4th Annual Last Ditch Effort
When the 4th Annual Last Ditch Effort race at Alpental was announced I couldn’t resist going to capture the event. I mean what better way to cap off an epic winter than with a wild banked slalom race and despite the variable weather conditions it did not disappoint. Hopefully the gallery below will convey even half the fun that was had that day. Just remember “slow is smooth, smooth is fast”.
No Friends on a Pow Day?
There is a rare event that only comes around once in a blue moon in the cascade mountains. The winds blow from the east, the temperature drops, and the snow intensifies; creating a magical thing called blower pow. Blower pow is super dry ultra-low density snow that is a snowboarder’s dream to find. Such an event occurred in the cascades two weeks ago and the images below depict my good friend Chris’ first experience riding in such mind blowing conditions. Big shoutout to him for being such an awesome rider to work with.
A Bermsled Halloween story.
When I first moved to Washington several years ago my very first introduction to the unique bike culture here was going to GHY Bike’s Bermsled Halloween race. And boy was it an experience! It was a typical cold and rainy fall day in Washington but as someone who grew up in northern Michigan and moved away before the fat bike movement really took hold, riding bikes this time of the year was never really an option. So when I saw all these people dressed up in their halloween costumes, racing a super slick trail in rainy and 40 degree weather, I thought to myself “This is insane… but weirdly fun!” Now that I’ve been through a couple winters here I almost look forward to riding in this weather, but that’s a topic for another time.
This year was the ninth annual Bermsled Halloween race and a big thanks goes out to AJ at GHY Bikes for putting this on every year. Also to everyone that helps out, from trail maintenance to cooking burgers, we appreciate all the hard work! With that said enjoy the photo story below of the most chill and fun bike event in the northwest!
P.S. If you see an image you want, just hit me up here or on Instagram and I’ll send you a link to download.
AJ on the megaphone and Travis (who generously donated the hot dogs and burgers) with a pre race beverage.
Colette Butorajac, chef for the day.
Costumes are encouraged, aerodynamics aren’t really a thing here.
“I was going faster than I thought I would!”
Marcus is coming for your strava times
Dragon Power!
Probably the sketchiest thing I saw all day!
Bringing back no-footers!
Wet conditions led to the inevitable crashes, but luckily just some cuts, bruises, and hurt egos.
This pretty much captures the vibe perfectly.
The mastermind behind this insanity!
Best Trick Winner
Best Costume Winner
Grand Prize winner from the raffle, sponsored by Transition Bikes! Yes that’s a Triple frameset.
Under 14 Class Top 3
Fast Class Top 3 (2nd place is MIA)
Faster Class Top 3
Fastest Class Top 3 ( 1st-Josh Gibb 2nd-Travis Erickson 3rd-Craig Wilcox)
Summit Ridge Night Session
I'll admit, I frequently ride Summit Ridge Freeride Park in Black Diamond, WA. But there was something odd about one line I could never figure out. ATM was the only line in the park to have ropes hung above the trail, zig-zagging all the way down. I finally got an answer from a local one day though. Those ropes were once used to string up lights for night jams, but sadly they were removed/stolen at some point.
Thanks to William Landrey and Ted Gutterud though, new lights are slowly being added again. Over the early part of this year they have rebuilt the trail, fund raised, and strung up enough lights to get the upper half of the trail lit up for night jams again. The goal is to finish lighting the rest of the trail in time for weekly Friday night sessions this summer. To help with the remaining costs they have started a GoFundMe, consider contirbuting if you would like to help out. Keep an eye out for more of these sessions and come join the next one, I know I'll be there again!
Ted Gutterud stacking dirt for the last step up on ATM.
Ted and Noah finish packing the lip.
Tools of the trade.
Light it up!
Noah with another banger.
Ted enjoying the benefits of all the hard work.
Sadly the endless laps had to end at some point.
Softies Jump Jam Part 2
So stoked on how this series has turned out so far! It was awesome to be involved in such an epic jam! Thanks again to GHY Bikes and everyone who helped make it happen. Part 3 is coming soon!
Happy Thanksgiving!
It's hard to believe that I have been in Seattle for over a year now! Time really flies when you live in such an awesome place. Looking back at the past year I have so many things to be thankful for. I've been to so many awesome places, met some really cool people, and done some pretty crazy things. I can't wait to see what the next year brings!
On a side note here are some images from an informal jam that went down last month! The guys were throwing down some banger tricks!
Duthie Group Ride
Riding with a group is almost always more enjoyable then riding alone. Last weekend I was fortunate enough to join a great group of riders on one such ride at Duthie Hill! Here is a few select images from that day. If you were a part of the ride head over to my Facebook page to see if I got any images of you! Thanks to GHY Bikes for putting it together!
Mountain Trail Running
"The woods are lovely, dark and deep, but I have promises to keep, and miles to go before I sleep, and miles to go before I sleep." - Robert Frost, Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening
Robert Frost perfectly sums up how I feel about my latest shoot in the cascades. Thanks to Keith Vowell and Marcie Morgan for running their hearts out.
