these photos. I’ve always found my aversion to getting my photo taken such a paradox, or maybe ironic. In an ongoing effort to trust myself and be a resourceful photographer, I took these photos using my reflection in my janky mirror and a very unstable phone tripod.

I felt it was important to photograph who I am and the way I look during this significant transition in my 23rd year of life. My hair is bright green, I have a cat, a growing collection of tattoos, and I’m an artist. I think I’m continuously becoming the person I wanted to be when I was a kid, even if the criteria for that is having green hair. That’s important for me to bear in mind as I leave my childhood home.

I’m learning several lessons in self-undoing, consolidation, and self-confidence. While I am absolutely ready to not be 23 years old anymore, I have to keep going because time will move forward with or without me. I will simply have to move alongside it, picking up and putting down many things on the way.

For anyone who’s curious, this is ~probably~ what I was listening to in my headphones.

See you in the next oneeeee :’)

Jaylen

[jovian-moons]

I never knew that pushing on wood and hardware could create such a community of people who, since I was a kid, always seemed to be the coolest people ever. I pushed around on a skateboard for a bit when I was in middle school and here and there throughout high school and college. It's one thing to push around, but having the confidence and unwavering trust in oneself to flip a board or bomb a hill takes a lot more than I initially thought. After meeting so many skaters from Dallas, I've learned a lot about the community from the inside. I think the first thing I learned was how there are unspoken things that are just understood across different aspects of skating. I’m just recently learning the technicality of tricks and how much effort it takes to move your body a certain way. It’s so strange, but very rewarding in the end (if you land it). On a trip to visit friends in San Marcos some years ago, I saw this kid who looked no more than 14 years old land a trick and all his friends ran up to him and hugged him. They even went up to the car at the stoplight in front of us to dap them up too. That kind of camaraderie I’ve only seen among skaters, and it’s really something special to witness in person.

The four photos above I shot at The Boneyard in Garland, TX not too far from the lab where I developed this roll :). I had just got back from LA taking photos (and getting free Converse hehe) at the Black Market Flea where I got to see some homies from Neighbors Skate Shop I had just met for the first time a few months prior. I had around 5 or so frames left on my roll of T-Max 100 that I so bravely decided to shoot at night with no tripod. My Contax TLA 200 flash did just fine, and I’m really happy with how these turned out considering how dark it was. Although most of the time I just push around for a little bit at the park (I’m nervy), some days I’ll bring my camera to photograph my boyfriend and his friends. I tend to enjoy capturing them not skating (skateboard photography is hard) and rather get photos of them interacting with one another. The very bottom photo was the last frame on the roll and while getting my settings right, my boyfriend helped get everyone together.

"Y'all tryna get in this photo? It's the last shot!"

There is more for me to learn about Dallas' skate community, and I'm sure using my camera will help me with that. I definitely want to get better at skating which I know is going to take time and practice. More importantly, it'll help teach me to trust in myself.

Maybe the next time you hear from me I will have learned how to shuv it,

Jaylen