From skateboarding to photography: My unexpected journey into street photography

Dear readers of Olympus Passion, my name is Simon Wolfsteiner, and I currently live in Vienna, Austria. Beyond photography, my interests include music, attending concerts, art history, computer science, skateboarding, and basketball—though the last two are mostly passive pursuits these days.

While my friends and I occasionally photographed each other skateboarding back in school, my passion for photography didn’t truly develop until much later. During trips to the UK and Taiwan, I began capturing scenes that caught my eye using a simple digital camera. At the time, I had no real knowledge of composition, lighting, or the exposure triangle. However, when I wasn’t traveling, I rarely took pictures.

This changed during my PhD studies, which required me to travel extensively. Destinations like Madeira, Canada, and Japan inspired me to take more photos, even if it was just with my iPhone. These trips rekindled my interest in photography and motivated me to capture more of my surroundings—even when back home in Austria.

After years of considering a dedicated camera, I finally took the plunge three years ago when an influencer I followed shared a discount code for the Olympus OM-D E-M10 Mark IIIS kit. That was all the encouragement I needed to hit the order button, and my journey into more serious photography began.

From the start, I was drawn to street and architecture photography. Even before I knew these genres existed, I naturally gravitated toward capturing buildings and candid street scenes—perhaps an unconscious bias from years of skateboarding and consuming images and videos of street skating in urban environments. Interestingly, skateboarding and street photography share a similar way of perceiving the world. A skateboarder constantly scans the surroundings for spots and structures to skate, while a street photographer remains equally attuned to their environment, always ready to capture a compelling scene. The challenge lies in framing these moments within the urban setting in a visually engaging way.

In addition to street photography, I briefly explored portrait photography. While I found it less enjoyable due to my introverted nature, I still occasionally challenge myself in this genre. Nonetheless, I thrive on the spontaneity of street photography, documenting everyday moments in urban life as they unfold naturally and candidly.

What catches my eye varies—sometimes it’s a compelling subject, other times a strong and clean composition. At night, I’m especially drawn to interesting lighting situations, like the vivid glow of neon lights. The best moments, of course, are when all these elements align perfectly.

Currently, I use the Olympus OM-D E-M10 Mark IV alongside these lenses:

• Zuiko Digital 17mm F1.8
• Zuiko Digital 25mm F1.8
• Zuiko Digital 45mm F1.8
• Zuiko Digital ED 40–150mm F4.0–5.6 R

My go-to lenses for street photography are the 17mm F1.8 and 25mm F1.8 due to their compact size. The portability of the Micro Four Thirds system is a significant advantage—I rarely leave home without my camera. When traveling, I often pair the 40–150mm lens with either the 17mm or 25mm for versatility without adding bulk. Though I used the 45mm lens more frequently in the past, it now sees less action.

The only drawback I’ve found with the Micro Four Thirds system is its relatively limited low-light performance compared to, say, Sony cameras.

For editing, I primarily use Adobe Lightroom and occasionally Photoshop. I don’t adhere to a single editing style, preferring instead to adapt my approach to suit each image and bring out its unique qualities.

At this point, photography has become a huge part of my life, even though I am not a professional photographer, but I still have a lot of room for improvement, as I am hardly ever completely satisfied with the results I get. However, I guess it would be rather boring if there would not be any objective to become better. What is kind of ironic though, is the fact that a few years back, I would not have thought that I would ever get this deep into photography. During my undergraduate studies, we had photography courses, but I didn’t enjoy them and often dreaded the assignments. Life is full of surprises, I guess.