Renton Skatepark
I was finally able to stop by the Renton skatepark last week to photograph a couple of the local BMX riders. These guys can definitely shred! Throwing turn downs on their "warm up" run was the first hint of what was to come. As the sun started setting, the session heated up with dipped 360's and backflips wrapping up the session before the sun finally set.
Anthony Brownrigg gets inverted over the nipple feature at Renton skatepark.
Kyle mid turn down on his "warm up" run.
Kyle throws a dipped 360 over the nipple feature with a brilliant sky behind him.
Kyle Plante catches his breathe as the setting sun lights up passing storm clouds.
Lake Michigan Windsurfing
One of the many great things about living in northern Michigan is the lakes around us. Whether you simply enjoy relaxing on the pristine beaches or getting involved in one of the many adventure sports on the water, we proudly have some of the best lakes in the world right outside our front door. Windsurfing is a relatively unknown extreme sport in this area with athletes far and few between. Any opportunity I get to photograph a windsurfer I gladly take. The wind on Lake Michigan was perfect this day; a strong, offshore, consistent wind was kicking about two to three foot waves. Below is the series of images I took of Chris Righi windsurfing on the big lake.
Equestrian Life
Recently I had the opportunity to venture into the equestrian world and capture what it means to be an athlete in the sport. Truth be told there is a lot more behind it than simply throwing a saddle on and riding off into the sunset. The athletes put in immense amounts of work everyday to prepare for daily rides and monthly competitions alike. The following images and short film were the result of several days of filming and shooting on location in beautiful northern Michigan.
Flashback Friday No. 1
Well it's been a long time since my last blog post, too long in fact. I could use the excuse that I have been extremely in the last two months as that would be true. But that's simply instead of just making an excuse I'm going to start a new blog series. Every last Friday of the month I'll be posting images from the past and the stories behind them. Most will come from my days at Hallmark Institute of Photography others more recent
Going to start with a pair of images from a photo shoot in my last couple months still in school. This particular photo shoot started off after spending a day location scouting in Boston with a fellow classmate. One spot particularly stood out that day, an old concrete track stadium just south of Boston proper. Eventually after having the initial shoot delayed it was time to make the two hour trek from my home in western Massachusetts to Boston. The first hour and a half is easy driving through the countryside on MA-2, last thirty minutes however is on Boston's subway system. Getting on the first train my assistants and I are all loaded down with bags full of camera equipment which soon starts attracting strange glances from other riders. Soon enough we are pulling into our station and walking up the stairs and out onto the streets. The distance from that station to the shoot location seems a lot longer now that I'm carrying several bags of equipment on my shoulders. It wasn't until we get to the location that we notice what was supposed to be blue skies had turned into a sky full of fast approaching storm clouds. Luckily the model shows up on time and is more than eager to shoot despite the imminent storm. We are able to shoot two poses before the skies open up and start drenching us with rain. All in all the weather enhanced the photo shoot and we were able to produce some striking images.
Thanks to Richard Wingert for modeling.
Lazy Summer Day
After a long week of work it's hard not to take advantage of the occasional warm weekends that signal the end of spring. Grabbing the fishing gear and heading down the boardwalk to that favorite spot. It doesn't even matter if the fish aren't biting, just listening to all the familiar summer sounds surrounding you and basking in the warm rays of sunlight is enough to convince one that maybe summer is actually here to stay.
Day on the Water
Firstly it's been awhile since my last blog post and I have a lot of catching up to do with several shoots waiting to get more then just a brief glance. I'll be posting fairly regularly again starting with my most recent shoot from Memorial Day weekend. With the ice now gone and air temps climbing into the mid 80's I jumped into the water to capture windsurfers and kiteboarders ripping it up. A strong westerly wind gave them all the power they needed to tear by me, slashing waves and jumping clear over in the process. It was pretty thrilling to watch these athletes harness the wind in such a creative way.
Tearing Up Waves in Florida
Firstly it has been far too long since my last post back in late January. I've been quite busy this last month in Florida. Despite staying busy I managed to slip over to the Atlantic ocean and spend a day on the beach with my friend Kirby. With the forecast calling for a good easterly wind kicking up decent waves, we brought along his jet ski. Conditions were everything the wind report had been calling for and allowed me to capture some great action shots. But the day was not all about capturing images. I brought a GoPro HERO4 with me and was able to capture some crazy on-board footage with it.
Loving Florida Life
Thirty degrees is a huge difference in temperature. This is what I considered before deciding to drive south to Florida with a friend, not long into the new year. Now I sit on a dock overlooking lake Santa Fe, soaking up the sun in 67 degree weather. Looking at the weather back in northern Michigan I don't regret my decision. The friend that brought me down here is now my latest subject. Every afternoon he puts on his wet suit, heads out onto the lake on his stand up jet ski and wrangles it like the bronco it very much acts like.
