Welcome to BS 

'BS' is a Bristol based skate zine looking at all parts of the skating scene within the city, looking at the tricks, spots, bails and general lives of the skaters scattered across the city. 

I wanted to produce a zine that not only showed images of the skate scene but also felt like it too. This is why I went for quite a dark, edgy and roughed aesthetic throughout the zine. To try and achieve this I really had to think about the way in which I produced the zine, it wasn't as simple as just making everything clear and shinny as thats not what the scene is about. The first think I chose to do was shoot predominately in film, this in turn gave the images the grainy old school aesthetic. Due to the fact I was shooting film and that I would be developing it myself meant that the images would have to be black & white which actually worked perfectly as it meant the images instantly had that roughed bold effect. This combined with the stark graininess of the film really gave the images a street/urban feel. 

It was then a matter of the types of images that I would be producing, as I wanted to show the scene as a whole I realised that I would need to phtograph more than just some tricks in just one place. I would have to travel around the city talking to different skaters, find different spots but also produce a range of images from action shots, to landscapes, to portraits and not only at the skate parks but also in the everyday from there flats to nights out. 

I also had to think about how I would produce the zine. I wanted to stick relatively close to traditions and seeing as the scene is changing constantly I wanted the zine to seem current, off the moment and that it could be thrown away and replaced with a more recent issue as soon as its out. So to do this I wanted to keep the zine small, almost pocket sized as if skater could carry it with them without it being a problem or burden. Due to that I also wanted to keep it quite soft, so only using quite thin paper. The paper used on the inside was very standard and the paper used on the outside was only marginally better quality. Keeping it light and easy to carry, not something that would be expensive to be produced or bought thus something that could be disposed of and a new one bought with little hassle. In my eyes this stays true to a classic zine but with a slightly modern twist. 

I then had the name to decide. I wanted something that would be able to encapsulate the scene as well as it would encapsulate the city. And the it hit me 'BS' as in the post code but 'BS' as in board slide, the trick. This could also be construed as Bullshit but thats up to the viewer.