I’ve never ice skated, but I spent many a preteen birthday party at a roller rink, where the music and lights seem to hypnotize me. You could call it a form of meditation.
I went to the American Tobacco Campus rink on Friday night, as people took advantage of the last weekend of ice skating. After a while, I felt hypnotized again, as a spectator watching the skaters, even the ones who fell.
It had been a long week; I found it soothing. I made these photographs using a slow shutter speed and a tripod to give the experience a ghostly feel (Total running time 1:17).
The music comes from archive.org, a wonderful site for public domain music. This song, “Gloomy Sunday,” is by Paul Whiteman and Johnny Hauser, which was recorded in 1936. I edited out the middle for length, but the lyrics are indeed gloomy. You can listen to the song here in its entirety.
If you missed your chance at the Durham rink, which is sponsored by the YMCA, its counterpart, as part of Winterfest, is open through Feb. 1.
Lisa Sorg is the editor of the INDY. Her blog documents the small moments of life in the Triangle in photographs and stories—as a reminder of why we live here.
